By Kendra Vaculin
4.9
(29)
Photo & Food Styling by Kendra Vaculin
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Active Time
30 minutes
Total Time
45 minutes
If you find yourself with an abundance of cucumbers (or simply a craving for them), this salad taps into their cooling crunch without making a watery mess. The trick is to salt, drain, and squeeze out any excess liquid before dressing them—and to turn them into a full meal by adding simple oven-baked meatballs studded with briny green olives and sweet golden raisins.
Ingredients
4 Servings
¼ cup golden raisins
2 lb. thin-skinned cucumbers (such as Persian, English hothouse, and/or kirby) cut into bite-size pieces
2½ tsp. kosher salt, divided, plus more
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 Tbsp. pine nuts
¾ cup Castelvetrano olives, pitted, divided
1 large egg
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
½ cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
3 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, plus more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. ground pork
½ small red onion, very thinly sliced (use a mandoline if you have one)
2 cups tender herb leaves (such as mint and/or parsley)
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
Plain whole-milk Greek yogurt (for serving)
Preparation
Step 1
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 425°F. Place raisins in a small bowl and pour in hot water to cover; let sit until ready to use.
Step 2
Place cucumbers in a colander or sieve set in or over a large bowl; sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt and toss to combine. Let sit while you make the meatballs. (It will seem like a lot of cucumbers at first, but they will shrink down as they drain.)
Step 3
Meanwhile, drizzle 2 Tbsp. oil over a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange pine nuts in an even layer on another rimmed baking sheet (use a quarter-sheet if you have one!).
Step 4
Finely chop ¼ cup olives. Transfer to a large bowl and add egg, garlic, panko, parsley, 1½ tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes; season with black pepper. Drain raisins and add half to bowl; mix well to combine. Add pork and gently mix with your hands to incorporate. Working one at a time, scoop out heaping tablespoonfuls of pork mixture and form into balls (think about the size of a golf ball; you should get about 20). Arrange on oiled baking sheet, spacing 1" apart. Turn to coat.
Step 5
Bake meatballs, rotating baking sheet front to back halfway through, until browned on bottom and cooked through, 10–15 minutes. Toast pine nuts on bottom rack until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
Step 6
Coarsely chop remaining ½ cup olives. Gather cucumbers into a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out any excess liquid into bowl (don’t worry if they get a little smashed); discard liquid. Wipe out bowl and combine cucumbers, olives, pine nuts, onion, herbs, and remaining raisins in bowl; toss to combine. Drizzle in vinegar and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil, season with salt and black pepper, and toss again to coat.
Step 7
Swoosh a generous scoop of yogurt over each plate, then top with salad and meatballs. Season with more black pepper and red pepper flakes if desired.
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Reviews (29)
Back to TopTriangleLoved the recipe but thought it needed a bit more acidity so made a few minor additions/changes to our taste. Chopped the raisins for the meatballs and added lemon zest. Also added lemon zest and lemon juice to the salad. Didn't have the amount of pine nuts called for so added chopped pistachios to the mix. Instead of the yogurt, used a premade spiced labneh and baba ghanoush. Served with naan bread. Will definitely be making again.
Patricia
NYC
4/29/2024
Oh my gosh so good.
Nancy
St. Paul
11/18/2023
I love this! Made the meatballs a little bit bigger so I got 12 out of 1 pound of meat. Didn't have that much mint so used chopped up iceberg lettuce and a handful of mint chopped. Never was a yogurt fan till I tried this.
Pat in Ohio
Fairborn, OHio
10/20/2023
This was very tasty and an easy weeknight dinner to pull together. I did use substitutes based on what I had available, kalamata olives and regular breadcrumbs, but it all worked out nicely. Next time will add the olives called for in the recipe to the grocery list. Will definitely make again.
Lucy Parker
Ottawa, ON
5/16/2023
You’re touting this as a gluten-free recipe but panko breadcrumbs actually have wheat in them.
SP
Boston
1/20/2023
Definitely on my remake list this was delicious, I used oregano & lemon thyme as these were the herbs I had an abundance of in my garden. Omitted olives as I had none & used heirloom miximatos as a side to ad colour .. so tasty ...
Karen Elsie
SYDNEY AUSTRALIA
11/20/2022
This was great. We ended up making it more of a "bowl" situation by adding a layer of rice at the bottom and topping it with homemade Hummus. My 5yo even enjoyed it. And it made a small dent in the 50lbs of cucumbers I've pulled from the garden. Ha!
Graham
Johnson City, TN
8/9/2022
Absolutely delicious! Wish I could give it 6 stars. I didn’t salt the cucumbers because I like them really crisp - just added salt to the salad when I mixed it. As others have said I think it would be good made with lamb too. I added some red pepper flakes to the salad for extra zip. Might add some lemon zest to the yogurt next time too.
Vicki
Bellevue, WA
6/15/2022
YUM!!! Made exactly as written and it was delicious!!
Z
Aspen
6/7/2022
Very good - I could see also working well with lamb. I added the pine nuts on top after plating the rest, and mixed some sprouts with a little purple in them because I was feeling fancy and I like to amp up the greens. Sprinkled a little aleppo pepper for garnish contrast on the white yogurt. I also blended nonfat greek yogurt with feta and olive oil instead of leaving yogurt plain. I thought this was very good and my guests also asked for details about that sauce. I could have added a little more red pepper in the meatballs themselves. I doubled the meatball recipe so I could freeze them and was glad I did because people kept going back for more. Also, cooked meatballs for about 10 mins, switching racks 5-6 mins in, and it could have used a minute less, they were on the verge of being overdone.
Lauren R
Providence, RI
11/11/2021
WOW! This was really great. As other reviewers said, it is an unusual combination, but it all comes together. I am always to salt and drain cucumbers now.I couldn't stop eating them before I even got them into the salad. The only change I made was the golden raisins. I forgot to get them so I substituted rehydrated dried cranberries. It was maybe not quite as sweet, but it does work in a pinch.
Terri
NH
9/25/2021
As others noted, this is a surprising combination but so tasty! We subbed ground turkey for the pork and also added some cherry tomatoes, but otherwise followed the recipe. Everything works so well together and the meatballs were delicious! I will definitely make again.
Suecq
Northern California
9/24/2021
Forgot to mention in previous review - I'm at elevation and meatballs were pretty much done after 10 mins, so be careful not to overcook. I also chopped the raisins in the meatballs but left them whole in the salad.
laurenrds
Truckee, CA
8/17/2021
Loved this - big hit for a small summer dinner party. We opted out of the olives in the salad because one guest wasn't fond of them, but we kept them in the meatballs and I thought they added good seasoning but didn't deter the one guest who was usually averse. Added a tomato salad and grilled bread to round out the meal and everyone agreed it was delicious and light enough to leave you satisfied but not heavy.
laurenrds
Truckee, CA
8/17/2021
Excellent! DH and I both enjoyed it. I agree that the meatballs were somewhat dry, and I will add moisture to them next time. I chopped up the raisins (as well as I could); next time I will chop the first half and add whole raisins to the salad. I was low on herbs, so I augmented them with salad greens.
browns19fan
Cleveland
7/28/2021
TagsMeatballGround PorkPorkMeatCucumberVegetableCastelvetrano OliveOliveYogurtDairyMainDinnerGluten FreeWeeknight MealsOven BakeSummerEpicurious
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