Polish Cucumber Salad

The most iconic and Polish Cucumber Salad is this creamy Mizeria salad. The word “mizeria” in Bulgarian means “misery” but this salad is the opposite of that. This salad is so creamy and refreshing and similar to this Cucumber Salad. Mizeria is a salad that originated in Poland and consists of thinly sliced or grated cucumbers, often with sweet sour cream or kefir, and in some cases oil. Other possible ingredients you can use here include onions, sweet peppers, lemon juice, dill, chives, mint or parsley. We hope you give this recipe a try and we hope we made all our Polish friends proud with it.

What stands out

This is hands down one of our favourite salads and we know it will become one of yours, too! It’s so simple to prepare, takes minutes to make and comes together with just a few ingredients that you probably already have on hand. It’s a wonderfully fresh side dish that’s great for family BBQs or to bring along for a potluck.

How to Prepare Polish Cucumber Salad

First, wash one large cucumber and pat it dry.

Now, slice the cucumber into thin slices. You can use a sharp knife like we did or a mandolin. The thinner, the better.

Next, in a separate bowl, mix the sour cream together with the salt chives, dill and vinegar.

Finally, toss in the cucumbers and enjoy!

Kitchen tip

Remember, the thinner the better when it comes to slicing up the cucumber for this Polish Cucumber Salad! You can use a sharp knife like we did, or a mandolin would work great to get thin slices.

Swaps

1. Instead of sour cream, you can make this salad with yogurt or try a 50/50 mix of yogurt and sour cream to lighten it up.
2. If you’re dairy-free, you could try a thick, dairy-free yogurt or sour cream here instead.
3. To balance the flavours here, try adding in some cracked black pepper or even a traditional pinch of sugar.
4. Instead of dill, you can also use parsley, or mint.
5. If you don’t have chives, finely sliced green onions will also work.

Serve it with

• You can enjoy this salad on the side of any main dish or grilled meats like our Chicken Souvlaki Skewers.
• Serve this salad with a totally Polish meal featuring grilled sausages and a Borscht soup.
• Go completely vegetarian and serve this with Grilled Shrimp Skewers or our Best Grilled Salmon Skewers.

Questions

What’s The best way to slice the cucumber?

Remember, the thinner the better when it comes to slicing up the cucumber for this Polish Cucumber Salad! You can use a sharp mark knife like we did, or a mandolin would work great to get thin slices. You could even make this with grated cucumber. Overall, take your time, this should be therapeutic.

how can i make this recipe dairy-free?

You can definitely make this dairy-free by swapping the sour cream for your favourite thick and creamy dairy-free yogurt or dairy-free sour cream.

What type of vinegar works best for a Polish Cucumber Salad?

We usually use red wine vinegar here, but you could use another acid. Instead, try a splash of white vinegar, white wine vinegar or even lemon juice.

What other herbs work in this salad?

Dill and chives are traditional, but you could use certainly use parsley, mint or green onion instead.

Can i use any seasonings in this Polish Cucumber Salad?

Since this salad is so simple, a good quality salt shines. Everyone here knows we use mark Redmond Real Salt in all our cooking and we also sometimes add a pinch of cracked black pepper in this salad as well.

What other vegetables can be used?

You can toss in thinly sliced bell peppers, or red onion which would also add great colour to the Polish Cucumber Salad.

Ingredients

Makes 2 servings

• 1 cucumber, sliced very thin, or use a mandolin
• ⅓ cup sour cream, or as much as you like
• ¼ teaspoon salt, more or less to taste
• 1 tablespoons chives, finely chopped, more or less to taste
• 1 tablespoon dill, fresh, more or less to taste
• 1 tablespoon vinegar, I used red wine vinegar but you can use any

Equipment

• Cutting Board
• Nakiri Knife
• Redmond Real Salt
• Mixing Bowls

Method

1. Wash one large cucumber, pat it dry and cut it into thin slices. You can use a sharp knife like we did or a mandolin. The thinner, the better.
2. In a separate bowl mix the sour cream with the rest of the ingredients.
3. Toss in the cucumbers and enjoy.