Found throughout the Balkans, the shopska salad is one of the freshest, crisp and welcome things to enjoy when the weather is too hot to enjoy anything else – something that can often happen in that area of the world!
Comprising fresh cucumbers, diced tomatoes and plenty of brined sheep’s cheese (use feta if that’s what you have!), you’ll also find this salad often includes some onion and sweet red pepper – this recipe does!
It’s incredibly simple to make and is often just dressed with a drizzle of oil and vinegar, no need for a specialised salad dressing!
How to Make Macedonian Shopska Salad
I’ve not been to a Balkan nation where I haven’t been able to find a shopska salad, but it is particularly synonymous with North Macedonia and Bulgaria. This is one of those salads that is best made with the nicest, in-season ingredients you have as their flavour is so prominent in the finished product.
And, as it turns out, this is one of the easiest salads to make and it only requires a few minutes of slicing and dicing before you’re ready to eat!
Start by finely dicing a couple of cucumbers. I like using Persian/Lebanese cucumbers here over the more common English/continental cucumbers because I find their flavour to be more intense and that they have a more crisp texture. These are the kind I like to use in my Bulgarian tarator recipe, as well.
Add the cucumbers to a bowl and toss in some diced tomatoes. Again, use nice, ripe tomatoes as nothing is sadder than a bad tomato, in my opinion!
And go ahead and dice a sweet red pepper, as well. Just a regular bell pepper or, to be super authentic, use one of those pointed sweet peppers commonly found in southern Europe.
I also like adding some red onion to give it a bit of a punch. Go ahead and season everything generously with salt and pepper.
Finally, add some feta cheese. If you want to be super traditional about it, grate it on a box grater. But if you don’t want to bother with this, you can just as easily crumble it into the salad.
Now, all you need to do is add a drizzle of olive oil (use a really good oil here!) and some red wine vinegar. And it’s time to dig in!
This goes great as a side to lots of dishes, from grilled meats to something like my whole sea bass, red snapper or steamed mussels!
Macedonian Salad (Shopska)
Ingredients
- 2 Persian cucumbers diced
- 2-3 small tomatoes diced
- 1 sweet red pepper diced
- ½ red onion diced
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
- 100 g (⅔ cup) feta cheese grated or finely crumbled
- 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to taste
- 2-3 tbsp red wine vinegar to taste
Instructions
- Add the cucumbers, tomatoes, pepper, onion and parsley to a medium salad bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Top generously with the cheese – adding more if desired. Before serving, drizzle with olive oil and vinegar to taste.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
This is one of the simplest salads out there and it’s such a great way to celebrate Macedonia, Bulgarian & Balkan cuisine!
Do you want to make a great shopska salad? Have any questions about this recipe? Let me know in the comments!
