Turkish Cucumber-Tomato-Olive Chopped Salad with Sumac ♥


So yeah, call me summer's broken record. Every year about this time I am surprised to experience the same thing: just how easy and fun it is to cook when tonight's tomatoes were picked from the garden this morning, when we've been waiting/watching patiently for just the right moment to pluck an expanding green pepper from the vine, not too big, not too small.
Not that there's any cooking to throw together this little gem of a salad, just some quality time with a knife and cutting board, is all.
This Turkish Chopped Salad was a very-last-minute addition to a family swim party, good thing we all played hard in the pool because man-alive, did we ever eat! Green Chile Burgers topped with jack cheese and the oh-so-gorgeous Green Chile Sauce (Salsa Verde) I'd made the night before. Ratatouille filled with vegetables from the garden. We were so full, so satisfied that instead of making the peach cobbler I'd intended, I plopped the kids at the kitchen table with a jug of milk and Banana Oatmeal Cookies. My kinda party.
Now this crew rarely raves. But the Green Chile Sauce and this Turkish Chopped Salad, they got compliments. And more compliments. And more compliments.
I'll take a little credit but mostly, the garden earned all the accolades. The peppers this year are oh-so-good and I really do recommend skin-thinned garden peppers here (and the green ones, to boot) versus their thicker-skinned grocery store Dutch bell pepper counterparts.
RECIPE for TURKISH CUCUMEBER-TOMATO-OLIVE CHOPPED SALAD with SUMAC
Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 20 minutes
Makes about 5 cups
Time to table: 20 minutes
Makes about 5 cups
CHOPPED SALAD
Collect about 5 cups chopped vegetables, total
Cucumber
Green pepper
Super-ripe summer tomatoes
Onion or red onion
Good olives (don't skip)
Fresh parsley & mint
DRESSING
1 clove garlic
Zest & juice 2 lemons (about 4 tablespoons lemon juice)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon sumac (don't skip)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
CHOPPED SALAD Chop all the vegetables into equal-size pieces, some times I'll do big pieces, here I wanted the salad to go a long way so I chopped everything into small pieces. Even the olives!
DRESSING In a mini food processor, chop the garlic into tiny bits. Add the remaining ingredients, taste and adjust the seasoning.
COMBINE Just before serving, toss the dressing into the vegetables and fresh herbs. Serve immediately.
MAKE-AHEAD TIPS This is an easy salad to make ahead of time. Just keep three separate containers until it's time to serve, the chopped vegetables, the parsley/mint and the Dressing.
LEFTOVERS Turkish Chopped Salad is best within an hour or so of mixing but stays quite fresh for a couple of days without turning soggy.
ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES





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COOKING IN SEASON: THIS SAME WEEK ACROSS THE YEARS
Tomato & Zucchini Salad (< so many favorites this week, there's no picking just one!)





















A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.
© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2018
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.
© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2018
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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna