Turkish · appetizer

Zahter Salatası (Wild Thyme Leaf Salad)

Zahter Salatası (Wild Thyme Leaf Salad) reads citrus 6.0, sourness 5.5 and richness 4.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Turkish appetizer, about 25 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 3.7 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 2.5 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 7.7 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.5 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 4.4 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.9 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Citrus 6.0 · Sourness 5.5 · Richness 4.1 · Salinity 3.6 · Allium 3.4 · Herbaceous 3.3 · Fruity 2.1 · Sweetness 1.5 · Bitterness 1.3 · Heat 1.3 · Nutty 1.0 · Umami 1.0 · Warm Spice 1.0 · Earthy 0.7 · Floral 0.7

What's in it (9)

• zahter — 200 g
• onion — 80 g
• salt — 3 g
• sumac — 30 g
• olive oil — 54 g
• lemon juice — 30 g
• tomatoes — 200 g
• maraş pepper flakes — 5 g
• sürk — 120 g

Time & effort: about 25 min (15 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 10.9 kcal, 0.3 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 2.2 g carbs

Dietary: Vegetarian · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

1. This is made with the fresh green herb, not the dried za'atar blend — in Antakya it is sold in bunches in spring, and the season is short. Strip the leaves and soft tips from the stems, discarding anything woody; you want about 120 g of leaf. Wash in two changes of cold water and dry thoroughly in a cloth, about 10 minutes of work.
2. Rub the sliced onion with the salt and the ground sumac for a minute, until it slackens, loses its raw edge and stains purple.
3. Whisk the olive oil and lemon juice with the Maraş flakes into a loose dressing. Antakya cooks also dress this with pomegranate molasses instead of lemon; the lemon-and-sumac version below is the sharper, plainer one.
4. Toss the zahter leaves and the tomatoes with the sumac onion and the dressing, using your hands so the leaves are coated rather than bruised.
5. Let it stand 10 minutes — the leaves are stiff and want a little time to relax into the oil — then taste for salt.
6. Crumble the sürk over the top. Sürk is Hatay's dry curd cheese, kneaded with chilli, cumin, thyme and mint and dried into cones; it is salty and hot, and it is what turns this from a herb salad into a meze. Serve with warm flatbread.
7. Substitutions: çökelek can stand in for the sürk.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Salata Baladi (Egyptian Country Salad) — Egyptian
• Moqueca Capixaba — Brazilian
• Azifa (Green Lentil Salad) — Ethiopian
• Ensalada de Aguacate (Avocado Salad) — Cuban
• Fattoush — Lebanese

Keep reading: what citrus, sourness, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.