Shopska Salad Recipe | Macedonian Chopped Salad Recipe

Macedonian Shopska salad is THE summer time salad. As quickly because the odor of contemporary cucumber hits your nostril, I’m positive you’ll agree! I feel I ate this conventional chopped salad for 4 weeks straight after I visited my sister in Macedonia years in the past.

It’s a scrumptious mix of the whole lot I like to eat, primarily contemporary backyard cucumbers, tomatoes, and tangy feta. No fancy salad dressings right here, simply oil and vinegar. Full cease. With the assistance of the tomato juices and creamy feta, it’s like a taste explosion!

About This Macedonian Shopska Salad Recipe

• Easy to make. All of the greens get chopped after which tossed in a super-simple French dressing. The simplicity of this dish lets the components shine.
• Made for sharing. That’s the way you eat this salad in my homeland: All of the forks in a single salad bowl! When it’s not simply household, it’s simply as scrumptious dished onto plates.
• Solely the freshest components. Even higher if in case you have the veggies in your backyard!
• Make it prematurely. Since this salad wants just a little time to relax within the fridge earlier than serving, it’s a terrific choice to make forward for events and holidays. 

Collect These Salad Substances

In her Mediterranean grandmotherly approach, my Baba had a knack for turning the best components into the BEST meals, and that features a conventional chopped salad. When making Shopska salad, be certain that your tomatoes are juicy. I’ve included notes under, and you’ll discover the total printable recipe within the recipe card after the publish.

• Ripe Tomatoes – The ripest you could find which can be plump, agency, and juicy. Good selections are Roma tomatoes, vine tomatoes, and heirloom tomatoes. I prefer to roll bigger tomatoes gently in opposition to the countertop, such as you would a lemon, to launch their juices earlier than I chop them up.
• Banana Peppers – These gentle peppers are a staple in Macedonian cooking, and my grandmother would all the time develop them in her backyard. In the event you can’t discover banana peppers, inexperienced bell peppers make substitute.
• Cucumber – I take advantage of English cucumbers, which are typically lengthy. Mediterranean/Persian cucumbers are shorter with fewer seeds. Each will work on this recipe; it’s possible you’ll simply want an additional Persian cucumber in the event that they’re on the smaller facet.
• Yellow Onion – Select a gentle yellow or white onion, like Vidalia or shallot. Purple onion additionally goes properly on this salad.
• Olive Oil – High quality counts! You may make the straightforward dressing with a gentle or extra sturdy olive oil, relying on what you like.
• Vinegar – Purple wine vinegar is my first alternative, however you need to use white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or balsamic.
• Feta Cheese – Conventional shopska salad recipes use a brined cheese referred to as sirene. It’s just like feta, solely milder. I take advantage of feta cheese because it’s available in most shops. Goat cheese or shaved Parmesan cheese are additionally good alternate options.
• Parsley – Freshly chopped. You can too use basil.

Methods to Make Shopska Salad

The longest step is the chopping, however I’ll typically get my ladies concerned, and it goes rapidly! To make this straightforward shopska salad the Macedonian approach, observe alongside under:

• Get out a big serving bowl. Add your chopped tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and onions.
• Make the French dressing. In one other bowl, whisk collectively the salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar. Pour the dressing over the chopped salad.
• Toss, then add cheese. Toss the salad with the French dressing. Give {that a} style and regulate the seasonings as wanted, then crumble over the feta cheese. Sprinkle the salad with chopped parsley.
• Chill and serve. Refrigerate the salad for not less than 20 minutes so all of the flavors have an opportunity to mingle. It is a nice salad to prep the day earlier than, too. When it’s time to serve, cross across the forks, and revel in!

Storing Leftovers

Shopska salad shops very effectively within the fridge for as much as 3-4 days. Retailer leftovers hermetic and revel in them for simple lunches. I prefer to high my leftover salad with cooked rooster or fast air fryer salmon for a light-weight meal.