Gavurdagi Salad Variation with pomegranates, watercress and walnuts – image credit; jennychef.com
There is one tomato salad that you often come across wherever you are in Turkey; Gavurdagi Salad. Named after the Gavur mountain, part of Tarsus mountains in Southeast part of Turkey, this delicious salad is from the Gaziantep region, where many wonderfully delicious and spicy Turkish dishes come from. Gavurdagi Salad won’t typically have walnuts in it but I love the marriage of sweet and juicy tomatoes with the crunchy walnuts in my version here. The sweet and sour pomegranate molasses dressing, Nar Eksisi really complements this salad too. Here’s my recipe to if you like to make pomegranate molasses, Nar Eksisi, at home.
We made this wonderful salad at my Turkish cookery class on Dec. 14th with more variation; I added watercress and pomegranate seeds to my salad for extra freshness and texture. It really worked well and everyone greatly enjoyed it! My sincere thanks to dear Jenny for the salad image here from our Turkish cookery class. Jenny also happens to be a passionate cook and cookery teacher, please check her blog JennyChef !
Gavurdagi salad is an important part of the meze spread at kebab houses in Turkey, served with the delicious Turkish pide bread, butter and the crumbly Turkish white cheese. You can also enjoy this delicious and easy salad as a starter or accompaniment to grills, kebabs like my home made Iskender Kebab and casseroles.
My very best wishes to you all for the Festive Season and New Year, in good health and happiness. Saglikli, Mutlu bir Yeni Yil Dilegiyle,
Ozlem
- 3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
- 200 gr watercress
- ¼ onion, finely chopped
- Handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 50gr/2oz/1/3 cup walnuts, crushed – about pea size each –
- 15ml/1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 30ml/2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 5ml/1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 5ml/1 tsp sumac – optional-
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- ⅓ pomegranate seeds to serve
- In a large bowl, rub the chopped onions with the spices and seasoning; salt, sumac, red pepper flakes and ground black pepper – that will soften the onion and enable the spices to blend in well.
- Add the tomatoes, parsley and walnuts to the onions.
- Then stir in the pomegranate molasses and the extra virgin olive oil and give them a good (but gentle) mix.
- Stir in the watercress and combine well.
- Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over the salad and serve.
- Afiyet olsun.
29th January 2017 Turkish Cookery Class -a wonderful foodie gift
Lahmacun, popular Turkish thin pizza with ground meat and vegetables topping, will be at our Jan. 29th class
Leeks, carrots, onions and rice cooked in olive oil; Zeytinyagli Pirasa, is at our Jan. 29th class.
Get 2017 off to a healthy and wholesome start with my selection of Turkish supper dishes from my homeland at our Turkish cookery class at Divertimenti Cookery School on Sunday, January 29th, 12 pm – 3.30 pm. Packed full of flavor and easily reproduced at home without having to spend hours at your cooker, you will be surprised at the simplicity of such stunning dishes. During the class you will also be joined by the Turkish coffee expert, Ozerlat Coffee, who will carefully demonstrate all the rituals behind Turkish coffee making whilst offering you plenty of opportunity for tastings. Menu will include ‘Mercimek Corbasi’ (Lentil soup with cumin and red pepper flakes), ‘Zeytinyagli Pirasa’ (Leeks and carrots with olive oil, rice and lemon), ‘Lahmacun’ (Turkish thin pizza with minced meat and vegetables), ‘Cezerye’ (Caramelised carrot delight with walnuts) Turkish Coffee and Turkish Delight.
Turkish coffee, rituals and how to make it will be presented by Ozerlat Coffee at our Jan. 29th class
The classes may also make a wonderful gift for the festive season and New Year. You can view the class details and book through Divertimenti Cookery School at this link, hope you can join us!