Turkish · salad

Zeytin Piyazı (Olive, Walnut and Pomegranate Molasses Salad)

Zeytin Piyazı (Olive, Walnut and Pomegranate Molasses Salad) reads fruity 5.2, sweetness 4.1 and nutty 4.0 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Turkish salad, about 36 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Fruity 5.2 · Sweetness 4.1 · Nutty 4.0 · Richness 3.8 · Salinity 3.5 · Sourness 3.3 · Floral 3.0 · Allium 2.6 · Herbaceous 2.3 · Earthy 2.3 · Bitterness 1.3 · Heat 1.1 · Umami 0.9 · Citrus 0.7

What's in it (11)

Time & effort: about 36 min (16 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 119.7 kcal, 2.2 g protein, 8.4 g fat, 9.2 g carbs

Dietary: Vegan — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

  1. Buy real oil-cured black olives, not the pitted brine-packed ones — this salad is mostly olive, and a flabby olive makes a flabby salad. Pit them by pressing with the flat of a knife, then chop each into three or four pieces.
  2. Put the sliced onion in a bowl with the salt and rub it between your fingers for a minute until it softens and weeps. This takes the raw bite out without cooking it.
  3. Add the olives, walnuts, green pepper and parsley to the onion.
  4. Whisk the pomegranate molasses with the olive oil, Maraş flakes and dried thyme until it thickens slightly, then pour over the salad and toss well. Buy a pomegranate molasses whose only ingredient is pomegranate juice; the cheap ones are glucose syrup with colouring and taste flatly sweet.
  5. Leave to sit 20 minutes at room temperature so the walnuts soften a little in the dressing and the olive oil takes on the molasses.
  6. Scatter the pomegranate seeds over just before serving, so they stay crisp. Serve as a meze with flatbread, or alongside grilled meat.
  7. Substitutions: Gemlik olives can stand in for the black Nizip olives.

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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.