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Saturday, July 27, 2013

Messy Indie Cooking Vol.8 - Nice Summer Salads

I've been experimenting with salads lately and here are two recipes I'd love to share with you.



Lentil Tabbouleh


 Ingredients: 
(Serving for 4)

- 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils
- 1 cup cooked bulgur
-small leek or small scallion
-a bunch of parsley & cilantro (coriander)
-Olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and cumin as you find fit.

Preparation:
I called it Lentil Tabbouleh mainly because it has all the ingredients except tomatoes. I wanted to do a variation of the famous mezze. Here all you need to do in advance is cook your lentil and bulgur separately in advance. 

Cooking lentils is very easy, you might want to clean them well as sometimes little stones come in the package...I used small sized lentils as they cook faster and are usually much cleaner. (It could take up to 40 min to cook). I put some salt, pepper and bay leaves while cooking them. Drain them when done and let it cool. (I made these the night before, so it worked perfectly)

Cooking bulgur is even easier...it could take you just 5 to 10 minutes. Just pour bulgur in water with salt and pepper. Drain and let it cool. 

Chop all your other ingredients very finely, the secret to a good tabbouleh is that all greens and herbs are chopped in a very tiny manner!
Add lentils, bulgur and the greens in a bowl, mix and season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and cumin at choice...

Refreshing and nutritious!



Russian Inspired Salad

Ingredients:
(Serving for 4)

-4 large potatoes chopped and boiled
-2 large carrots chopped and boiled
-6 cherry tomatoes
-2 pieces of fennel (half a bulb with filiform leaves included)
-Olives
- 1 small scallion
-2 cucumbers
-2 pickled cucumbers
-a bunch of parsley
-salt, pepper and olive oil at choice
 (Boiled egg is optional, I did not add it here).


Preparation:

Start by cooking your potatoes and carrots together. The fastest way is to peel and chop them in small cubes. These will take up to 20 minutes to boil and be ready. Drain and set aside, allow them to cool.

Start cutting your scallion, parsley, fennel, cucumbers (both natural and pickled) and tomatoes. Chop all small and nicely. 

Once your potatoes and carrots have cooled down, place the previous cut mixture to it. Mix it well and add black olives and egg is desired.

Season with salt, pepper and olive oil...ready for serving!


Enjoy!
Bon Appetit!