If you need a quick side dish or topping, whip up a light and flavorful onion parsley salad called biwaz in 5 minutes. It pairs perfectly with pitas, shawarma, halal chicken over rice, joojeh kabobs or grilled tandoori chicken.
What is a Biwaz Salad?
Biwaz is a Lebanese parsley and onion salad, tossed with tangy sumac from and fresh lemon juice, making it a vibrant side dish or garnish for meat dishes. For even more sumac flavor, try sumac onions, piyaz, or sumac cucumbers!
Key Ingredients
- Parsley: Parsley adds freshness to the salad and complements the flavor of the onions.
- Onion: I prefer red onions for their sharpness, but shallots or white onions work well too.
- Sumac: Massage ground sumac into the onions, just like for sumac onions. This Middle Eastern spice offers a tart, slightly sweet flavor and a vibrant color. It’s available online or at health food stores, but I recommend checking out local halal or Middle Eastern markets. If you’re out of sumac, sweet paprika with a little extra lemon juice can do the trick.
- Lemon Juice: Brighten the salad and enhance the flavor with fresh lemon juice from one lemon.
- Olive Oil: Use high-quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
- Salt: Taste and season the salad with salt.
Additions and Substitutions
- Mix it up. Replace the sumac with pomegranate molasses, a syrup made by reducing pomegranate juice. Add a pinch of ground Aleppo pepper for a touch of heat.
How to Make Biwaz
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Add the ingredients for the salad to a serving bowl and use your hands to massage and combine for 2-3 minutes.
Step 2: Taste and season with ground sumac. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Expert Tips
- Prepare the onions. If raw onion flavor is too strong, soak the onions in cold water for 20 minutes to mellow the taste. After soaking, drain the onions and pat them dry before tossing them with the other ingredients.
- Massage the Salad. Use clean hands to massage the ingredients; this step softens the parsley and onions, making them more tender and easy to eat.
Whip up the fresh-tasting biwaz and pair it with one of these dinner recipes!
Serving Suggestions
Pair this fresh onion and parsley salad with grilled meats and kabobs like grilled shish taoouk, Adana kebab, beef shawarma, grilled tandoori chicken, or beef seekh kabobs with tahini yogurt sauce. The fresh-tasting salad is an excellent filling for Turkish lamb tantuni or vegetarian falafel gyros.
What To Do With Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Store the leftover salad in an airtight container 3-4 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is sumac?
Sumac (summāq) means dark red in Arabic, and the name refers to a spice common throughout the Middle East to finish meals like fattoush. It comes from sumac berries, which are dried and ground into a coarse red powder for culinary purposes.
What does sumac taste like?
Like fresh lemons, ground sumac is tart and slightly sweet, making it a perfect way to add acidity without citrus.
More Salad Recipes:
Biwaz
- 3 cups parsley leaves, roughly chopped
- ½ large red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon ground sumac
- lemon juice, one lemon
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Add the ingredients for the salad to a serving bowl and use your hands to massage and combine for 2-3 minutes.
- Taste and season with ground sumac. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Prepare the onions. If raw onion flavor is too strong, soak the onions in cold water for 20 minutes to mellow the taste. After soaking, drain the onions and pat them dry before tossing them with the other ingredients.
- Massage the Salad. Use clean hands to massage the ingredients; this step softens the parsley and onions, making them more tender and easy to eat.