This flavorful Middle Eastern Syrian Salad is dressed in lemon juice, fresh garlic, olive oil, and mint.
I grew up shadowing my Great Aunt Vieve as she would prepare this delicious, fresh, and addictive Lebanese salad – often alongside a platter of traditional hummus, Labneh with Olive Oil and Za’atar and a pot of Lebanese hushwee on the stove. It’s also perfectly paired with Lebanese Shish Tawook Chicken for some added protein. Dressing the salad directly on the greens, I sat in awe as she seasoned, tested, and adjusted. No measuring, no teaspoons, just instinct. Of course, I don’t expect everyone to able to use instinct to season things, so I’ve figured out the perfect measurements to make this delicious Middle Eastern Syrian Salad.
Need more salad inspiration? Check out my 20 Quick and Easy Salad Recipes!
Ingredients
- Romaine: Crisp and clean, the perfect base for the salad is romaine lettuce, but you could also use green leaf.
- Tomato: Juicy and sweet, they add color and sweet flavor.
- Radish: We like to use white radishes in the salad, which are a bit milder in flavor than your smaller red radish, but still add a good crunch.
- Red pepper: The sweetest and healthiest of the bell peppers.
- Cucumber: Mild and sweet in flavor, I like to peel it before adding it to the salad as the skin can be quite bitter.
- Fresh herbs: The parsley and mint balance each other out and add a sweet and peppery flavor to the salad.
- Lemon: Fresh lemon juice adds a wonderful citrusy, acidic taste to help dress the salad.
- Garlic: Raw garlic is chalk full of health benefits, but also adds a pungent flavor to the salad dressing.
- Olive oil: Mild in flavor, this heart healthy oil is a common base for salad dressings and vinaigrettes.
- Za’atar: A blend of warm spices like oregano, dried sumac, salt, and more.
How to Make Middle Eastern Syrian Salad
Start your Syrian salad by washing all of your fresh produce, cutting your lettuce, tomatoes, red pepper, radishes, and cucumber and tossing them into a large bowl.
Once ingredients are all in the bowl, take your fresh lemon and squeeze the juice over the top, catching any seeds.
Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and the za’atar and fresh herbs.
Then use a microplane to grate the raw garlic cloves over the top.
Finish by drizzling the olive oil over the top before tossing to evenly coat.
Serve and enjoy your Middle Eastern Syrian Salad!
Frequently Asked Questions:
A typical salad is very simple and contains romaine, cucumber, and tomato. My husband doesn’t eat cucumbers or tomatoes, so our typical salad will also include red peppers and radishes. But you could add carrots, yellow peppers, red onion, red leaf, whatever you have!
Dried mint works really well during the non-growing season! Either one is just fine!
A Fattoush salad uses many of the same ingredients, as it is also a Middle Eastern salad, but it’s topped with pita chips
More Fresh Salads
- Spelt Tabbouleh with Jalapeño Vinaigrette
- Kale Caesar Salad
- Italian Garden Salad with Fennel
- Chicken Tawook Fattoush Salad
- Vietnamese Beef Salad
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Whether you need a new salad to serve with dinner, or want something light and fresh for lunch, my family’s Syrian salad will hit the spot.
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Ingredients
Video
Instructions
- Place salad ingredients romaine through cucumber, in a large bowl.6 cups romaine, 1 large tomato, 4 white radishes, 1 red pepper, 1 peeled cucumber
- Add fresh parsley and mint.1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/4 cup chopped mint
- Squeeze the juice of one lemon around the bowl, carefully holding your opposite hand underneath to catch the seeds.1 lemon
- Grate garlic directly over the salad using a microplane.2 cloves garlic
- Drizzle olive oil around the edge of the salad (this will help ensure the salad is dressed evenly as you toss.)4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- Using, hands, gently toss the salad together. Sprinkle with zaatar, salt and pepper to taste.2 tablespoons za’atar, salt and pepper to taste
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