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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!