Shlada (Moroccan Tomato Salad)
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Aperçu
Shlada is the Moroccan tomato and cucumber salad, dressed with lemon and olive oil and seasoned with cumin. It goes by shlada 'arobiya, meaning country salad, and shlada Nationale, the national salad, which tells you how ordinary and how ubiquitous it is. Everything depends on the knife work. The tomatoes, cucumber and onion are chopped very small, so that a single spoonful carries all three rather than one at a time. The contributor is emphatic that this is the secret of the salad, and it is a fair claim: the same ingredients in rough chunks make a quite different and much less interesting dish. It also needs to sit. Ten minutes before serving lets the flavours combine, and up to an hour improves it further, which is unusual for a salad. Preserved lemon peel is the optional addition that makes it unmistakably Moroccan, and only the peel is used, never the pulp. It is eaten as a side, as a light lunch, and as a dip scooped up with khobz, the Moroccan bread. Parsley substitutes for mint, vinegar for lemon juice, and vegetable oil for olive oil, all of which are made.
Note de Patrimoine AFN
Shlada is a Moroccan salad of finely chopped tomato, cucumber and onion, also known as shlada 'arobiya, country salad, and shlada Nationale, the national salad.
Ingrédients
Les mentions alimentaires sont fournies par les contributeurs à titre indicatif. Elles ne sont pas vérifiées par AFN et dépendent des produits que vous achetez. En cas d’allergie grave, vérifiez vous-même chaque ingrédient. Cuisine, allergies et votre propre jugement
Préparation
- 1
Chop the tomatoes with their skin, the cucumber and the yellow onion into very small pieces. How small you chop them is what makes the salad.
- 2
Chop the preserved lemon peel into very small pieces, using the peel only and not the pulp. Skip it if you have none.
- 3
In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, preserved lemon peel, lemon juice, chopped coriander, olive oil and spices.
- 4
Mix well, then taste and adjust the seasoning.
- 5
Let it stand at least 10 minutes before serving, and up to an hour for more flavour.
- 6
Serve in a bowl with a French baguette or Moroccan bread.
Notes de l’Africook
- Chop everything very small. This is the whole technique and the contributor says so: a spoonful should carry tomato, cucumber and onion together.
- Let it rest at least ten minutes before serving, and up to an hour. Unusually for a salad, it improves as it sits.
- Use the peel of the preserved lemon only, never the pulp, which is soft and overwhelmingly salty.
- Parsley works in place of the coriander, vinegar in place of lemon juice, and vegetable oil in place of olive oil. All are made in Morocco.
- The source's prose describes blanching and peeling the tomatoes, while its method chops them with the skin on. The skin-on version here is quicker and keeps more texture.
- For a neat presentation, pack it into a large cookie cutter on the plate and lift the cutter away.
Questions fréquentes
What does shlada mean?
It is simply the Moroccan word for salad. This particular one goes by two fuller names: shlada 'arobiya, meaning country salad, and shlada Nationale, the national salad. Both reflect how completely ordinary and how widely eaten it is across Morocco.
Should the tomatoes be peeled?
The source is inconsistent: its prose describes blanching and peeling them, its method chops them with the skin on. Either works. Peeling gives a softer, more uniform salad; leaving the skin on is quicker and keeps more texture, and that is the version written here.
What is preserved lemon and can I skip it?
Preserved lemon is lemon packed in salt and left to ferment for weeks, a staple of Moroccan cooking. Only the peel is used here, finely chopped; the pulp is soft and far too salty. It is optional and the recipe says so, but it is what makes the salad taste distinctly Moroccan.
What is it served with?
Moroccan bread, khobz, or a French baguette, both for scooping it up as a dip. It also works as a side dish to grilled meat or fish, or as a light lunch on its own. It is a summer salad above all and is served cool rather than chilled.
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