Name: Chopped Vegetable and Stone Fruit Salad
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 1 pound ripe but firm plums, nectarines, peaches, apricots, or a mix, halved, pitted, and chopped; ½ teaspoon plus ⅛ teaspoon table salt, divided; ½ teaspoon sugar; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; ¼ teaspoon pepper; 4 Persian cucumbers, quartered lengthwise and chopped; 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped; 4 radishes, trimmed and chopped; ¼ cup minced fresh mint; ¼ cup minced fresh parsley; 1 shallot, minced; 2 teaspoons ground sumac

Why This Recipe Works

Nearly every cuisine of the eastern Mediterranean serves a refreshing, crunchy, raw chopped vegetable salad with most meals. Whether called shepherd’s salad (çoban salatası), as in Turkey; country salad (salata baladi), as in Egypt; Arab salad (salat aravi), as in Israel; or one of many other names, this essential salad consists of finely chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, and parsley, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. Some renditions add peppers, radishes, red onions, and/or scallions, along with herbs or finishing spices. This version shifts the sweet-tart axis of the salad, substituting stone fruit for the tomatoes. The sweet, juicy, somewhat meaty fruit interplays with the mildly spicy radishes and pepper and cooling cucumber to enliven any dish they accompany. Generous amounts of parsley, mint, and puckery sumac vivify the contrasts. Salting and lightly sugaring the fruit first helps intensify its flavor while also extracting some of the juice that would otherwise create a watery salad.

Instructions

Toss 1 pound stone fruit, halved, pitted, and chopped, with ½ teaspoon table salt and ½ teaspoon sugar in bowl. Transfer to fine-mesh strainer and let drain for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally. Drain.

Whisk 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt together in large bowl. Add stone fruit, 4 Persian cucumbers quartered lengthwise and chopped; 1 seeded and chopped bell pepper; 4 trimmed and chopped radishes; ¼ cup minced fresh mint; ¼ cup minced fresh parsley; 1 minced shallot; and 2 teaspoons ground sumac and gently toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.