Shanklish Salad

Name: Shanklish Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Syria
Ingredients: 250 g shanklish, or aged feta rolled in za'atar; 4 ripe tomatoes; 1 red onion; 60 ml olive oil; 1 tbsp za'atar; 1 tsp black pepper; 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley; Flatbread, to serve

Local name: سلطة شنكليش

Syrian thyme-aged cheese crushed with tomato, onion and olive oil, scooped up with bread at mezze time.

Published on 31 August 2026

#cheese#tomato#thyme#mezze#raw

AI-generated image, not a photograph of the dish

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 0 min
Total: 15 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy

Method

Crumble the cheese roughly into a wide shallow dish.
Dice the tomatoes small and discard the watery centres.
Chop the onion very fine and rinse it under cold water to soften its bite.
Crush the cheese and tomatoes together with a fork, stopping well short of smooth.
Add the onion, chopped parsley and pepper.
Pour the olive oil over in a thin stream and toss once more.
Dust with za'atar and serve with warm flatbread.

Shanklish starts as soured milk, drained, rolled into balls and left to ripen under a coat of thyme for several weeks. The rind carries all the aroma, so never scrape it off.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.

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Frequently asked questions

What exactly is shanklish?

It is a cheese made from soured milk, drained, rolled into balls and left to mature for several weeks under a coating of thyme. Its rind carries most of the aroma: never scrape it off, it is part of the cheese.

What can I use instead?

A matured feta rolled in zaatar, as the ingredient list allows, comes closest. The flavour will be milder and less fermented; add a little extra zaatar at serving to compensate.

Why mash the cheese and tomatoes together?

You want a coarse texture, where the cheese takes up the tomato juice while keeping recognisable pieces. A smooth purée would turn it into a uniform spread, whereas this dish is eaten with a fork or scooped up with bread.

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