Cucumbers in Sour Cream (Polish Mizeria)
The Polish name for cucumbers in sour cream is mizeria, literally meaning "misery." But this easy and delightful, cooling salad is anything but miserable. It is a great accompaniment to pork, ham, chicken, and fish, or as a tasty dish on a vegetarian buffet. It also fits in nicely at the summer barbecue - just be sure not to let it sit out in the heat for too long. The name of this dish is attributed to Queen Bona Sforza, an Italian princess who married Polish King Sigismund I in the 16th century. Homesick for her native Italy where cucumbers were common, every time she ate this combination of cucumbers and sour cream it made her cry. Hence the Polish word for "misery," derived from the Latin miseriae, was given to this dish. For this recipe, it is best to choose thin cucumbers with small seeds (or the seedless variety) and dress the salad just before serving so the dish stays nice and crisp. Traditionally, vinegar is used in the dressing, but since it may thin the mixture out too much, it is included as an optional ingredient, leaving the choice up to you.
Cucumbers:
1 large cucumber, with or without seeds, trimmed and peeled
sea salt
Dressing:
½ cup sour cream
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. white vinegar, optional
1 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
black pepper, freshly ground
Garnish:
fresh dill
Slice the cucumber thinly. Place the cucumber slices in a colander and salt the cucumbers liberally. Allow the salted cucumbers to stand for 30 minutes.
While the cucumbers are sitting, make the dressing. In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, sugar, vinegar (if using), and fresh dill until well blended. Cover the dressing and refrigerate until ready to assemble the salad.
Pat the cucumbers dry. Place in a medium bowl and add the dressing. Toss with the cucumber slices. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Chill the cucumber salad until very cold.
Sprinkle with additional dill, if desired, before serving.
Makes 4 servings.
Cook's Notes:
- For a pretty presentation, before peeling the cucumber, run a channel knife or fork down the length of the cucumbers to create shallow grooves.
- Salting the cucumbers is an important step in this recipe that should not be skipped. Cucumbers hold a lot of water, which is what makes them so refreshing. But the water content also will make the dish they're used in soggy. Salting the vegetable beforehand will pull out all that liquid, leaving nice and crisp pieces of cucumber, perfect for adding to any dish, especially one that includes sour cream.
- If you are out of sour cream or don't want to use it, replace it with plain, full-fat regular yogurt or Greek yogurt instead. It will still be delicious, but it may need to be thinned out a little bit.
- You can make these cucumbers in sour cream the night before you plan to serve them, chilling for several hours or up to overnight. They are really best as soon as they're served, crispy and cold from the fridge. Leftovers will keep for up to two days before they start becoming too watery. Freezing this dish is not ideal.