Sharmoula – Libyan Tomato and Cucumber Salad

First of all, this is not Moroccan chermoula, which is a family of marinades that I’ll explore in the future. What it is: a highly versatile salad that goes with most anything, including served with flatbread as a dip. It’s easy enough to put together your kid could do it (assuming they’re old enough to trust with a knife). It also easily keeps for a couple days in the fridge.


Since this is pretty much a “throw everything together” recipe, I’ll combine quantities with the shopping list for simplicity’s sake:

  • 1 cucumber (or 3 Persian ones)
  • 1 pound tomatoes (romas preferred)
  • 3/4 – 1 pound red onion
  • Pepper to taste – I use anaheims but you might like hotter
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • 1/2 – 3/4 bunch flat parsley
  • 2 tbsp garlic (5-6 cloves)
  • Pinch of pepper
  • Pinch of salt
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon (or so)

Basically, chop the cucumber, tomatoes, and onion into 1/4 inch pieces. De-seed the peppers and do the same. Mince the cilantro and parsley.
Combine everything in a bowl, mix well, and let sit for at least an hour before serving.