Iraqi Salad

When I think about the most common dishes that regularly appeared at the dinner table growing up, there are a few that stand out. Chicken and yellow rice was a classic that my brother and I often requested. Marakas, or tomato stews such as bomya and lobia were featured at least weekly. And, there were a few salads that made it into the dinner rotation, including Iraqi Salad. We would usually make Iraqi Salad when we didn’t feel like cooking and craved something simpler and easy to prepare. Our pantry was always well stocked with cans of chickpeas and beets, or, we’d have jars of pickled beets in the fridge. A bit of chopping, and voilà, dinner was served.

As a kid, Iraqi Salad wasn’t my favorite meal. Although I always loved eating hummus, I hated chickpeas. I refused to eat them in any form besides hummus, until I one day came to my senses and realized how absolutely amazing they were. Beets, another key ingredient to Iraqi Salads, were another item that I disliked. It was living in France, and eating a shredded carrot-beet salad that awakened my taste buds to the subtle sweetness, texture, and general amazingness that beets can bring to a dish.

This Iraqi Salad is a wonderfully hearty but light salad. It can be a colorful side dish, an appetizer, or a stand-alone meal for those days when you want something simple.

Roasted Beets

Iraqi Salad

Ingredients

  • 15 oz chickpeas (rinsed and drained, if using canned)
  • 1 cup diced and cooked beets
  • 1 cup diced cucumber
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
  • mint, dried or fresh to taste
  • 1/4 cup lemon
  • 2 tbsp white vinegar
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 tsp sugar

Instructions

  1. Roast the beets. (Wash the beets. Wrap in foil. Roast until tender, about an hour. When the beets are done cooking, and relatively cool, peel their skin using your hands or a paper towel. It gets messy!)

  2. Dice the beets, and set aside, separate from the other vegetables. 

  3. Dice the cucumbers and tomatoes, set aside. 

  4. In a large bowl, mix the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumbers, mint and parsley. Add the vinegar, lemon and salt. Mix, taste, and add more salt as needed. 

  5. Add the beets last, since, when mixing, they color the other vegetables. The salad can keep for a day or two in the fridge.  

Recipe Notes

  • I firmly believe in tweaking recipes to match your tastebuds and needs. Add as much or as little lemon, vinegar and salt as you like. 
  • Add a bit of sugar (1/2 - 1 teaspoon) to balance the sour and salty flavors. The sugar won't actually make the dish sweet; it just brings the flavors together. 
  • I don't have a go-to method for roasting beets. I’ve tried a few different methods, including peel and chop beets, peel and leave whole, and wrap beets in foil before roasting. Of these three techniques, roasting the beets whole and uncut provided the most tender beets. However, it was messy and a bit tedious to peel the beets after roasting. I’d love to hear about your favorite ways to roast beets!

Veggies for Iraqi Salad

Iraqi Salad

 

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6 Comments

  1. Izzy
    August 19, 2018
    Reply

    Looks delicious and very healthy👍🏻
    I love this salad because I can get my veggies with protein 😊

  2. Russell Sullivan
    August 26, 2018
    Reply

    Made this tonight for an out-of-town visitor who is vegan, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.
    I peeled the raw beets with a serrated vegetable peeler, chopped them into about 1/2″ cubes, stirred them with a small amount of olive oil in a large bowl, then put them on a parchment-paper lined sheet pan, and baked them for about 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

    • Candice
      August 31, 2018
      Reply

      I’m so glad you both enjoyed the salad! Chopping the beets before cooking is a good idea. Sounds less messy than peeling the beets post-roasting. The few times I chopped the beets before cooking, I dried them out. I need to keep a closer eye next time!

  3. Tom
    January 15, 2019
    Reply

    Hey Candice,
    I’m Chaldean too and my mum makes this Salad for me all the time – it’s delicious!
    I will show her your page I’m sure she’ll like it.

    Just as a suggestion I would also include the nutritional information along with your recipes.
    Particularly Calories, Carbs, Fat (Unsaturated and saturated), Protein and Sodium.

    Thanks and good work!

    • Candice
      January 17, 2019
      Reply

      Hi Tom! Thank you for message. My dad made Iraqi salad, or versions of it, quite often. I love it too 🙂 I’ll consider adding nutritional info. Thank you for your suggestion!

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