A taste of Gaziantep: Green olive, walnut and pomegranate salad

A sensational salad that’s crunchy and fresh with a hint of chilli and is a specialty of Gaziantep, Turkey, a city famous for its gastronomy, writes Katie Wright

Claudia Roden’s green olive, walnut and pomegranate salad (Susan Bell/PA)

Veteran food writer Claudia Roden describes this dish as salad as “a thrilling mix of flavours, textures and colours that is almost too glorious to look at. It is a speciality of Gaziantep a Turkish city on the border with Syria famous for its gastronomy.”

Claudia Roden’s green olive, walnut and pomegranate salad

Serves: 4

Ingredients

100g good-quality pitted green olives in brine, drained

50g walnuts

3 spring onions, chopped

Bunch (25g) of flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

Salt, to taste

‘Med’ by Claudia Roden (Handout)

Chilli flakes, to taste

3 tbsp pomegranate seeds

Method

1. Coarsely chop the olives and walnuts, place in a serving dish and mix with the spring onions and parsley.

2. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses with a little salt and chilli flakes to taste. Pour over the olives and walnuts and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Med by Claudia Roden, photography by Susan Bell, is published by Ebury Press, priced £28. Available now.