Mexican Cucumber Salad is such a refreshing treat you will want to have almost everyday when the weather gets hotter. It is amzingly cooling thanks to the naturally refreshing flavors of cucumber and lime. Also it is spiced up with New Mexican Chile Powder, which is a gift from one of my favorite food bloggers who visited Turkey a few weeks ago. Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen stopped by Istanbul during her travel to Kenya and we had the chance of spending an unforgettable day together. Keep on reading to see some pictures of us besides the recipe for this amazing Mexican cucumber salad.
If you are looking for a refreshing drink, I’d suggest Fresh Cucumber Lemonade. But this Mexican Cucumber Salad is a perfect side as it is as refreshing. There are different types of cucumbers and I’ve searched for the type I use for this recipe. We have two types sold commonly at markets in Turkey; one of them is just about 3-4 inches and the other is a little longer, about 6-7 inches. Both are thin-skinned and almost seedless, so we can have them with their skin on. I don’t know why but I’ve found that this type of cucumber is called Persian cucumber. Also, I’ve learnt that the ones sold in the USA are mostly with thicker skin and larger seeds, so you may need to peel the cucumbers to make this Mexican Cucumber Salad.
If you can find English cucumbers in your area, you can use them as well because they are similar to Persian cucumbers. If you can’t find either of these and if you have to use large cucumbers with thick skin and bigger seeds, just peel them, remove the seeds and chop them as you desire. I just like using my potato peeler to slice the cucumbers to give my Mexican Cucumber Salad a nicer look.
I must thank to Kalyn for the new Mexican chile powder, which has already become one of my favorite spices. I’m just trying to use it in our dishes as little as I can so that I don’t finish it too quickly. The earthy and sweet flavor of this spice goes perfectly with this tangy cucumber salad. And I love the color addition on the salad as well. To make the salad even more Mexican, I add some corn too. A perfect combo, isn’t it?
You will find the recipe for this refreshing Mexican Cucumber Salad at the bottom but let me share some of our pictures with Kalyn in Istanbul. She came with her friend Donna, who is a food blogger too. I must thank Kalyn for introducing Donna and her blog Apron Strings. I went to Istanbul with my husband Yusuf to meet them. We weren’t very familiar to the city though.
We were so lucky that our lovely friend Ilke of Ilke’s Kitchen was in the city too and she was originally from there. She was so kind to show us around for two days. Thanks a million Ilke! Unfortunately we don’t have a picture of Ilke and Yusuf here since the ones with them were badly taken. We just had a selfie I shared on instagram, and unfortunately it is the only photo of us all.
Believe or not we started the day with a mixed plate of baklava by Güllüoğlu and Turkish tea. It is always to die for! If you happen to visit Istanbul one day, you should definitely go to their place and taste these beauties yourself. I’m sure it won’t be easy to leave the place once you get the first bite.
After walking around the city and having a Bosphorus tour with a boat, the only thing that would remove our tiredness was these special hamburgers. They are originally called wet hamburgers, maybe steamed hamburger would be better to define them. It is quite different from the worldwide known hamburgers. The bread slices are soaked in a garlicky tomato sauce and then steamed. They are in very small size and mostly eaten as a snack.
It was such an unforgettable day for us and have already missed these wonderful people. Hope we meet again!
