13 April 2012

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!



6 comments:

  1. What a great photo, the colors just pop off the page!

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  2. I love finding new salads - these do indeed jump at you (and a fresh salad should do that). And it's spring! Bring on the salads!

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  3. Such a beautiful fresh salad! perfect for this time of the year!

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  4. I have plates just like that!You had me at potato. What a wonderful salad, minus the hot peppers. Thanks for sharing with us.

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  5. We do eat with the eyes first, so this eye catcher is something I definitely would enjoy! I like Moroccan cuisine and this salad has all the amazing trademarks of flavor that the cuisine has to offer. Delicious and healthy post-enjoy the weekend!
    Also, thanks for the nice comment on my blog post-it drew me over here to see this fabulous salad!

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  6. Beautiful medley of colours and flavours - so refreshing!

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