Bowl of Turkmen Summer Salad
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Turkmen Summer Salad


Turkmenistan
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2 #
**
1-1/2 hrs
Yes		 This simple chopped salad incorporates several summer vegetables and herbs. It's similar to a Turkish Spoon Salad, though ingredients can vary a lot in both countries. See Note-5 for method.




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6-1/2
7
5
9
6
3
1
2
2
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1
1/3
1/2
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2
1
1
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oz
oz
oz
oz


cl
T
T
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t
t
t
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T
T
T
-- Vegetables / Herbs  
Cabbage, white  
Tomato
Mild Chilis (1)  
Cucumbers (2)
Radishes
Scallions
Garlic
Dill, fresh
Parsley, flat
-- Seasonings
Salt
Pepper
Chili Flake (3)
-- Dressing
Oil (4)
Lemon Juice
Vinegar, wine

Two Pounds should give you at least 6 salad size servings.

Make   -   (1-1/2 hrs - 20 min work)
  1. Chop all VEGETABLES / HERBS quite small (see Note-5 on method). Mix all together.
  2. Mix Seasoning items into the Salad.
  3. Mix Oil into the salad, then Lemon Juice and Vinegar.
  4. Chill for an hour or so before serving to let flavors blend.
NOTES: Make   -   (20 min)
  1. Mild Chili:   The pattern recipe calls for Cubanelles (Italian Frying Peppers). Those are not found here in Southern California, so we use Armenian / Turkish chilis (closer to Central Asia anyway), or similar non-hot yellow-green Hungarians. Lacking any of those, I'd use 5 ounces of Green Anaheims, core, seeds and membranes removed. For details, see our Chilis page.
  2. Cucumbers:   Use Persian or some other small diameter cucumber that doesn't need peeling or seeding (English, Mediterranean, European, Japanese - or Kirby if you can't get the others). If you have only the standard waxed green blimps, peel and seed them before weighing.
  3. Chili Flake:   If it's for me, I use 1/2 t Indian Khandela flake, but if for gests, I use 1/2 t Korean flake, which is less hot and very available around here. Adjust to your own taste and use whatever chili you like. For details see our Chili Powder / Flake page.
  4. Oil:   Oils traditionally used in Turkmenistan are Cottonseed, Peanut, and Sunflower seed - however - the country is rapidly ramping up Olive Oil production using machinery from Italy, so I see no violation of authenticity in using Extra Virgin Olive Oil in this salad.
  5. Chopping:   Some say you can chop with a food processor if you're really careful. In my experience, by time a food processor has chopped evenly, what it's chopping is chopped too fine. I insist on doing salads like this by hand, and not by chopping, but by cutting. That way I can get it extremely uniform. Yes, it takes longer, but the result is much better, and you don't have to clean and put away the processor.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
ngv_summer1 140914 One Turkmen Kitchen   -   www.clovegarden.com
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