Turkish Shepherd’s Salad
Updated July 12, 2023
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 5 minutes, plus 30 minutes' refrigeration
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
1 pound tomatoes, diced
¾ pound cucumbers (1 European or 4 Persian), diced
1 green pepper, preferably a long green Italian frying pepper, seeded and diced
½ small red onion, sliced, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes, drained and rinsed
¼ cup (loosely packed) coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped dill
2 tablespoons chopped mint
1 teaspoon sumac
½ to 1 teaspoon Turkish or Aleppo pepper
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 to 2 ounces feta, crumbled (¼ to ½ cup) (optional)
Black olives as desired (optional)
Romaine lettuce leaves and pita bread for serving (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
14 grams carbs; 8 milligrams cholesterol; 144 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 9 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 439 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein; 4 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Combine all of the ingredients except the olives and romaine in a large bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes toss together, taste and adjust seasonings. Garnish with olives and serve, with pita bread and romaine lettuce if desired.
Advance preparation: You can make the salad several hours before you serve it. The cucumbers and tomatoes will release water, so if you are making it in advance you might want to put off salting it until shortly before serving.
Private Notes
Comments
I am really enjoying this recipe this summer. I found sumac at Trader Joe's. Substituted red chili flakes for Turkish pepper and it tastes good to me. I originally tried the recipe because my CSA box has had Italian frying peppers in it - I had no idea they were so good! I usually make fresh pico de gallo in the summer, but I have been making this every week instead. It does release a lot of delicious liquid, so I just eat it from a bowl with a spoon. The taste of summer!
Lived in Turkey for years, and ate many a version of çoban salatasi. For those having trouble with substitutions, the core ingredients are tomatoes, cucumber (usually peeled), red onion, parsley, sumac, salt, lemon juice, and olive oil. You can add kirmizi biber (Turkish red pepper), but paprika can work, too. Never had it with green pepper, only sometimes with mint, rarely dill. The keys are to chop the veggies fine, use a lot of parsley, and don't skimp on good-quality olive oil. Afiyet olsun!
I threw in a can of garbanzo beans to add some protein. It was a nice touch.
Brilliant!
For some reason, u originally have this 4 stars. I have no idea why—I’ve made it several times and it’s my go-to recipe every summer. I love it and make it as is. Moved it to 5 stars! For those on the fence, you’ll find you use sumac more often than you expect. Great on chicken or potatoes, or roasted veggies. Make this without it and it’s still good…but better with the sumac!
I survived two weeks on this salad in Greece. The semi warm food on the steam tables since the morning just nauseated me so I had the Greek version of the salad every night!