Cucumber Salad – Mizeria

Our whole family has fond memories of the cucumber salad (MIZERIA) we used to eat at Saba and Savta’s house in Tel Aviv.

This is a very refreshing salad of thinly sliced cucumbers with snipped dill.

This salad is prepared just as it was in pre-war Krakow, Poland. Savta often made it to accompany the mid-day meal, or at holiday meals. 

We all love this salad – but have forever wondered why on earth it is called “MIZERIA”, especially when we eat it at festive, happy holidays and celebrations.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• thin crisp cucumbers (for those of you in the U.S., try to get the small so-called “Persian” or “Israeli” cucumbers – they sell them at Whole Foods Markets, or in some Middle-Eastern grocery stores. I wouldn’t use the big waxy cucumbers sold in the supermarkets).
• teaspoon sugar
• salt to taste
• lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1 or 2 teaspoons canola oil
• snipped fresh dill

Preparation:

1. Partially peel a few fresh, crispy thin cucumbers. I usually leave a few stripes of peel on the cucumber since it adds a nice color contrast to the salad.
2. On Mandoline slicer, or with serrated knife, slice the cucumbers very thin.
3. Place on strainer.
4. Sprinkle some salt on the cucumbers in strainer, and let stand for a half hour while putting a bowl with a heavy jar on it, over the cucumbers; this, together with the salt that is sprinkled on the cucumbers, helps extract some of the juices from the cucumber.
5. Put the sliced and drained cucumbers in a large bowl.
6. Add, according to taste, salt, sugar, lemon juice, teaspoon of vinegar,  canola oil.
7. Snip some fresh washed and dried dill, and add to the salad.
8. Taste and adjust seasoning.
9. Store, in refrigerator,  in closed box or covered bowl, till serving.