Despite astrological fall having arrived early the morning of the 23rd, it’s been hot as blazes around our neighborhood for yet another week. It’s been in the mid to high 70s at sunrise during my first workout at the park and pushing the high 90s (or hotter, dammit) every afternoon.
The roasting temperatures have us still reaching almost every day for our favorite salad recipes, and at the risk of engendering a few snickers and scoffs, I’ve even been pulling this Radish, Tomato, and Cucumber Cottage Cheese Salad out of the files lately, given how good the late summer tomatoes and pickling cucumbers are especially. (Snicker away, but good cottage cheese with a grind of fresh pepper, a healthy pinch of good salt, and a splash of a very good olive oil is mighty fine snack any time…).
This is one you can have on the table in about 30 minutes, and that includes some resting time for the sliced vegetables, and we’ve really come to appreciate the burst of acidity and the layers of flavor the vinegar brings mixed into the cottage cheese with the radishes and into the very simple vinaigrette dressing for the vegetable topping or “salad”.
Have some small-ish zucchini or yellow squash you want to throw in? By all means do it. Sub in any vinegar you wish, and my lovely wife even likes this with a handful of chopped green salad olives and julienned salami mixed in as well.
1 pound mixed small tomatoes, halved or quartered
3-4 small Kirby cucumbers, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
4-5 green or spring onions, trimmed, whites and green separated, sliced thinly
1 and 1/2 + 1 tsp good kosher salt
1 medium bunch radishes (any kind), halved, thinly sliced or julienned
16-ounce container of full fat cottage cheese (at least 4% milk fat)
3-4 tbsp white wine, champagne, or rice vinegar, divided
2-3 tbsp good EVOO or avocado oil
Optional
2-4 tbsp chopped salad olives (or olive of choice)
1-2 ounces of thinly sliced salami
Combine the prepped tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, and sliced onion whites in a small bowl; sprinkle with 1 and 1/2 tsp of the salt, a few grinds of fresh pepper, and throw in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.
Prep the radishes, then stir into the cottage cheese along with 1-2 tbsp of the vinegar; season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill if not using immediately.
When ready to serve, drain any accumulated liquid from the salted vegetable mixture, and stir in 2 tbsp of oil and 2 additional tbsp of your vinegar of choice. Stir in the olives and chopped salami if using.
Spread the cottage cheese over a large platter or individual servings over plates, then spoon the vegetable mixture over in a thin layer, drizzle with more really good EVOO if you wish, and garnish with the sliced onion greens.
Enjoy.
