This light and refreshing side dish was created by the chefs at blackberry farm, an award-winning luxury hotel and resort in eastern tennessee. The ingredientssliced cucumbers and sweet onions, fresh mint, pickled blackberriesmight sound like an unusual combination, but the homemade tangy-sweet blackberry vinaigrette brings everything together deliciously. The pickled blackberries can be made up to a week in advance. Be sure to reserve the extra blackberry vinegar from the pickling liquid. It will leave you with enough vinegar for months of delicious salads. Serve this shaved cucumber salad with pickled blackberries on a warm summer night alongside grilled fish, shrimp, or chicken for a simple and elegant supper. This salad was inspired by a basket of onions, blackberries, cucumbers, and mint that showed up in the kitchen one day, says sarah steffan, executive chef of the dogwood restaurant at blackberry farm. Soak the onions in salted water and ice to crisp them up and mellow them out.
