Buttermilk Cucumber Salad

When the sun is high and the cucumbers snap, someone somewhere is making buttermilk-cucumber salad. Throughout the South, you’ll find it studded with sharp onion and punchy from a pour of vinegar. Sometimes there are grapes, tomatoes, and parsley, too. This refreshing rendition still has the zip and crunch of that timeless summertime salad, but incorporates elements from raita and tzatziki, other classic, cooling cucumber-and-dairy dishes.

This salad features yogurt and buttermilk, to double down on the creaminess and tang. In place of raw onion, there are rings of shallot, which have been softened and mellowed from being salted in advance (no fire-breathing here). Right before serving, the salad gets a sprinkle of fresh herbs; with a salad like this, the hope is that you’re using whatever looks best at your market or in your garden, so the choice of herb is chef’s (or gardener’s) choice. Just go for something soft-stemmed, like dill or tarragon, as opposed to something woody, like thyme or rosemary. If you squint, you’ll notice this salad has a lot of the tempting elements of ranch dressing. With the addition of garlic powder, fresh garlic, chives, and a little red wine vinegar, you’ll have cucumber and ranch salad.