Recipe
Parsley and Mint Salad with Cucumber, Tomatoes & Feta
This salad is a riff on a tabouleh salad minus the bulghur wheat.
Because I have an herb garden, I have a lot of herbs in my life. I love fresh herbs in salads and dressings, to liven up a fruit salad, cooked into sauces, or sprinkled on fish. If the idea of growing your own herbs scares you, start with flat leaf parsley and mint. You will have to work hard to kill it. Actually, you will have to work hard to use it all. And to beat back the mint from taking over your yard. So, mint I recommend growing in a container of some sort. I grow mine in a raised bed and pull out anything that escapes relentlessly.
This is a salad I have been making a lot of lately. I got the idea from a couple of recipes in Boards and Spreads by Yasmin Fahr that I used to make a fancy lunch for my gardening friends. These recipes called for herbs mixed with red onions pickled in lemon juice and salt, then mixed with olive oil and dumped over a platter of sliced avocados just before serving.
I was surprised by the flavor of onions pickled in lemon and salt. It imparted a sweetness I did not expect. When the lemon juice-onions were poured over the herbs and tossed with a bit of olive oil, the flavor combination was amazing.
So, this salad is a riff on that. I use cucumbers, tomatoes, and feta instead of avocados, which makes it also a riff on tabouleh salad, of which I am not a huge fan. But I am a huge fan of this.
Parsley, mint, pickled onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta tossed with lemon juice and olive oil.
Ingredients
½ c crumbled feta cheese
¾ c fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1 T olive oil
¼ c fresh mint leaves, chopped
Fresh ground black pepper
2 T fresh chives, minced
½ t ground cumin
½ English cucumber, ½” dice
¼ t crushed red pepper flakes
½ – 1 c tomatoes, diced
Instructions
Step 1
Make the pickled onions and set aside for at least an hour. Toss them every 10 minutes or so as you make the rest of the salad. (You can also make these a day ahead and refrigerate them.)
Step 2
Chop the herbs and place into a medium to large bowl. Dice the tomatoes and cucumbers and add them, along with the crumbled feta. Toss gently to combine.
Step 3
Add the onions and about half of the lemon juice from the onions to the herbs. Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes, and the olive oil and toss to combine. Taste and add lemon juice and pepper as needed.
Step 4
Serve in a bowl or on a platter.
Parsley and Mint Salad with Cucumber, Tomatoes & Feta
Ingredients
Instructions
- Make the pickled onions and set aside for at least an hour. Toss them every 10 minutes or so as you make the rest of the salad. (You can also make these a day ahead and refrigerate them.)
- Chop the herbs and place into a medium to large bowl. Dice the tomatoes and cucumbers and add them, along with the crumbled feta. Toss gently to combine.
- Add the onions and about half of the lemon juice from the onions to the herbs. Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes, and the olive oil and toss to combine. Taste and add lemon juice and pepper as needed.
- Serve in a bowl or on a platter.