Turkish Shepherd’s Salad

I am really enjoying this recipe this summer. I found sumac at Trader Joe's. Substituted red chili flakes for Turkish pepper and it tastes good to me. I originally tried the recipe because my CSA box has had Italian frying peppers in it - I had no idea they were so good! I usually make fresh pico de gallo in the summer, but I have been making this every week instead. It does release a lot of delicious liquid, so I just eat it from a bowl with a spoon. The taste of summer!

Lived in Turkey for years, and ate many a version of çoban salatasi. For those having trouble with substitutions, the core ingredients are tomatoes, cucumber (usually peeled), red onion, parsley, sumac, salt, lemon juice, and olive oil. You can add kirmizi biber (Turkish red pepper), but paprika can work, too. Never had it with green pepper, only sometimes with mint, rarely dill. The keys are to chop the veggies fine, use a lot of parsley, and don't skimp on good-quality olive oil. Afiyet olsun!

If it makes shopping for ingredients any easier, be aware that "green Italian frying peppers" are often sold under the name of Cubanelle peppers. I couldn't find them under either name this time around, so I substituted a large green Anaheim pepper. It's a tad thicker and, though mild, has a bit more heat. But the difference seems negligible, and you could always adjust with less Aleppo pepper.