Turkish Shepherd's Salad
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 45 min.
A medley of juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, tender green beans, bright peppers, crunchy radishes - all drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and topped with feta cheese. Çoban Salatasi, aka Choban Salatasi, is a classical dish from Turkey, very appropriate for the summer. Serve as a side dish or as a light entrée with a crusty bread - in Turkey one would use the ubiquitous "Ekmek".
Ingredients:
Use genuine feta cheese, i.e. the one made from goat's not cow's milk. In Turkey you would use "Beyaz Peynir" cheese.
- 250gr (1/2 lb) firm feta cheese, not too salty, sliced
- 500 gr (1 lb) seedless cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 4 medium size tomatoes, seeded and sliced
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 180 gr (6 oz) green beans, trimmed and cut in the middle
- 1 red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 yellow pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil for sautéing the peppers
- 1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cilantro leaves, left whole, thick stems removed
- 4 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp white balsamic vinegar or white vinegar with low acidity
- l6 black oil cured olives
Preparation:
Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add salt and the green beans. Cook them until tender. Refresh green beans under cold water to preserve the color. Drain and set aside to cool.
Warm 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté the pepper and onion slices briefly until they just begin to soften up. Set aside to cool.
Wash coriander leaves and leave them on paper towels to dry.
Make a marinade out of the olive oil, vinegar, chopped dill, salt and freshly ground pepper.
When ready to serve arrange all ingredients in a nice fashion over the plates. Top with the feta cheese and drizzle marinade over it.