Levantine chopped salad, sumac & wild garlic dressing
Levantine chopped salad, sumac & wild garlic dressing Prep Time: 10/15 Minutes Serves: 4 This is the simplest version of
Salads
Certainly, I included additional ingredients beyond what the title indicates. The robust tastes of the chili and fennel are balanced by the bright citrus and refreshing mint. Incorporating green beans and peppery arugula, topped off with a dressing made of citrus, honey, and mustard, rounds out this salad. It complements grilled seafood, poultry, beef, and hearty pasta dishes exceptionally well.
Vegetarian & Vegan
I had this dish in Jaipur, (The pink city) Rajasthan, in a restaurant served with naan bread. Travelling India I became a vegetarian whilst there, as I saw the meat in the markets and didn’t trust it.
The spinach can be substituted with peas making it a popular dish served in Indian restaurants the U.K. often laden with cream and even condensed milk!
Savoury
Pure ‘street food’ combined with a great, easy-to-make chutney. The first time I was in India was at the age of twenty-one. I used to eat this delicious snack in every new place I visited. Sometimes it would be fiery hot, other times made with more flavour than heat. I substitute sweet potatoes for white potatoes. These are oven-roasted for a healthier option, but if you deep-fry or air-fry, make sure you seal the outer layer with a paste made from flour and water.
The essential base of a pakora is chickpea flour which makes it a natural gluten-free snack, with the addition of cornflour for extra crispness. This delightful monsoon snack is the customary counterpart to hot chai throughout the wet season. While often connected to the Punjab region are stable of the subcontinent, with variations including panner cheese, chicken and haggis.
Pork
The origin of the Scotch egg is disputed. Fortnum and Mason claim it was a portable snack for the well healed traveller invented in 1738. However, other claims are from J. Scott & Son’s a 19th century creation covered in fish paste, or of 19th century spiced Indian dish.
It can be made any of your favourite sausage meat covering a variety of eggs from quails, hens to duck eggs. I have used a Wiltshire sausage meat recipe that I have adapted.
I had this at Le Petit Maison in Mayfair. I don’t know how close this is to their recipe, but this is a real crowd pleaser and always surprises my guests. It also brings a little Riviera sunshine to the table.
Poultry
Spending eight years in Dubai you get accustomed to the great outdoors even if the temperature reaches 57c in the summer with 100 % humidity. I became friend’s with a Sheik who owned an R.V. camp in the dessert in the northern Emirate of Ras al Khaimah. Where I was also the head of Food and Beverage in the hospital. We used to cook fish from the market, bbq chicken, vegetables around a fire pit fuelled with wood gleaned from the dessert. The winter was wonderful sitting out wrapped in a blanket on a star lit night, such a magical experience. This recipe saved us a trip into town. Served with bread, pickles, salad, garlic & chilli dressing, was the perfect late evening snack.
This is well worth the effort to make this easy dish, but takes preplanning.
When I was a kibbutznik we go into town on a Thursday evening for a drink with the other volunteers. The highlight of the night was going for a falafel with all the wonderful condiments. I developed this recipe whilst studying at the College of Naturopathic Medicine, as sprouting removes the anti nutrients making them more digestible and increases absorption of other vitamins. It was on the Tree Bistro’s menu and is a vegan friendly dish. You can soak chickpeas overnight if your in a hurry.
If you are lucky enough to get hold of the dense round Italian ones then great. If not try and find ones that are naturally grown i.e. not hydroponic.
I use paprika; you can go authentic and use Turkish sweet red pepper paste. Either way it tastes great. The amount of fresh chilli used is up you and your guest’s palate. The sumac can be substituted with the juice and zest of half a lemon. The pomegranate molasses gives a great depth of flavour.
I developed this one summer during Covid at ‘The Hut’ Elements doing, takeaways with my good friend Jamie Stevenson. The beetroot adds a vibrant colour to the dish. It also provides Vitamin B9, potassium helping lower blood pressure and aiding digestion.
This is the simplest version of this salad; you jazz it up by adding radish and or spring onions. Sumac gives a lemony flavour to the dressing. I bring the ingredients out of the fridge an hour before as I don’t like eating cold salads. I make own vinegars, choose one that is unpasteurised.