Cucumber Salad with Crème fraiche (Concombre à la Crème)

“Concombre à la Crème” is an easy-breezy recipe that you can often find on French tables during Summer time. This delicious chilled salad features crunchy cucumber, tangy shallots and herbs all tossed together in – you guessed it – smooth crème fraiche. This is a quick and easy recipe to have on hand as it’s so refreshing and the perfect accompaniment to your grilled meats, fish or to pack up for a sunny picnic or potluck.

Cooking notes:

• You can choose to leave the cucumber unpeeled, peel just a few stripes (as pictures here) or peel the cucumber entirely.
• Chives are traditionally used in this French-style Cucumber Salad, but dill works wonderfully as well – same quantities.
• My Cucumber Salad recipe is on the lighter side, and I usually use only ¼ cup of crème fraiche for 1 cucumber. You can use up to 1/3 cup of crème fraiche if you yearn for a creamier salad.
• Although it wasn’t easy to find up until a few years ago, Crème fraiche has now become common in grocery stores in Canada and the US. You can usually find it next to sour creams. Two of my favorite brands I recommend are Liberte and Maison Riviera.
• Once you stir in the crème fraiche and as the salad sits, the crème tends to liquefy and loses its creaminess. This is why I recommend only stirring in the crème fraiche right before serving.

I hope you’ll love this Cucumber Salad with Crème fraiche (Concombre à la Crème) as much as I do! 

More Summer-perfect French Salads: 

• Classic French Celery Root  Remoulade
• Classic French-style Potato Salad 
• Provençal Chickpea Salad with Olives, Anchovies and Celery
• French-Style Couscous Salad

Cucumber Salad with Crème fraiche (Concombre à la Crème)

Print Recipe

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 0 Minutes 0 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.8/5

( 4 voted )

Ingredients

1 large cucumber
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp (15ml) white wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 small shallot, peeled and diced
1 tbsp chopped chive
½ tsp black pepper
¼ cup (about 70g) of crème fraiche
½ sea salt

Instructions

Step 1 – Peel the cucumber (optional), cut it in half lengthwise and then slice it into ¼-inch thick half moons. Place the cucumber slices in a colander and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Gently toss to coat, cover the colander with a lid/plate and let drain in the sink for about 30 minutes.

Rinse the cucumber under cold water. Pat dry thoroughly with a dish cloth or paper towel and transfer into a large bowl.

Step 2 – In a small bowl, whisk together the wine vinegar and sugar with a fork until the sugar has dissolved. Add the shallots, chive and black pepper. Pour over top of the cucumber and toss gently to coat. Cover and chill the salad until ready to serve.

Step 3 – Just before serving, add the crème fraiche and gently mix to coat the cucumber. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve.