This salad was an idea from a dear friend of mine I knew when we lived in Germany who happened to be our travel agent. He now lives in Turkey, and described this recipe to me a few months ago as an idea for my blog. It is chock full of all the freshest ingredients and is such a great accompaniment to any grilled fish or meat or paired with a hearty soup with some crusty whole grain bread on the side toasted and drizzled with a little olive oil and sea salt.

The name describes how this salad should be eaten. Everything is chopped finely, including an array of fresh herbs, drizzled with a simple vinaigrette using pomegranate vinegar and can be eaten with a spoon. Let's begin with the salad ingredients:

2 cucumbers, peeled, deseeded and finely chopped
1-2 celery ribs, finely chopped
6-8 grape tomatoes, halved or quartered, depending on the size (3-4 finely chopped Roma tomatoes are also a good option)
1 red and 1 orange or yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
4-5 scallions, finely chopped (or 1-2 shallots, finely chopped)
1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped (yielding approximately 1/2 cup)
10-15 mint leaves, finely chopped
5-6 dill sprigs, finely chopped
2-3 cups arugula, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped

The simple vinaigrette consists of 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup pomegranate vinegar, the juice of a half lemon and kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Combine these ingredients in a small bowl or glass measuring cup and blend with a hand blender until fully emulsified.

After chopping all the salad ingredients, simply combine everything in a medium salad bowl, toss with the vinaigrette and serve immediately. Please post any comments with ideas or questions; I would love to hear from you!