Your Best Cucumber Recipe

Simple, serene ingredients -- English cucumber, Vidalia onion, fresh dill, rice wine vinegar, lemon zest (Meyer if you've got it), and Greek yogurt

Though you're using a sweet onion, you still want to slice it as thinly as possible.

Amanda is away on vacation -- Merrill misses her, but knows how to have a grand time alone in the kitchen too (that rocket fuel disguised as iced coffee from Gorilla Coffee might have something to do with it).

It also helps her make quick work of a cucumber with Amanda's nifty OXO handheld mandoline.

The onion and cucumber get a dose of salt to soften them and wick away some moisture that might otherwise water down the dressing.

After the salted cukes and onions spend an hour in the refrigerator, you can see how much juice would have ended up in your dressing!

Merrill rinses away any excess salt...

...and spreads the veggies on a clean towel to dry off. 

Amanda's technique for drying and storing washed salad greens works well here -- just roll everything up in a clean, dry kitchen towel.

After sweating all that moisture out, it would be a shame to not dry these guys thoroughly.

Just finishing touches remain: First, rice wine vinegar for a bit of sweet acidity.

Then Greek yogurt and lemon zest -- Lizthechef is lucky enough to have a Meyer lemon tree in her backyard, but if you don't, regular lemon zest is just fine.

Two tablespoons of chopped fresh dill, from a veritable dill forest

Fold in the ingredients till you have a nice, even blanket of dressing -- this tastes great now, and even better after chilling for an hour.

Japanese cucumbers are skinnier than standard cukes. These, and feathery shiso leaves, are the key to this dish.

Teri calls for apple cider vinegar, which is more mellow than white vinegar.

The pickles are slightly sweet from the addition of sugar, but they also benefit from a healthy tablespoonful of salt.

Mirin, a sweet rice wine for cooking, adds more tart and more sweet.

Unless you're very patient or have an army of helpers, you will want to use a mandoline to slice your cukes.

Even slices every time!

Merrill tackles the final cuke.

Teri has you stack 8 shiso leaves and roll them like a cigar.

Slicing them this way creates lovely thin ribbons (a.k.a. a chiffonade).

The cucumber and the shiso join the pickling liquid.

A quick mix with the hands, and then, into the fridge!