Potato Salad سلطة بطاطس

Potato Salad. So many recipes, so many different ingredients, but heres mine.

Ingredients:
some diced potatoes, steamed or boiled
baby carrots and peas steamed
some mayonaise (around half a cup)
some yogurt (also around half a cup)
1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (for tangyness)
2 eggs boiled and diced.
and whatever canned veges i have in the pantry that i think will go good.
Paprika for dusting at the end.

I mix everything together then I just sprinkle with paprika in the end. Serve it with something like grilled fish or even chicken in the oven would be great.

Tabboule

Now, this might sound alarming, but i used to hate tabboule, but before you jump and say how could you!! let me just explain by saying that I used to order it from takeaway shops which I know dont make it the way its supposed to.. that turned me off making tabbouleh all together, until we had a big bunch of parsley lying around that my mum insisted I use up before it spoils, and judging by the to parsley leaves, it needed to be used right away, so i went ahead and made tabboule and to my amazement, it was just... beautiful isnt the word to describe it. now i know why this simple salad is so famous. heres MY recipe...

1 bunch of parsley finey chopped
 4 ripe tomatoes finely diced
3 tablespoons of fine burghul soaked in water for 15 minutes
1/2 yellow onion finely diced
1 cup of finely diced mint
juice of one juicy lemon
teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of olive oil.

put all ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands. serve in a large bowl and decorate with lettuce leaves.

Home made Hommos (No canned stuff around here)

Chickpeas are one of my favourite beans/pulses. There full of protein, vitamins, minerals, and there are so filling that by the time main meal hits your table, your practically full from all that dipping and scooping up hommos with bread, so remember to eat this lightly if your having this as an apetizer or go full out and eat as much as you want if your having this as a brunch. What i love about hommos is that its so versatile, you can eat with anything and the taste is mild but the kick of lemon and garlic give it a nice touch. When I see hommos, I must say, i love it to be creamy, white and thick but not too thick. It has to be thick enough to stay on the bread but also creamy enough to be able to spread effortlessy. Heres how i make this classic hit.

1 and 1/2 cup of dried chickpeas (from arabic supermarket)
1/2 cup of tahini
Juice of 2 lemons.
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
4 gloves garlic mashed
salt
Water to thin the tahini

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in water. Water should be 2 inches above chickpeas.
2. In the morning, wash chickpeas, but in saucepan with water to the rim and simmer for 2 hours.
3. When chickpeas are mushy, drain and put in food processor.
4. Take tahini in a small bowl and add water little by little and whisk until tahini is white and smooth. (It will get clumpy but thats normal just keep whisking and adding water until its completley smooth and has a white colour).
5. Add tahini, lemon juice, garlic, lemon zest and salt to the food process which already has chickpeas and blend on high  until its smooth and creamy. Chill and go crazy with garnishing like me lol.

Cool refreshing Tzatziki dip سلطة زبادى

Ive seen many versions of this delicious yogurt dip, and after trying many, I made my own version and ive found that i make it very simple and easy and the taste is very delicious! I usually make this when we are having grilled lamb or chicken and it goes great as refreshing accompaniant to spicy middle-eastern food. You can spread it on a sandwich or even use it as dipping sauce with some lebanese bread, its versitale and del-ici-ous.

Ingredients
Some greek yogurt ( It only works with greek yogurt because of its thick consistency)
2 cloves garlic minced with some salt

2 cucumbers diced finely
A good pinch of cumin

generous drizzles of olive oil

Garnish: Paprika, olives, mint, whatever you can find!

Heres what you do:
Place the yogurt in a bowl, add minced garlic. I find that mincing or mashing the garlic with abit of salt really brings out the flavour of the garlic, so i add it with the garlic rather than putting salt in the yogurt. I then add the diced cucumbers and cumin and mix really well with a spoon. Drizzle olive oil on top and serve with anything you like. Its so cool and refreshing not to mention delicious! 

*Sorry about the missing picture. I will upload one as soon as I buy a new camera*

Pomegranate Fattoush Salad.

Ingredients:
1 green bell pepper diced
2 small radishesdiced
1 carrot shredded
1 hand ful of parsley chopped
2 tomatoes diced
2 lebanese cucumberdiced
half cup pomegranate seeds
half loaf of lebanese pita bread fried in corn oil.
DressingL
half lemon juice
pinch of salt and pepper
1 teaspoon of sumac
Mix all ur vegetables in a bowl. Dont be afraid to use pomegranate seeds, They taste amazingly good. You then need to fry the bread in corn oil until its a nice golden colour. Be colour that you dont burn it. Golden should be fine. once its golden crack it over the salad. Mix well. Mix your dressing ingredients together and pour over your salad.

Voila its very delicious!