I have a forest of herbs this spring! I was initially concerned that our extended deep freezes this last year killed them, but it’s done the opposite. These perennial and biennial herbs are outrageously tenacious.
One of the essential elements making a house a home for me is a kitchen herb garden. I plant one immediately at each location to which I’ve moved. The first two herbs to go in are flat leaf parsley and spearmint. For how can you make the three top Lebanese salads, taboulie, yogurt- cucumber salad, and fatoosh, without them?
We’ll cover the easiest salad today, yogurt-cucumber.
Mash the garlic with the salt into a paste. Combine all the ingredients except for the cucumbers. Add the sliced cucumbers just before serving. This is a nice side for any grilled meats or Lebanese traditional stuffed vegetables like grape leaves, swisschard, cabbage, or squash.
Which Lebanese salad made with fresh herbs is your favorite?
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried mint or a handful of chopped fresh mint
3 cups full fat plain unflavored yogurt
3-4 small cucumbers thinly sliced