Tag: Salade

Would you like to create a mosaic in a bowl? Capture the beauty of Iran in a bite? This bright, crunchy, sour Iranian side dish is at once cooling and hydrating – perfect for these dog days of summer. Also, it tastes a heck of a lot like a quick pickle. If you add the big bits of coarse ground pepper, you’ll be bitten by a teasing taste of heat.

Recipe adapted from The Silk Road Gourmet by Laura Kelley. You can find more recipes and fascinating history on her blog Silk Road Gourmet.

Ingredients

• 1 large cucumber peeled, seeded, and cut into small pieces
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 14-16 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 Tbsp)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1 lime juiced (about 2 Tbsp)
• salt
• coarsely cracked pepper
• Ground sumac (garnish)

Instructions

Cover and place the mixture in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.

Let yourself drift off and dream the day away. When you awake, sprinkle the cucumber salad with sumac and take a giant bite of pickled goodness.

Thanks, Iran. That was easy!

Remarks

• Source: http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/iranian-cucumber-salad/

Sabrina Ghayour’s recipe for sweet and smokey vegan aubergine salad would make the perfect addition to a generous sharing spread. Infused with the flavours of Persia, it’s a little bit of middle-Eastern magic for you and your friends to enjoy

Ingredients

Instructions

Blister and char the skins of the aubergines and peppers either on a BBQ, under the grill or on the hob, until they crisp and are completely charred. This will take about 20 minutes under a hot grill.

Once done, put the aubergines on to a heatproof surface or tray and allow to cool for about 20 minutes until they’re just warm and you’re able to handle them.

Put the peppers into a plastic bag and close with a tie allowing them to sweat for about 20 minutes. Once done, the blackened, charred skin should slide easily off the peppers until you’re left with just the roasted flesh. Remove and discard the seeds and stalk, roughly chop the peppers and put into a bowl.

Using a large metal spoon, scoop out the flesh of the aubergines and drain off any juice, discarding the charred skin. Chop the flesh into smallish chunks, put in the pepper bowl and mix gently.

Add the parsley, crushed garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt and pepper and give all the ingredients a good mix until they’re evenly combined. Serve the aubergine on a wide, flat platter and spread it out. Drizzle generously with pomegranate molasses, scatter with the remaining parsley and finally the pomegranate seeds.

Remarks

• Serves: 6
• Total time: 1 uur
• Line the hob with foil to prevent a heavy clean-up as the juices can be messy when charring the aubergine and peppers.