A Tale of Two Fighting Sisters: Shepherd's Salad and Greek Salad

An ongoing, mostly good natured, fight: Which is better - Greek Salad or the Turkish version of it called Shepherd's Salad?

To put an end to this squabble, I have shared recipes for both below. Read them, in fact make the two salads and put them side by side. Then eat them. And tell me which one is better. When you look at them side by side, the Greek Salad looks better. Which is also why it is the one featured in the top image of this post. The reason for this is that the ingredients only get chopped very coarsely. So, things retain their shape, their visual texture.

In the Turkish version we have the exact identical ingredients (one salad says vinegar, the other lemon juice - that is only the personal preference of the author, these too are interchangeable). The difference lies in how finely they are chopped. In the Turkish version of the salad the ingredients get chopped as small as you can get them to be, without falling apart. Tiny cubes of equal size. Which makes for a less photogenic salad, but - at least for me - a tastier one.

One other thing that I should probably add is that normally the Turkish Shpeherd's Salad does not have any cheese. There is another name for the one with cheese, we call that the "Gavurdağ Salatası" (transl. infidel's mountain salad). And that is of course, a difference. But this is not a carved in stone rule, people very often add Feta to Shpeherd's Salad, if there is some at hand.

But anyway, now taste them. Get someone to do a blindfold test, in fact. And then put your hand on your heart and tell me if you our your trial subject noticed the slightest difference in taste.

I rest my case... :-D


INGREDIENTS: SHEPHERD'S SALAD
  • 2 large tomatoes
  • 2 medium cucumbers
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 1 small red onion
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, or Turkish white cheese
  • Turkish or Greek black olives, for garnish 

INGREDIENTS: GREEK SALAD
  • 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried dill or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 large plum tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
  • 3/4 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 red onion, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cup pitted black olives, coarsely chopped
  • Heaping 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese 


INSTRUCTIONS: SHEPHERD'S SALAD
  • Gather the ingredients.
  • Wash and pat dry the vegetables. With a sharp paring knife, skin the tomatoes then dice them into cubes, being careful not to crush the flesh.
  • Remove the stems and seeds from the pepper and peel the cucumbers and red onion, if using. Dice all of the vegetables into cubes about the same size as the tomatoes.
  • Put all the diced vegetables in a serving bowl, add the chopped parsley, and toss gently with your fingers.
  • In an empty jar or covered container, combine the oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and shake well. Pour the mixture over the salad and toss gently.
  • Top the salad with the feta, black olives, and a bit more chopped parsley.
  • Let the salad rest a few minutes before serving. Enjoy with pita or crusty bread for soaking up the dressing.

INSTRUCTIONS: GREEK SALAD
Make dressing:
Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, vinegar, oregano, and dill together until blended. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Combine salad ingredients:
Combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, bell pepper, olives in a bowl. Toss with dressing. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.



Shepherd's Salad recipe shamelessly filched from: 
Thank you The Spruce Eats! :-)

Greek Salad recipe shamelessly filched from: 
Thank you Simply Recipes! :-)

Images: Unsplash, Pexels and Freepik.



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