Cucumber & Yogurt Salad
سلطة الخيار واللبن

Cucumber and yogurt salad, or khyar bil laban, is SO refreshing. This amazingly flavorful and simple salad is made with yogurt and cucumbers. I love to serve this as part of a mezze or along side meaty dishes. It's perfect with kufta, grape leaves and stuffed zuchinni, chicken kabobs, or m'jaddara.
I always make this salad with whole milk yogurt because I love the creamy texture. In general, plain full-fat yogurt is more flavorful than non-fat yogurt. You don't get the same results if you use low fat yogurt because its very thin.
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Traditionally, this salad is made with diced cucumbers. However, you can also grate the cucumbers, instead of dicing them, to make this as a dip. If you grate the cucumbers, make sure to drain the excess water.
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I'm constantly on the search for easy, make ahead recipes for my dinners and parties. Now this is a dish you can find at most Middle Eastern dinners, it's a hit with adults and kids! You can prepare this a day before, just wait to add the garlic the same day you're serving it.
Serve it along side fried pita chips or veggies, making this a wonderful vegetarian appetizer!
Cucumber & Yogurt Salad
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Servings: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
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Ingredients:
3 Persian cucumbers, peeled and diced
1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp dried mint
pinch of salt
1 tbsp olive oil
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Directions:
1) In a bowl, combine cucumbers, yogurt, garlic, mint and salt. Gently mix.
2) When ready to serve, drizzle olive oil on top.