Arabic Salad (Salata)
Alot
of small chopping involved
here...it should look a bit like a salsa by the end so a sharp knife is
important! It is worth the mission though, its my favourite breakfast thing in
that it compliments the other food really well because of the
freshness...especially the fried, salty, heavy dishes.
Ingredients
Bunch
of Parsley
1
White onion
4
tomatoes
Lemon
juice and zest ( 1 large lemon or 2 small)
Salt
and pepper
Olive
Oil
Directions:
-
So
it doesn't really matter what order you do the chopping in, but I would start
with the tomatoes. You need to get the skin off them. Great if you have a fancy
peeler, if not then put the tomatoes in hot water for a couple of minutes until
the skin starts to peel off at the top. Then take them out of the hot water,
put them in cold water and peel the skin off. Use a sharp knife and chop the
tomatoes finely....they should be tiny little pieces! Once you have done that,
you can chop the onion and parsley just as finely and mix it all together.
You
could blitz the onion in a food processor if you have the right settings...be
careful with the parsley if it is too pulpy it will turn the whole salad green!
That is known from experience. I went back to hand labour.
You then add a good shake of salt, a decent lug of olive oil and a bit of
zest and the lemon juice. It is better if you use a juicer / squeezer press
thing. Not sure what they are called actually. Anyway that is it! Eat with
pitta bread, warm preferably.
Fried
Halloumi
Not
sure if fried cheese is a bit of a pointless addition... I don’t normally use
Halloumi but a harder saltier Arabic cheese called Jib-neh...it isn’t for the
faint hearted or those with high blood pressure. Halloumi is just as nice and easy to
find aka everywhere.
For
Arabic groceries in London try Green Valley supermarket near Edgeware road. No
link to the website but found this http://www.qype.co.uk/place/1012282-Green-Valley-London
If
you want to be healthy or healthier at any rate, brush with oil and grill
instead of frying. It isn’t as good though.
Ingredients
Olive
Oil
Halloumi
Honey
to taste (optional)
Directions:
-
Cut the cheese in to
reasonably thick slices, if they are too thin they will possibly start to
disintegrate and split apart or end up like cheese chips aka hard all the way
through. Heat olive oil in a frying pan, not too much oil and no high sided
pans or you will end up poaching the cheese and it will melt in to a goo....a
tasty one at that. Use medium heat, as you want it to brown in to a golden
crust on the flat side. When the golden crust has been achieved turn it and do
the same on the other side. Take it off the heat and put in a dish with some
honey on the side. Highly recommend the honey