Last Updated on June 12, 2022
Green Wild Thyme Salad Recipe
It wasn’t really that long ago that as kids we used to spend most of our time outdoors, playing and connecting with nature…it’s difficult for me to grasp how children and young adults today are instead spending most of their time indoors, in front of their computers connecting with artificial and simulated realities…Times have certainly changed, rapidly.
Early Summer Is the Perfect Time for Green Wild Thyme Salad or Salatat Zaatar
Growing up in Barsa Al-Koura (north Lebanon), the late spring/early summer period was a special time for us boys. It used to be a chance to go out and play in the far wilderness all while getting the opportunity to score some brownie points with our mothers…That time of the year is famous in Koura for green Wild Thyme harvesting. We used to span acres and acres of wilderness looking for Wild Thyme bushes between the rocks, and coming back home in the evening with bags full of that aromatic organic savory. The majority of our harvest would get hand picked, dried and then crushed in order to make our yearly Zaatar supply. Some of the Thyme would also be kept on the side for salads.. yummy and very-very-healthy salads due to the immense health benefits of Thyme!
Preparing Green Wild Thyme Salad
In this post, we’re featuring a very simple recipe to prepare the Green Wild Thyme Salad. If Green Wild Thyme is difficult to find in grocery stores or at farmers’ markets in North America, you may want to try this salad with different varieties of wide-leaf Oregano since they’re virtually from the same family. For the gardeners amongst us who live in moderate to warm climates, you can grow wild thyme in your backyard or even on your balcony in pots. Our mother domesticated the wild thyme and filled a section of our backyard in Lebanon with it.
Recipe: Green Wild Thyme Salad Recipe – Salatat Zaatar
Summary: Green Wild Thyme Makes a Very Healthy Salad! Thyme has many health benefits and an intense flavor.
Green Wild Thyme Salad Recipe Ingredients
- 1 bunch of green Wild Thyme
- 1 very small onion (yellow or white) finely chopped
- 1/3 bunch of green onions finely chopped
- juice from 1 freshly squeezed lemon
- 2 teaspoons of quality olive oil
- a dash of salt
Preparation Method Of Salatat Zaatar
- Rinse then dry the wild thyme well.
- Hand pick its tiny green leaves, especially those at the top of the stems. Discard the stems.
- Finely chop the green and white onions.
- Mix it all with the freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, a dash of salt and enjoy!
Wild thyme has a strong bold flavor that tends to have a subtle hint of bitterness (aka healthy). We typically eat this salad with pita bread. We hope you enjoyed this recipe, and we look forward to your comments 🙂
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Diet type: Vegetarian
Number of servings (yield): 2
Culinary tradition: Middle Eastern
love that finally someone puts a picture of the original thyme and not the zoobaa which is lebanese oregano. I miss this when I was young.
The name of the wild thyme used in this recipe is Spiked Zaatar, it’s scientific name is “Thymbra Spicata”. This is not the same as summer savoury.Hope this helps.
Thank you James.
I always thought this salad was made from Summer Savoury. I’m not 100% sure but I think Summer Savoury is what you’re referring to as Wild Thyme. That would make it easier to find in grocery stores. It also makes sense if it was ready to pick early summer.
Hi,I’m from Adana, in Türkiye. I like your beautiful recipes, writings and photos. We have the same recipe in our region. I like making it, but time to time I also add some curt cheese. Have a happy Ramadan.