I’ve eaten this salad countless times on visits to Hatay, the Turkish region that shares a longer border with Syria than it does with the rest of Turkey. It’s always a highlight on the meze table.
What is zeytin salatası?
Turkish zeytin salatası is a meze or appetiser of green olives, herbs and pomegranate molasses. It’s most common in the Southeastern regions of the country. Similar salads are common in Syria as well.
The traditional version is usually heavy on zahter, a local wild herb, though it can also be made with parsley.
Key ingredients
There are usually two main ingredients in this salad:
- Green olives
- A sturdy, local wild herb called daÄŸ kekiÄŸi or zahter
In Hatay, they use small, dark green olives, but most types of green olives work well.
The herb is reminiscent of oregano or thyme in flavour, but more like rosemary in texture. Sometimes they skip it altogether, making the olives the star of the dish.
Since it’s all but impossible to source the local herb outside of Turkey, my recipe is for a version without it, but I’ve added notes on how to adapt the recipe if you happen to have some to hand.
The most important flavouring is pomegranate molasses, which adds a sweet and sour depth of flavour that works amazingly as a contrast to the olives. Make sure to get the real deal – real pomegranate molasses has just one ingredient (pomegranate) and the taste is more sour than it’s sweet. Avoid versions containing glucose syrup and artificial flavouring – these are sweet, unhealthy and will not give you the right result.
A good amount of chopped parsley gives the salad a grassy freshness that works really well together with the olives and pomegranate molasses.
I recommend using a mild extra virgin olive oil here, as you want the olives, not the oil, to be the star of the show.
Serving suggestions
This salad works best as part of a meze spread. You can also serve it with grilled fish or chicken, or alongside oven bakes like börek.
Make ahead & leftovers
Zeytin salatası is best made the same day, but since all the ingredients are sturdy, you can certainly make it a few hours ahead. Make sure to serve at room temperature.
Leftovers keep well for a couple of days in the fridge, covered. For best flavour, make sure to return to room temperature before serving again.
Olive salad with pomegranate molasses (zeytin salatası)
Ingredients
- 1 large tomato, finely chopped
- 100 g green olives, pitted (75 g/2â…” oz net weight)
- 10 g leaves of flat-leaf parsley (Italian parsley), finely chopped
- 1 spring onion (green onion/scallion), finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, I use a mild one
- ¼ tsp pul biber (Aleppo pepper), or to taste
- salt
How I make it
- Sprinkle a little salt over the tomatoes. Set aside while preparing the rest.
- Mix everything together and transfer to a serving dish. Serve immediately, or make a few hours ahead and keep covered at room temperature.
