Moroccan Vegetable Salad

How can you NOT love a salad with all these colors? I fixed these as an accompaniment to a roasted leg of lamb when I made our Easter lunch. This is a salad that packs a lot of punch. There are strong citrus, garlic, and hot chili flavours ... little pockets of huge pizzazz that hit your tongue in different ways with each bite. They were perfect with the mellow spiced lamb and roasties. And the colors ... so cheerful!

Moroccan Vegetable Salad

Salad for 2 or 3

Ingredients:

½ large seedless cucumber, washed and thinly sliced

2 cold boiled potatoes, sliced

½ each red, yellow, and green peppers, seeded and veined, sliced to thin ribbons

1 c. pitted black olives

1 small perfect hot chili – jalapeno works well, sliced thinly into coins (seeds and veins intact)

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 spring onions/scallions, thinly sliced coins – whites and greens

¼ small purple onion, thinly sliced wedges

2 tbsp. good quality olive oil

1 tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped

Kosher salt and black pepper

Making the Salad:

1. Peel and gently boil the potatoes whole for three to five minutes, then lower the heat to simmer and finish them, being careful that they don’t overcook.
2. Remove the potatoes and let them sit in cold water to cool down.
3. Slice the cucumber and prepare the other vegetables.
4. When you want to make the salad plates, slice the potatoes and place them and the sliced cucumber on the plates.
5. Arrange the sweet pepper slices atop, lay on the purple onions, black olives, minced garlic, scallion coins, and  hot peppers slices.
6. Drizzle the olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice over all, letting things dribble down through the layers.
7. Sprinkle on the chopped herbs, kosher salt, and black pepper.
8. Chill the salads for an hour or so, letting the juices and oil and vinegar do its work.
9. Serve with grilled or roasted meats as a cold fresh accompaniment.

Note: The jalapeno pepper makes this a very hot affair ... plan accordingly! We love the spice. You may not, so feel free to use less. Also, cilantro is a traditional addition to the chopped herb mix. I had none, so I substituted the flat leaf parsley. Mint is a must, though!