This salad is multi-purpose: it holds its own, and it can be a side dish; you could even treat it like a table salsa and make it for parties where you’ve got hummus, baba ghanouj, or labneh (or all three!) on your table. We like to use it almost like a relish, a spoonful of this on top of a humble meal brings such boost of freshness to whatever you’re eating. If you’re feeling creative, you can add some tomatoes or olives to this if you like; they’d be delicious additions and would add even more beautiful colors and textures to the dish.

Cucumber Salad with Feta and Herbs:

• ⅔ cup crumbled feta cheese

• ⅓ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

• ⅓ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

• ¼ cup fresh dill, chopped

• 1 green onion, thinly sliced

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• ¼ cup olive oil

• Zest and juice of one large lemon (ideally about ¼ cup of juice)

• ½ large English cucumber, cut into cubes no larger than ½ inch

• ¼ of a small red onion, finely diced (about ¼–⅓ of a cup)

• Salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl large enough to hold all of your ingredients, add the feta, parsley, cilantro, dill, green onion, oregano, olive oil, lemon juice and zest and mix together. Allow the salt and acid to draw some of the moisture out of the herbs for a couple minutes.

Add cucumber and red onion to the herb mixture and toss it until everything is coated in the fresh dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve. This salad keeps well in the fridge for a few days.

Makes about 3 cups.