SALATET SHANKLISH
LEBANON | SYRIA
This salad is one of my favorite mezze, but you need to find really good shanklish for it to be tasty, or you need to make your own shanklish. A few years ago I found a Syrian couple in London who made shanklish the way it should be made, but their venture did not last long. I guess they couldn’t make it pay or they were hampered by regulations, which is a shame. I make my own in sunny Sicily, where I have a terrace to put the cheese out to dry. It is a little time-consuming and I have to watch out for the birds, but I cover the balls of cheese with cheesecloth and the birds leave them alone.
SERVES 4 TO 6
1 ball shanklish (about 7 ounces/200 g), crumbled
2 medium firm-ripe tomatoes (7 ounces/200 g total), seeded and cut into small cubes
1 small red onion (2 ounces/60 g), finely chopped
2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only (optional)
¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
Pita Bread, for serving
Put all the ingredients except the pita in a bowl and mix well. Transfer to a salad bowl and serve with more olive oil and pita bread.
