Fresh Shepard's Salad

Creamy, crunchy, tangy- a texture-lover´s delight.

By. Liliana Kotval

Love your vegetables as much as me? This recipe was inspired by a salad I ordered at a Turkish restaurant in NYC. It is such a great palate cleanser and refresher, not to mention is crunchy and tangy and goes well with a nice piece of soft and warm bread.

This recipe recreates this salad that I had, incorporating influences from the Czech šopský (shop-skee) salát that has feta, onion, pepper, tomato, and cucumber- very similar to this Shepard's salad.

This salad is so versatile, which is probably why is appears in several cultures. I've heard that Bulgarians also have this type of salad in their cuisine. 

INGREDIENTS:

• ​25-30 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

• 1/2 medium red onion, diced

• 1 bell pepper, chopped

• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

• 1 medium cucumber, chopped

• a bunch of fresh parsley, minced

• balsamic vinegar and olive oil for topping

• lemon juice (optional)

PROCEDURE:

1. ​Wash and prepare all of the vegetables, cutting, dicing, etc.

2. Put all cut vegetables into a large bowl and mix. Add the feta cheese. Top with diced parsley or dried oregano if parsley is not available.

3. Top with a drizzling of balsamic vinegar and olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice if you'd like. Add salt and pepper to taste.