Shlada beldia (Moroccan tomato and cucumber salad)
Shlada beldia: finely diced tomato, cucumber and onion with parsley and lemon
Shlada beldia, "country salad", sits next to the bread on almost every Moroccan table, from Marrakech grill stalls to a Tuesday family lunch in Oujda. Tomato, cucumber, onion and green pepper are diced as small as lentils, then dressed with lemon, olive oil, parsley and a pinch of cumin, so it eats like a fresh relish with grilled meat, tagines or eggs. The common mistake is dressing it too early: the tomatoes weep and it turns to soup, so salt it just before serving. Chef's tip: dice everything to the same tiny size; that's what makes it taste Moroccan rather than like a chopped salad.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 3 ripe firm tomatoesseeded, finely diced
- 1 cucumberfinely diced
- ½ red onionvery finely diced
- ½ green pepperfinely diced
- ½ oz flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped
- ½ lemonjuiced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
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Method
0/2 doneStep 1: Dice 3 ripe firm tomatoes, 1 cucumber, ½ red onion and ½ green pepper into 5 mm pieces and put them in a bowl with ½ oz flat-leaf parsley.
12 minStep 2: Just before serving, dress with ½ lemon, 2 tbsp olive oil, ¼ tsp ground cumin and ½ tsp salt and toss.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 90 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 9 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does shlada beldia (Moroccan tomato and cucumber salad) take?
- About 15 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of ripe firm tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
- What can I use instead of cucumber?
- Courgette, same weight (in salads, use young ones).
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