I still remember when I first had this dish. My friends and I were invited over to one of our closest friends’ house. She lived on a ground floor apartment that had a small garden attached to it. There was enough space for us to have brunch and that’s where I tasted “salata za’tar” (Thyme salad) for the first time.  It was soooo good I could still taste it and smell it, more than 10 years later. Syrian thyme looks similar to rosemary since its leaves are think and long , but tastes and smells like thyme. She sprinkled it with tons of thyme and sumac powder that made me crave for more. Think white onions slices decorated the salad and crumbled feta cheese made the finish. I wish I had a photo of it. What I have now if my version of the same salad with an extra ingredient, green olives from Nablus, Palestine.

Preparation time: As much you need to pit the olives and slice and dice the rest of the ingredients

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup of pitted green olives – my favorites are Nabulsi green olives
1 small onion – white is preferable but yellow onions are fine as well
1/2 cup of fresh thyme leaves
2 Roma tomatoes
1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese or to taste
2 – 3 tbsp sumac powder or to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice

Preparation:
In a bowl, add the following …
Cut pitted green olives in half
Cubed the tomatoes
Sliced the onion
Crumbled feta cheese
Add the rest of the ingredients

and voilà, sahha wa hana (Arabic for bon appétit)