A platter of Israeli spiced tomato salad with cucumber yogurt sauce and chickpeas.

I grew up eating meat with tzatziki, a garlicky, lemony-yogurt sauce. Most often it was aside this chicken souvlaki, a favorite summer meal, but in addition to mint sauce, it often was on the table with lamb, too.

In recent years, I’ve learned I love yogurt sauce just as much with vegetables — I love how its tang so nicely complements the earthiness of roasted squash, cauliflower, eggplant and others. I love how it turns vegetable side dishes into more substantial entities, meals in their own right. I love how it assumes the flavor and seasonings of whatever vegetables it finds itself with, thinning as it absorbs the excess liquid, ultimately becoming the perfect consistency to mop up with slices of crusty bread.

I find I miss it now when it’s not there.

Over the weekend I opened a favorite cookbook,  Six Seasons, turned to the “late summer” chapter, and found a recipe for a tomato and chickpea salad with — wait for it — yogurt sauce!

I made it, loved it, and am here to tell you, you should make it immediately.

How to Make Sumac-Spiced Tomato Salad, Step by Step

Grate 1 or 2 cucumbers:

Grated cucumber on a cutting board.

Add them to a bowl of yogurt with garlic, lemon juice, and salt.

Grated cucumber and yogurt in a large bowl.

Stir to combine.

Cucumber yogurt sauce stirred together in a large bowl.

Smear this yogurt sauce on a large platter.

Cucumber-yogurt sauce smeared on a large platter.

Slice up some tomatoes.

A large cutting board with sliced tomatoes on top.

Arrange them on top of the cucumber-yogurt sauce.

Sliced tomatoes on top of a platter of cucumber yogurt sauce.

Gather some spices: toasted and ground (if you wish) cumin and coriander, sumac, crushed red pepper flakes.

A mortar and pestle with crushed spices aside bowls of more spices.

Combine them.

A small bowl of Israeli spices.

Season the tomatoes with the spice mixture as well as with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Israeli-spiced tomatoes on a platter of cucumber-yogurt sauce.

Final step: Combine chickpeas, red onion, and more tomatoes in a bowl.

A large bowl of tomatoes, red onion, and cucumbers.

Dress with salt, pepper, olive oil, and vinegar. Gently fold in a handful of arugula.

A large bowl of chickpeas, tomatoes, red onions, and arugula.

Ready to unite!

A platter of Israeli-spiced tomatoes aside a salad of greens.

Spread the chickpea salad on top of the tomatoes.

A platter of Israeli spiced tomato salad with cucumber yogurt sauce and chickpeas.

Serve with…

A platter of Israeli spiced tomato salad with cucumber yogurt sauce and chickpeas.

… olive-oil toasted bread, of course.

A plate of Israeli spiced tomato salad and bread.


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A platter of Israeli spiced tomato salad with cucumber yogurt sauce and chickpeas.

Sumac-Spiced Tomato and Chickpea Salad with Yogurt Sauce

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Description

Adapted from Joshua McFadden’s Six Seasons

A Few Notes:

  • I love toasting whole cumin and coriander seeds, then grinding them with my mortar and pestle. If you wish to do this, too: toast the seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until they begin browning and smoking; transfer immediately to your mortar; grind with your pestle till fine.
  • Sumac can be hard to find. I ordered mine online but have since found it at various local markets.
  • As you know, I prefer to cook beans from scratch. Here’s my favorite bean-cooking method: How to Cook Beans or Chickpeas from Scratch: Brining Method

Ingredients

For the yogurt sauce:

  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 or 2 small cucumbers
  • kosher salt
  • 1.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from about half a lemon
  • 1 clove garlic minced

For the salad:

  • 1 teaspoon sumac (see notes above)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 to 4 large beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes
  • 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 handful of arugula
  • 2 tablespoon vinegar (white balsamic, red wine, white wine, champagne)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Good bread for serving

Instructions

  1. Grate the cucumber coarsely on a box grater. In a medium bowl, stir the cucumber into the yogurt, along with the garlic and the lemon. Season with salt, starting with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, adding more by the 1/4 teaspoon to taste. Add more lemon to taste as well — this sauce should taste nicely seasoned. Spread this yogurt sauce onto a large platter.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together the sumac, coriander, cumin, and dried chile flakes.
  3. Slice the tomatoes and arrange over the yogurt sauce in an even layer. Season all over with the spice rub. Season generously with sea salt (kosher salt is fine, too). Season with freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
  4. In a large bowl, toss the cherry tomatoes, onion, and chickpeas with a good pinch of flaky sea salt, pepper to taste, and the olive oil and vinegar. Taste. Adjust seasoning as necessary. Add the arugula and toss gently. Spread this salad atop the tomatoes. Serve, being sure to include each of the elements — the yogurt sauce, the tomatoes, the chickpea salad — with each serving.
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Dress
  • Cuisine: Middle Eastern