Potato, corn and heart of romaine salad

We love to barbecue, and this salad is a great side dish, because John just tosses the vegetables on before he starts grilling the main. It’s combined with a buttermilk dressing, I recommend making it a day ahead if you have time, this allows for all the flavors to meld.

Potato, corn and heart of romaine salad – 6 servings
1 lb baby potatoes, thickly sliced
2 corn cobs, husks removed
1 small leek, trimmed, cut lengthwise into 4
1 heart of romaine, torn or coarsely chopped
1/2 cup mint, loosely packed
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Prepare a saucepan of water, potato slices, and salt, bring to a boil over high heat until just tender, about 5-6 minutes, drain and transfer to a bowl.

Prepare the barbecue to a medium-high heat. Drizzle corn and leeks with a little oil and grill, turning occasionally, until tender. When cool enough to handle, cut kernels from cobs, coarsely chop leek and add both to the potato.

For buttermilk dressing, whisk buttermilk, crème fraîche, 2 tbsp olive oil, vinegar, Dijon and garlic in a bowl to combine. Add dressing to potato mixture, add romaine and mint, season to taste with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

Happy Cooking!

Fatouche Salad

We love to have salads for dinner during the summer. And this is one I grew up eating all the time. I don’t know if every Lebanese household pulls this off on Fridays in the summer, but my mom did…she would make Fatouche and French fries. It was the perfect way to enjoy a hot Friday night.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve made it more to my and John’s liking. We skip the mint, we add feta, we don’t use as much lemon and salt than my mom would like, and we use more cherry and whole tomatoes, peppers and cucumber than lettuce. Now that’s not to say that when my mom makes Fatouche I complain…I love it – it’s just different, and it’s my mom.

Fatouche – 3 servings
1 head of romaine, chopped
Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tomato, chopped
1 pepper, green or yellow, cubed
1 cucumber, halved, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1/4 teaspoon Sumac
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 medium rounds of Pita bread
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Split the pita bread in half, and bake until golden brown. You need to keep an eye on this. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve burned the bread! Remove from the oven and set aside.

Toss together all the vegetables, and in separate bowl combine sumac, lemon juice, and olive oil. Whisk until well combined, pour over salad, taste and season with salt and pepper.

Break up pita bread over the salad to bite size pieces and top with feta. Toss together when you are ready to serve.

Don’t forget to wash your hands, and eat with your fingers. 🙂
Happy Cooking!

Garden Salad

No lettuce here friends, well unless you want to decorate the plate with romaine leaves. This is a delicious and healthy meal on its own, even my husband who was skeptical as I prepared it, had two servings!

It’s super simple, use what you have in the garden and add a can of chickpeas, or fresh ones if you are lucky to get your hands on some. I only used a few items, because we’re keeping our fridge empty – all our vegetables are turning color and we’ll need the space. So feel free to use, cucumber, zucchini, any sort of tomatoes, parsley, multiple pepper colors, and even grated beets!

Garden Salad – serves 2
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt
1 15-oz can of chickpeas, rinsed
1 scallion, sliced
1/4 pepper, any color, diced
1/2 tomato, diced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, and season with salt.
Combine the remaining ingredients, mix well, and divide among plates.

If you have endive, you could serve this as a wonderful appetizer. Separate leaves, lay them on a plate, chop smaller inner leaves, add to salad. Mix well, and spoon chickpea salad into each leaf. No utensils necessary to enjoy!

Stay cool in the heat, and drink plenty of water!
Happy Cooking!