The Freshest, Coolest Salad You Can Make for Summer or Anytime

 Our Fourth of July pot-luck picnic was lovely. Friends gathered in a park opposite the local high school to share a meal and then watch fireworks. Everyone made delicious dishes. One friend liked a chopped salad I made and asked for the recipe. 

Adapted from a classic Persian salad, usually made with roughly chopped tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, Italian parsley and (often) feta, mine is made with a few more ingredients and the bits are cut smaller, so the flavors combine more easily. For a vegan version, omit the feta.

The salad goes well with roast chicken, grilled sausages, charred steak or sautéed tofu or by itself with avocado slices.

For the tomatoes, I prefer cherry tomatoes, but any kind of ripe tomato will do. Only use Persian cucumbers ("cukes"). To build out the flavors and textures, I add cooked corn kernels, chopped green olives and ripe avocado. For the dressing, I prefer Japanese rice wine because it is less harsh than other salad vinegars mixed with extra virgin olive oil.

For seasoning, I keep it simple. Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. For a hint of heat, I sprinkle a small amount of Korean pepper flakes but Italian pepper flakes will be as good. And, with a nod to the time I spent in Morocco where I learned to make pickles, I sprinkle on a few flakes of dried oregano.

Chopped Cherry Tomato-Italian Parsley-Persian Cukes and Feta Salad

Serves 4

Time to prepare: 10 minutes

Ingredients 

1 large basket cherry tomatoes, washed, dried, stems removed, quartered

2 medium sized Persian cukes, washed, peeled, cut into small pieces, the size of the quartered cherry tomatoes 

1 bunch Italian parsley, washed, dried, leaves only finely chopped, stems discarded or saved to make vegetable stock

1-2 tablespoons feta, crumbled, preferably Bulgarian which is creamy and less salty than other fetas

1/4 cup olives, pitted, roughly chopped

1/4 cup charred or boiled corn kernels

1/2-1 ripe avocado, washed, peeled, pit removed, cut into pieces the size of the quartered cherry tomatoes (if serving with slices of avocado, omit in the salad)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (possibly more, to taste)

1 teaspoon Japanese rice vinegar (not seasoned)

Sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

Korean pepper powder or Italian pepper flakes, sprinkled, to taste

Directions

Combine all of the above in a salad bowl. Toss well to coat ingredients with the dressing and seasonings. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve cold with a protein or sliced avocado and ice-cold beers or glasses of chilled white wine.