A finely diced Turkish salad of tomato, cucumber, pepper and onion, dressed simply with olive oil, lemon and fresh herbs.
Coban salatasi, or shepherd's salad, is one of the most common sights on a Turkish table — a bright, uniformly diced mix of tomato, cucumber, green pepper and onion that appears alongside kebabs, mezze, or a simple breakfast. The key technique is the dice: every vegetable is cut small and even, roughly the same size, so each forkful carries a bit of everything rather than one dominant flavor. Dressed at the last minute with good olive oil, lemon juice, and a generous handful of parsley and mint, the salad is meant to be eaten fresh — it turns watery if it sits too long once dressed.
Serves 4
Cut tomato, cucumber, pepper and onion into small, even dice, about a quarter inch.
Toss the diced vegetables together in a large bowl with parsley and mint.
Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, then pour over the salad and toss gently.
Dress right before eating — salting too early draws out water and dilutes the flavor.
Sprinkle with sumac if using and serve immediately alongside grilled meats or flatbread.
Salt the salad only right before serving; salted tomatoes and cucumbers release liquid quickly and turn the dressing watery.
Use a very sharp knife for a clean, small dice — crushed vegetables from a dull blade release excess juice.
Deseed the cucumber if it's very watery, especially with English cucumbers, to keep the salad from becoming soupy.
Adding crumbled white cheese (beyaz peynir) turns this into a heartier lunch salad.
Pomegranate molasses can replace or supplement the lemon juice for a sweeter, tangier dressing.
Some versions include chopped walnuts for crunch, especially in eastern Turkish regions.
Best eaten fresh within an hour of dressing; undressed diced vegetables keep refrigerated up to a day, but dress only what you'll eat right away.
Coban salatasi takes its name from shepherds who traditionally made this simple salad in the field using whatever fresh vegetables were on hand, and it has since become a fixture of Turkish meze tables nationwide.
Dice the vegetables ahead and refrigerate them separately, but only combine and dress right before serving to avoid a watery salad.
It's a nice tangy garnish but entirely optional — the lemon juice already provides plenty of acidity without it.
Either it was salted too early or the tomatoes were overripe — dress just before serving and choose firm, not-quite-mushy tomatoes.
Per serving (180g / 6.3 oz) · 4 servings total
Ask our AI cooking assistant anything about this recipe — substitutions, techniques, scaling.
Chat with AI Chef →Join the conversation
Sign in to leave a comment and save your favourite recipes
Have feedback or need help?
We read every email and reply within 1–2 business days.
© 2026 MyCookingCalendar. All rights reserved.
