Gavurdagi Salad is a Turkish Tomato and Walnut Salad with a tangy pomegranate molasses dressing. Everything is diced small, so every spoonful gets a bit of everything. It takes about 10 minutes, and there is no cooking at all.
I like it best next to kebabs and anything from the grill. It is naturally vegan and gluten free as written.
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What Is Gavurdagi Salatasi?
Gavurdagi Salatasi means Gavur Mountain Salad. It is named after Gavur Dağı, a mountain near Gaziantep in the southeast of Turkey.
The classic Antep version is tomatoes, onions, green pepper, parsley, and walnuts, everything diced into tiny cubes. Plenty of home cooks add cucumber, and I do the same. It is a close cousin of Persian Shirazi Salad, but the walnuts and the dressing set it apart.
The dressing is olive oil and pomegranate molasses, sharpened with lemon or sumac. Every house does it a little differently. The salad is eaten cold, usually as a side or a meze.
Why This Recipe Works?
- Chopping is the only work. There is no cooking and nothing to get wrong.
- The dressing is three ingredients, and the pomegranate molasses gives it a sweet and sour edge vinegar does not give you.
- The sharp dressing balances rich grilled meat, which is why it is served next to kebabs in Turkey.
- You can serve it as a side salad, a meze, or a light lunch with some bread.
- For me, the toasted walnuts are the best part. They keep a little crunch in every bite.
Ingredients You'll Need
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
- Pomegranate molasses - The signature of this salad and a staple in Turkish kitchens. Check the label and buy one made from 100% pomegranate, as some are padded out with sugar syrup. I use it in dressings for Baba Ganoush Without Tahini and Lebanese Fattoush Salad as well.
- Onion - Red or white both work. Dice it as small as the rest of the vegetables.
- Parsley - Flat-leaf parsley, chopped fine. It goes in by the handful, not as a garnish.
- Tomatoes - Use firm, ripe, and juicy tomatoes. Most of the salad is tomato, so quality matters more here than anywhere else.
- Cucumber - Cucumber is not in every traditional version, but I like the freshness and crunch it adds. Peel and deseed large ones.
- Lemon juice - Freshly squeezed, not bottled. It brightens the dressing.
- Olive oil - Use a good extra virgin olive oil. In a raw dressing you really taste it.
- Walnuts - They add crunch and a nutty flavor. Toast them in a 150° C - 302° F oven for 10 minutes to bring the flavor out.
How to Make Gavurdagi Salad?
Prepare the Dressing
Place the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, pomegranate molasses, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
Prepare the Vegetables
Peel the cucumbers and deseed them, then cut them into small cubes the same size as tomatoes. You don't need to deseed them if using small cucumbers. Place them in a large bowl.
Cut the tomatoes into small cubes, the same size as the cucumbers, and add them to the bowl.
Chop the onions the same size as the rest of the vegetables, then place them together with the tomatoes and cucumbers.
Combine and Garnish
Finely chop the parsley and sprinkle it on top of the vegetables.
Add the dressing to the vegetables and gently stir to combine.
Serve the salad in a large salad bowl or individual small bowls. Finally, garnish the salad with chopped walnuts and a drizzle of pomegranate molasses.
Recipe Tips From the Chef
- Get the ripest, juiciest tomatoes you can find. They make or break this salad.
- Use extra virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice for the dressing. With so few ingredients, you can taste each one.
- Rub the diced onion with a pinch of salt and squeeze it before adding. It softens the raw bite.
- Add the walnuts just before serving so they keep their crunch.
- Toast the walnuts in a 150° C - 302° F oven for 10 minutes first. It deepens the nutty flavor.
- No pomegranate molasses? A balsamic glaze is the closest substitute, but the real thing is worth buying.
- Toss the salad well so the dressing coats every piece.
Variations
- Add a finely diced green pepper, the way it is made in Gaziantep.
- Add a teaspoon of sumac to the dressing for extra sharpness.
- Leave out the cucumber for a version closer to the Antep original.
- Sprinkle chili flakes or hot pepper over the top if you like heat.
- Swap the walnuts for pecans, or leave the nuts out for allergies.
Serving Suggestions
In Turkey this salad goes with grilled meat. Serve it next to Lamb Shish Kebab, Chicken Shish Kebab, Turkish Beef Kofta, or Islim Kebabi.
It works next to oven dishes like Hasanpaşa Köfte - Turkish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes, Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, and Kuru Fasulye.
For a light lunch, a bowl of it with warm bread is enough. Bazlama, Turkish Pide Bread - Ramazan Pidesi, or Pita Bread all work well for scooping it up.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
This salad is best eaten freshly made. The vegetables release their juices as it sits, and after a few hours it turns watery.
If you want a head start, make the dressing a day ahead and keep it in the fridge, and chop the parsley and toast the walnuts in advance.
Dice the vegetables and bring everything together just before serving, and add the walnuts last so they stay crunchy.
Recipe FAQs
They are not ideal. This salad needs firm, fleshy tomatoes that hold their shape when diced small, so Roma or plum tomatoes work much better.
Not as written. In Gaziantep it often gets hot green peppers or a pinch of chili flakes, so add either if you want heat.
Çoban salatası is chunkier and dressed with just olive oil and lemon. Gavurdagi is diced much finer and gets walnuts and pomegranate molasses, which make it richer and tangier.
Yes. The salad still works without them, though you lose the crunch. Pecans are the closest swap, or simply leave the nuts out for allergies.
Related Recipes
For more healthy, colorful, and delicious salad recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this colorful, refreshing, and healthy Gavurdagi Salad (Turkish Tomato Walnut Salad) as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
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Gavurdagi Salad - Turkish Tomato Walnut Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 4 medium tomatoes
- 1 large cucumber
- ½ red onion
- 1 tablespoon parsley (finely chopped)
For the Dressing
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- ⅔ teaspoon salt (adjust to your taste)
- 5-6 walnut halves (to garnish)
Instructions
Prepare the Dressing
- Place the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, pomegranate molasses, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
Prepare the Vegetables
- Peel and deseed the cucumber, and cut it into small cubes. You don't need to deseed them if using small cucumbers. Place them in a bowl.
- Cut the tomatoes into cubes the same size as cucumbers and then add them to the bowl.
- Chop the onions the same size as the rest of the vegetables then place them together with the tomatoes & cucumbers.
Combine and Garnish
- Finely chop the parsley and sprinkle it on top of the vegetables.
- Add the dressing to the vegetables and give it a good stir until nicely combined.
- Serve the salad in a large salad bowl or individual small bowls. Finally, garnish the salad with chopped walnuts and a drizzle of pomegranate molasses.
Notes
- Use the ripest, juiciest tomatoes you can find. They make or break this salad.
- Dice everything small and the same size, so every spoonful gets a bit of each ingredient.
- Rub the diced onion with a pinch of salt and squeeze it before adding. It softens the raw bite.
- Toast the walnuts in a 150° C - 302° F oven for 10 minutes, and add them just before serving so they keep their crunch.
- Buy pomegranate molasses made from 100% pomegranate. A balsamic glaze is the closest substitute.
- The dressing can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge.
- Eat the salad freshly made. The vegetables release their juices as it sits, and it turns watery after a few hours.
- For a nut-free version, leave out the walnuts or swap them for pecans.
- The salad is naturally vegan and gluten free.
Christina says
Easy to make and very tasty.
Allison says
Everyone loved that amazing salad!
Ayla Clulee says
That's lovely to hear dear Allison 🙂
Ayla says
Absolutely gorgeous, and very tasty. Thank you so much