Persian Chopped Salad

I made another really great salad this weekend when my family came over for dinner that is from Heather Christo's blog.  She is a food blogger who I've followed for a long time who lived in Seattle.  They have since moved from the area but I still love reading her blog.  Her family has a lot of food allergies so her recipes are geared toward omitting common allergenic foods such as gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, etc.  It's really interesting to read her story here and she also has a lot of information about allergies or just food intolerances in general.  She also has a cookbook you can get here.  I've used a lot of her recipes on my blog, mostly in the "alcoholic beverage" section of my blog.  For whatever reason, Heather has A LOT of really good cocktail recipes and her photos are gorgeous.  Hey, the girl knows how to have a good time, is all I can say... Now that I am on this journey to clean-up my own diet, I am more attracted to her other recipes besides just her alcoholic beverage recipes and this salad is a good one.  I was attracted to it because it uses Persian cucumbers.  I see them at Trader Joe's all the time and Nick's family eats them a lot.  They are very popular in Japan.  If you've never seen them, they are small, baby cucumbers, usually about 5" - 6" long. They are also very thinned skinned and nearly seedless.  They are different than English cucumbers mainly because they are smaller but also because they are more crunchy than English cucumbers, less watery, and more sweet.  The grandkids love them.  At Trader Joe's, they usually come in a package of half a dozen or so.  

This recipe has a lot of good things in it like the spice called Za'atar, which is a Middle Eastern spice.  It's a combination of dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, sumac, toasted sesame seeds and salt but there are a lot of varieties.  You can make your own or purchase it in the store.  I just bought a jar of it at the grocery store to keep life simple.  It also has garbanzo beans to add a little protein and that Middle Eastern flare to it.  Everyone in my family loved this salad so it passed the taste test.  I plan to make this recipe lots and lots this summer as a good side dish for barbecues.  I'm trying to avoid the starchy salads like macaroni and potato salads that are so common in the summer and instead have lots of low carb choices like this one.  If they are all as tasty as this one, I'm sure no one will even miss our typical starchy alternatives. 

 Serves 6

4 Persian cucumbers, cut into bite sized pieces

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces

1 bunch of radishes, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces 

1 small purple onion, diced (or I used a sweet onion such as Walla Walla or Vidialia onion)

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

2 ounces fresh dill, finely chopped

1 cup packed fresh mint, finely chopped

1 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley

                                                 Za'atar Vinaigrette

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tsp. za'atar

kosher salt

1.  Combine all of the vegetables and the fresh herbs in a large bowl.

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar and za'atar.  Season to taste with kosher salt.

3.  Toss the dressing into the vegetables and season to taste with kosher salt.  Serve at room temperature or chilled.