Lebanese Beans Salad | How to make Lebanese Beans Salad | Salad Recipes

Lebanese Beans Salad #Recipes

Lebanese Beans Salad is a simple, flavourful salad but is power packed with protein. Beans are extensively used in Lebanese cuisine and this salad is one of the great ways to add some veggies and beans to your diet.

I was very much hoping that I would be able to keep up with my schedule for the blogging marathon this month. I had been taking part in it since last 2 months so that I could keep this blog running. But, this month my schedule went haywire. A little lack of planning on my part and some unexpected writing assignments that came my way kept me busy and this little space was ignored. I am going to make up for it and will be posting my recipes here now.

My chosen theme for week #1 is Lebanese cuisine and as a part of it, I had posted my version of Fattoush Salad and a recipe for Hummus (without Tahini). The third and final recipe for the 1st-week theme is this 'Lebanese Beans Salad'.

Let's check the recipe now.

Lebanese Beans Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup boiled chickpeas
1 cup boiled red kidney beans
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
a handful of coriander leaves, chopped
a handful of mint leaves, chopped

For the dressing
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic finely crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Process:

1. Mix all the ingredients of the dressing in a bowl and whisk nicely.

2. In a large bowl add the salad ingredients and drizzle over the dressing. Shake well so that the dressing is well incorporated.

3. Cover the bowl and let it rest for at least half an hour in the refrigerator. Take it out, shake it and serve.

Notes:

1. If you are using canned beans, make sure you rinse them well with water before adding to the salad.

2. When using dried beans, soak the beans overnight and cook separately in a pressure cooker till they are thoroughly cooked but not mushy.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#79

Fattoush Salad | How to Make Fattoush Salad | Lebanese Recipes | Salad Recipes

Fattoush Salad #Recipe

Fattoush Salad is a Lebanese bread salad - greens, veggies and toasted pita bread pieces are the main ingredients. But, I have never loved bread croutons in my salad and for that reason, I have skipped the toasted pita chips in the fattoush salad I made.

The dressing for fattoush salad has two vital ingredients among others - sumac and pomegranate molasses. Sumac is tangy dried powder made from a kind of Middle Eastern red berry. Pomegranate molasses as the name says is made from pomegranate and is a commonly used ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking. I didn't have both these ingredients at hand, so I made the dressing without them. I have read that these two ingredients can make a lot of difference to the salad and I will surely try them whenever I get to buy them.

I did search about making pomegranate molasses at home and there were many links that said you could make it by cooking pomegranate juice over a low heat for a long time. But, then I am really wary of cooking fruit juices. So, I dropped the idea and went ahead to make my customised Fattoush Salad.

Last month had been an indulgent one for me foodwise. If you have checked my last month's posts, you will notice I posted mostly sweet dishes - brownies, kheer, peda. All that was part of the themes I chose to do for that month's blogging marathon.

But, the result is now seen when I stand on the bathroom scale!

Such is the life of a food blogger - I want to cook all the delicious dishes in the world, but then I have to take some steps back as ultimately I will be on the receiving end.

So, for this month, I decided I would blog about something really healthy. My chosen theme for the first week of BM#79 is Lebanese cuisine. And today I am posting the recipe for Fattoush Salad, albeit a customised one.

Let's check out how I made my Fattoush Salad.

Fattoush Salad Recipe

Inspired from here

Ingredients:

4-5 Romaine Lettuce leaves washed and chopped
1 large tomato, chopped in chunks
1 small cucumber, chopped in chunks
1 small onion, sliced
a handful of mint leaves
a handful of coriander leaves, chopped
1 cup chopped pita bread pieces toasted ( I didn't use)

Dressing:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3-4 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp sumac ( I didn't use)
2 tsp pomegranate molasses ( I didn't use)

Process:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the salad dressing in a bowl and whisk nicely.
2. Mix all the salad ingredients except toasted pita bread pieces.
3. Right before serving, add the dressing to the salad. Top it with pita chips (if you like) and serve immediately.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#79