Middle Eastern Chopped Summer Salad

by Linda Voorhis | Jul 31, 2018 | General, Recipes

Something Refreshing

So, it�s in the heat of the summer here in Sedona area. Not uncommon for triple digits by 10am. Although it is high dessert, which means it starts to cool down a little by 6pm, it is still hot, especially since we are in monsoon season.

Turning on the oven or the gas burners are not something that are appealing right now. And because it�s been so dang dry here (I�m actually writing this blog post on June 25 to get ahead), there is a fire ban in the County. Translated, you can�t even light a match to light a stick of incense outside. No outdoor open flames at all (which also means that my outdoor wood burning oven tutorial must be put on the back burner, so to speak, both figuratively and literally).

And while I enjoy a hearty salad, I have to admit that I am starting to feel like I�ve had my share of lettuce, so I needed to change it up.

Here�s what I�ve come up with�.I�m calling it my Middle Eastern Chopped Salad.

Let�s Start With The Dressing

Easy enough. I put all the ingredients into my smoothie cup to my�Ninja�blender and whizzed them together until homogenously creamy. What I love about using this tool is that I can then cover it with the smoothie lid and park in the refrigerator, so I have enough for a couple of meals.

Here�s the ingredients that all go in together:

1 cup sherry vinegar
1 cup tahini
� cup parsley or cilantro stems (save and use the parsley/cilantro leaves for your salad)
� preserved lemon
3 tablespoons namu shoyu or other soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons Vegan Fysh Sauce by TofunaFysh (I buy mine through Amazon)
6 garlic cloves
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Optional: �-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Now, on to the salad�

You�ll want to chop all the vegetables to as similar in size as possible, being slightly smaller than bite-sized pieces. After preparing your mise en place, mix all the vegetables together in a large bowl, then add your dressing, only to lightly coat, and toss until well combined. Served immediately at room temperature is grand; but it also parks well in the refrigerator for several days.