Chef's Recipes

Stanbuli's shepherd's salad (coban salata)

Try this fresh, light side salad from Turkish restaurant Stanbuli served with a tangy lemon dressing that invigorates the senses.

  • 25 mins preparation
  • 1 min cooking
  • Serves 6
  • Print
    Print
The shepherd's salad (Coban salata)
"This is a classic Turkish salad," says Kasif. "Everything is meticulously washed, peeled and cut, and bursting with freshness. It's quite heavily dressed so you can mop up the salad juices with bread, or drink it." Purslane is a crisp, mild-flavoured green ideally suited to absorbing the flavours of this salad. If you can't find it, use watercress instead.
Pictured with Sultan's delight.

Ingredients

  • 2 tomatoes, a cross scored on bases
  • 1 large Lebanese cucumber
  • 1 long red chilli
  • 1 each pale green and red bullhorn capsicum
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 radishes, peeled
  • 1 bunch purslane, leaves picked
  • ½ cup flat-leaf parsley, firmly packed
  • ½ cup dill, firmly packed
Lemon dressing
  • 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1½ tbsp lemon juice
  • 1½ tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • ½ tsp sumac

Method

Main
  • 1
    Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 10-20 seconds, refresh in iced water, then peel. Wash remaining vegetables thoroughly, then dry lightly – a little water left on them is desirable. Cut tomatoes and vegetables into 1cm dice and transfer to a bowl with purslane and herbs.
  • 2
    For lemon dressing, whisk ingredients and a pinch of ground black pepper to combine. Drizzle dressing over salad, toss to combine, season to taste and serve.