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Vegan Creamy Cucumber Salad with Dill, Blackberries, Pepitas and Pomegranate Molasses

Vegan Creamy Cucumber Salad with Dill, Blackberries & Pepitas

An easy, healthy summer salad with cucumbers, fresh dill, blackberries, and toasted pepitas served with a Vegan Sour Cream Dressing made from cashew nuts.

Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine #Vegan, healthy, Middle Eastern
Keyword creamy, cucumber, dairy-free, easy, healthy, salad, vegan
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Resting time 30 minutes
Total Time 17 minutes
Author Kiki Johnson

Ingredients

For the Vegan Sour Cream

  • 1 cup raw cashews soaked in water for at least 5 to 6 hours
  • ½ cup water
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
  • 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard optional
  • 1/4 tsp lemon zest optional

For the salad

  • 2 big cucumbers
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ½ cup unsalted pepitas
  • 3 twigs mint leaves
  • 5 tbsp chopped fresh dill
  • 15 fresh blackberries
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the Vegan Sour Cream Dressing

  • 1 cup vegan sour cream
  • 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses you really only need about 1/8 cup
  • salt pepper to taste

Instructions

For the Vegan Sour Cream (prep in advance)

  1. Drain and rinse your soaked cashew nuts until the water runs clear.
  2. In a high-speed blender, combine the nuts with the remaining ingredients for the Vegan Sour Cream and blend until the mixture is very smooth and creamy. As you blend, stop to scrape down the sides as necessary.
  3. Taste and add more vinegar or a grating of lemon zest, if you would like more tang, or additional salt if a more intense flavor is desired. Pour into a container and chill. This step can be prepared up to 5 days in advance. The sour cream will thicken up a bit more as you let it rest, so you might want to thin it by whisking in a small amount of water later.

For the salad

  1. Wash the cucumbers and slice them. Put the pieces of cucumber into a large bowl and sprinkle 1 tbsp of salt over them. Let stand for 20 minutes, until they lose some water. Rinse them quickly and let stand for another 10 minutes. Put them on a plate with paper towels. Blot them dry. 

  2. While your cucumbers are resting, toast the pepitas in a pan on medium-high heat unit fragrant. Let them cool on a little plate. 

    Chop dill and mint leaves.

  3. Return cucumbers to the salad bowl and add the vegan sour cream, 2 tbsp of pomegranate molasses, pepitas, and chopped herbs. Gently toss the ingredients to combine. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

  4. Spoon the salad into serving plates and drizzle with the remaining pomegranate molasses. Serve