Middle Eastern Bean Salad Recipes

MIDDLE EASTERN FRESH FAVA BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• Shell fresh fava beans (remove outer pods). You should have about 2 cups. In a medium saucepan cook shelled beans, uncovered, in enough boiling water to cover for 1 minute; drain. Transfer to cold water; drain. To remove outer skin, peel it back with your thumbnail and pop out the bean.
• In a medium saucepan cook beans, uncovered, in boiling water about 10 minutes or until tender; drain. Let cool.
• In a large bowl whisk together oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic. Stir in cooled beans, cucumber, tomato, and parsley. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Divide bean mixture among 6 salad plates. Top each serving with feta cheese and capers. Makes 6 servings.

MIDDLE EASTERN BALELA SALAD

Steps:

• Stir chickpeas, black beans, tomatoes, red onion, parsley, and mint together in a large bowl.
• Whisk lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin, salt, and ground pepper together in a bowl; pour over chickpea mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate salad until flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

MIDDLE EASTERN STYLE BLACK BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• Mix all salad ingredients together, place to the side while making the dressing.
• To make dressing, mix lemon juice with cumin, salt and pepper.
• Beat in olive oil.
• Fold into reserved salad.
• Chill several hours to enhance flavor.

MIDDLE EASTERN BEAN AND ROASTED VEGETABLE SALAD

Steps:

• Chill the chick peas and beans for as long as possible. Steep couscous in boiling salted water.
• In a blender or food processor or by hand, blend until smooth the tahini paste, garlic, cumin, coriander, lowfat yogurt, parsley, olive oil, grated lemon zest and juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer to a mixing bowl.
• Add the chilled beans to the dressing and walnuts. Fluff up the couscous with a fork and add to beans and walnuts; toss the ingredients together and adjust the seasoning.
• On each dinner plate make an outer wreath of dressed greens, an inner wreath of mixed grilled vegetables of choice and center couscous and chick peas in the middle. Garnish top with roasted red peppers.

BALELA SALAD

Steps:

• In a salad bowl, lightly mix together the garbanzo beans, black beans, mint, parsley, onion, and grape tomatoes.
• Place the jalapeno pepper, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar into a blender, and blend until thoroughly combined. Pour the dressing over the salad, and toss to mix; sprinkle with salt and black pepper to serve.

MIDDLE EASTERN BEAN SALAD WITH PARSLEY AND LEMON (BALELA)

Steps:

• Pour chick peas and black beans one at a time into colander placed in sink, rinse well until no more foam appears and let drain.Blot dry if they seem too wet.
• While beans are draining, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and let the flavors blend.
• Mix the salad ingredients together and let it marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
• Chop green onions, tomatoes and parsly and add to bowl. Combine this with the beans.
• Whisk dressing ingredients and gently add dressing to bean mixture.
• Add salt and pepper.