Skip the onion, the garlic, the chives, the pickled this or the cheesy that. We’re skipping anything that can cause a burning sensation. This is a straight-up cooling spin on a classic summer salad. A Pitta-reducing recipe for the dog days of summer.

Cucumber is a lightly sweet, moist bitter, with strong astringency in its peel and seeds. Radicchio adds an assertive bitter taste, plus an eye-catching contrast of color to the salad. Together with the sweet of the toasted almonds and the sweet-astringent of the tofu, the three cooling tastes of Ayurveda’s six tastes prevail in this refreshing summer salad.

With lime for sour, dill and mint for pungent, a pinch of salt, there’s just enough of the heating tastes to enhance flavor and digestibility, and round out the six tastes for whole body satisfaction, while keeping things cool.

Diuretic, blood-purifier, dilator, an effective reducer of heat and inflammation, and a good skin remedy, the moisture-promoting cucumber is pacifying to Vata and Pitta, while increasing to Kapha. I’ve added suggestions for the doshas with the recipe below.

Learn more about Ayurveda’s view on cucumber here.

Cucumber Tofu Summer Herb Salad
Serves 2 as a salad, 4-6 as a side

Soft tofu will act like goat cheese on a salad: Crumbly pillows without that sour-dry taste that is welcoming in spring, but less so in summer. Firm Tofu will be more meaty, so take your pick. Either will work.

Salad
1/4 block tofu, drained
2 persian cucumbers or 1 long english cucumber
1/4 small radicchio
1/4 cup almond slivers
1 bunch fresh dill
8-10 fresh mint leaves
Optional adds: pumpkin seeds/pepitas, sunflower seeds, favorite fresh herbs

Dressing
Lime
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pink/Mineral Salt & Black Pepper

Make the dressing
Grate a bit of lime peel into a small bowl. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl. Whisk with olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Note that a lot of lime is great, so if your lime is small or dry, add the juice of the whole lime.

Assemble the salad
After draining the tofu set it on a towel to absorb the excess water.

In a small dry pan, toast the almond slivers over medium heat. Stir and toss the almonds to evenly brown. As soon as that sweet roasting aroma rises, remove from heat. Allow to cool.

Slice the cucumber into thin orbs, or little matchsticks (see below). Shred the radicchio. Toss with the cucumber in a salad bowl.

Chop the tofu, or with your hands crumble it into the salad bowl. Stir in the toasted almond slivers.

Rinse the dill and pat dry. Remove the large stems with kitchen scissors, and chop the fronds into small pieces. Add to the salad. Add the mint leaves whole, and any of the optional ingredients if you choose. Toss, taste and adjust. More lime, olive oil, or an extra pinch of salt may be helpful in bring up the flavor, though summer foods are meant to be soothing more than sassy.

In Ayurveda sweet sort of means mild in flavor. If you are used to sweet meaning sugary sweet, then a drizzle of maple syrup with the dressing, or coconut flakes toasted with the almonds tossed on the salad, will take it in that direction.

For a heartier salad, you could top it with a mound of chickpeas or a scoop of hummus, which really makes it sing. Avocado would also be a soft balance to the crunchy almonds. It would also be great over rice or tossed with rice noodles, and while it is whole and complete as a mid-day salad on its own, it would be a cool, clean contrast paired with a strong savory.

Doshas
Vata: Basil is warming, and lemon is better for Vata than lime.
Pitta: Pile on with the hearty add-ons and add cilantro for extra cool.
Kapha: Warm it up with peppery arugula, and fresh basil, oregano, thyme.

A few helpful links:

Dill benefits and uses
What’s so good about dill

How to best to chop dill
In The Kitchen chops dill

Cucumber Peel
To Peel or not to peel? Cucumber skin is very good for you, especially for your skin. So if you don’t want them on your cucumbers in your salad, consider trying this Cucumber Peel Sandwich Spread to have on crackers as a side to your meal.

Ayurveda for the Seasons
In a world that is eternally cyclical, persistently dynamic, with time constantly marching on, how do we ever find balance? Learn more here

This is an image from my book. When I first saw it I found it odd. I don’t think of cucumbers and ginger as a match. Usually ginger is an autumn-winter-spring spice, while cucumbers are decidedly summer, although certainly they have anti-inflammatory properties in common.

There is a whole lot more on healthy and unhealthy food combinations, seasonal spices and the six tastes in my book, plus 108 recipes for every day, every weather, every dosha.

If you want to purchase my book, Amazon has a good price on it now. Or, I will send it to one person drawn randomly next Saturday. Just comment below to be included in the drawing. I’ll send it via Amazon so wherever they deliver this book, you’re in.

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Finally, if you are looking for more summer salads, there are a number of good ones around this site. Here are a few favorites ~

Cucumber Quinoa Green Beans & Greens Salad

Arugula Pesto Summer Salad

Toasted Turmeric Tofu Salad

Strawberry Salad + Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

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Thank you! I wish you nourishing deliciousness always.