Ingredients:
3-4 cups cooked chickpeas (or canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained)
1 cup cooked or canned green beans, diced into medium pieces
1 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/2 red or green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 stalks celery and tops, chopped
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
1 carrot, shredded
2-3 cloves garlic, mashed or grated
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon fresh minced dill
Juice of 2 lemons and zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
Sea or Kosher salt, dried mint, and cayenne and black pepper
Chopped black or Kalamata olives and green onions as garnish
Mixed greens, spinach, watercress, and kale (for 4 people)
Combine all salad ingredients (except the mixed greens) in a bowl and toss with lemon juice, zest, olive oil, and all spices. Add more lemon juice or olive oil, if desired, and sprinkle with olives and green onions.
Arrange serving plates with the mixed greens. Spoon salad on top of the greens and add a dollop of Lemon Lebni on each plate as an accompaniment.
Serve with bagel chips, pita chips, toasted pita bread, garlic bread, crackers or flat bread.
*Chopped fresh salmon or diced or shredded turkey or chicken may be added to this salad. Salad may be made up to 2 days ahead of serving and chilled.
Lemon Lebni
1 1/2 cups lebni
Juice of 1 large lemon and zest from 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, mashed
3 Persian cucumbers, seeded and shredded
Sea salt and black pepper
Olive oil
Paprika or Aleppo pepper as garnish
Place the lebni in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients, and mix well until all ingredients are combined. Drizzle with some olive oil, paprika or Aleppo pepper and serve.
Serves 4.
*To see more of Christine’s recipes, go to:
http://search.myrecipes.com/search.html?Ntt=datian or http://www.thearmeniankitchen.com.
Christine Vartanian Datian is a native of Fresno, California and lives in Las Vegas. She has worked in advertising, marketing, and government subcontracting, and served as a copywriter and technical writer. She is a graduate of California State University, Fresno (CSUF), and holds a Master of Arts Degree (MA) in Mass Communications. She has been published in Sunset and Cooking Light Magazines.
