Tag Archives: Salad

Quinoa and Chickpea Salad

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MayaOryan-QuinoaSalad

My first encounter with QUINOA was only few years ago. Before that, I never heard of it.

My Peruvian friend told me that it has been around for centuries, and I thought of myself, what a goose!

When I googled QUINOA, I found out that it is a whole protein and is packed with dietary fiber, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. This grain is gluten-free and has seen an increase in popularity in gluten-free diets. So gifted!

-Quinoa and I can sure be pals.

And all of a sudden, every restaurant I know has a quinoa recipe on his menu, and every Lebanese recipe has been exposed to the Quinoa factor; Tabouleh with quinoa, Falafel Quinoa, Zucchini stuffed with quinoa, Halloumi quinoa salad and many more.

Ever since, I geared up and Quinoa became a staple in my pantry.

One of my favorite Quinoa recipes that I’d like to share today, as it’s also going on my Christmas menu this year, is Quinoa and Chickpea Salad. And here how I make it!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup quinoa, cooked as per packet directions
  • 400g chickpeas aka garbanzo beans, cooked and peeled (or canned in brine)
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • 1 medium red pepper, diced

For the vinaigrette:

  • 4 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • ¼ cup Olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • 1tsp Dijon Mustard
  • Salt, to taste

Directions:

Basically, 1 cup of quinoa is cooked in 2 cups of water. Boil until all water is absorbed.

In a salad bowl, mix all 4 ingredients.

Whisk together the sauce’s ingredients until thickened and drizzle over the quinoa-chickpeas mix. Combine well and serve.

French Lentil Salad

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Is that for real that 3 months have passed since my last blog or it’s just my eyes! Gosh! What a busy summer… and how fast it finished!

Every year before the Holy month of Ramadan I get very busy with food styling jobs and this year as usual I got the chance to work on numerous brands I love. I had photo shoots every week since June.

But work is not the only reason to blame my disappearing, yes you guessed Vacation!

This year we went to beautiful Mallorca and sunny côte d’Azur. Delicious Paella and original Niçoise Salad! On our last night, we booked a table at La Petite Maison restaurant in Nice where they serve the best lentil salad ever and where my inspiration is for this recipe.

I fell in love with Nice! Maybe because there are a lot of similarities in their nature and our’s in Lebanon (they both lie on the Mediterranean sea) or simply maybe because I needed a vacation so much that I enjoyed every moment I spent there.

I’m sharing few pictures with you!

Ingredients

For the lentils:

  • 1 ½ cup red lentils or French green Lentilles du Puy
  • Salt, to taste
  • 1 bell pepper orange or red, diced
  • 1 red apple, peeled and diced
  • 5 small radishes, diced
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, cut in 4 each
  • 1 sprig of green onion, finely chopped (only the green with a little of the white bulb if desired)
  • Parsley, to garnish

For the vinaigrette:

  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup tbsp red wine vinegar apple vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp Dijon mustard

Preparation

1. Wash the lentils. Transfer to a saucepan with boiling water, add salt and cook until the lentils are tender (about 20-25mn). Do not overcook. When ready, drain and set aside.

2. To make the vinaigrette whisk all the ingredients together.

3. In a salad bowl, mix together the lentils, the vegetables and drizzle with the sauce. Decorate with parsley and serve,

Serve at room temperature.

The cafés – Nice

At the beach – Nice

Mallorca’s blue sea

Mallorca – August 2012

The Authentic Lebanese Fattoosh!

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For some it’s Cats or Dogs, for others Rome or Paris, for me it’s Fattoosh or Tabooleh☺

I love Fattoosh salad, especially on a hot summer day. Last week we were blessed with sunshine and I had this salad for three consecutive days.

Fattoosh is a Lebanese salad, simple comme bonjour, there’s no secret on how to make it. The distinctive ingredients are sumac, purslane and toasted pita, while everything else is usual.

Crunchy and healthy! Enjoy it☺

Ingredients

  • ½ Romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 3 Cucumber, diced
  • 3 Tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 Green Capsicum, seeded and chopped
  • 3 Radishes, sliced
  • 2 sprigs Green Onions / Spring Onions, chopped
  • ½ cup Parsley, leaves picked
  • ½ cup Purslane, leaves picked
  • ¼ cup Mint, leaves picked
  • 2 loaves Lebanese bread / Pitta Bread, toasted or fried

Dressing

  • 1 tbsp Sumac
  • ½ cup Lemon juice
  • ½ cup Olive oil
  • Salt, to taste

Preparation

In a large salad bowl, mix together the lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, capsicum, radish, green onions, parsley, purslane and mint. Toss with the dressing, and serve with toasted (or fried) bread at the last minute.

Strawberries Va-va-voom!

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Rocket leaves (arugula), Parmesan cheese and strawberries. Really, what’s not to love about that?

I mixed up all 3 ingredients, sprinkled little salt, drizzled oil and balsamic vinegar and my lunch box is ready!

I’m sue you all had in your life rocket leaves salad with Parmesan, mushrooms, tomatoes or bresaola, but did you try it with strawberries or blue berries? Delicious!

I have a photo shoot today and the schedule is tight. A quick light salad to munch on is an enjoyment on my little break. See you later!

Rocket Salad with Strawberries and Parmesan

Ingredients

  • 1 pack of rockets leaves
  • 12 strawberries, hulled and chopped [or blueberries]
  • Shaved parmesan, to taste
  • Sea salt, to sprinkle
  • Olive oil, to drizzle
  • Balsamic Vinegar, to drizzle

Preparation

Mix all ingredients, rocket leaves, berries and Parmesan. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with oil and vinegar.