Made with Lots of Love: Urborka Salata

One of my favorite snacks as a child was cucumbers, in any form. I would rather nosh on a cucumber than a stack of cookies. Actually, today I would still rather snack on some salty cucumbers than a sweet treat. So anytime my mom made this delicious cucumber salad called Uborka Salata, I would eat at least three bowls of it.

Urboka Salata (or urborkasaláta) is quite simply a Hungarian light, cucumber salad. It is traditionally eaten with heavy, meat-centric meals. Let’s be honest, most Hungarian meals are heavy and meat-centric. Also, this isn’t meant to be eaten as an appetizer. It’s meant to be eaten as a delicious, refreshing side along with your main course.

There are many different variations of this cucumber salad. Some use sour cream and some don’t. Some go heavy on the raw garlic, some go light (Hungarians can’t go completely without it). Some use both sour cream and vinegar or just vinegar. Our preferred way is to use a combination of sour cream + vinegar. Also, the key to this is slicing the cucumbers super thin.

Urborka Salata Ingredients

• 2-3 medium cucumbers (English preferred)
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Paprika
• Black pepper
• 1/2 small white onion
• Garlic (preferably fresh but garlic powder will do in a pinch)
• Optional: dill

Directions

1. Peel and slice cucumber very thinly. Salt and place in colander or bowl. Let sit for one hour.
2. Squeeze cucumbers to remove excess liquid.
3. Cut onion into tiny pieces and mix with cucumbers and garlic in a bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, mix sour cream, vinegar, pepper (as much as you want), paprika (a lot) and dill.
5. Add sour cream mixture to cucumbers and toss.
6. Place in refrigerator and let stand for at least two hours.
7. Add more paprika before serving.

Play around with the amount of the ingredients. We really don’t work with a “hard” recipe anymore (does any Eastern European mother truly work from a recipe?). We usually use whatever we have in our home at the time. We like ours with a lot of paprika and dill. Make it your own thing! It’s perfect in the summer or even in the winter when you’re eating something super heavy.