Sallatë

(Albanian Salad)

May: National Salad Month

Islander and Entela C., her graduate school classmate from Albania, were only two of three students chosen by Dr. MN, their international mass communications professor, to participate in conferences and projects under her direction. It was an honor and a good experience to work together. We had never met anyone from Albania before, so it was a good opportunity to learn more about her country and culture.

Albania is located in the Balkan region of Southeastern Europe. Its geographic borders include Greece, Montenegro, Kosovo and North Macedonia.  Across the Adriatic Sea is Italy, its former protectorate. Italy and Greece have strong influences in Albanian culture and cuisine.

The Albanian meat pie (lakror) that we made before featured flaky phyllo dough layers—which are very popular in Greek and Mediterranean dishes. Since that was very time consuming to make for our Albanian dinner (especially since our ballokume cornmeal cookies were a Food Flop), we wanted a side dish that was simple—this sallatë. It was refreshing with the cucumbers, tomatoes and bell peppers, and the olives and feta cheese added flavor and texture as our toppings.

For an international flavor on National Salad Month, try this simple sallatë from Albania.

Recipe

(Adapted from Food.com)

Ingredients

• 1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 2-3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• ¼ – ½ red onion, sliced
• 3-4 tablespoons Kalamata/black olives, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

Peel the cucumber and slice half inch thick then quarter them. Place in a bowl. Chop the tomatoes, dice the green bell pepper and chop the onions. Add them to the bowl.

Slice and olives. Add to the bowl. Mix in the olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Top with feta cheese. Serve immediately.

Notes

• Search for more salad recipes in our blog.