root salad with sumac yoghurt dressing

A great salad for March. It’s crunchy (root veg) and colourful (beetroot and blood orange) with a yoghurt dressing made citrusy with sumac.  Luckily, we no longer think of salads as wilting lettuce leaves, tomatoes and cucumbers. Since leaves are in short supply in March, your veg box, local greengrocer or market will have some beetroot and celeriac. Other roots are available. Use what’s to hand. Our fridge had a kohlrabi (German turnip), and two small soft beetroots that had missed the boat for roasting. Basing ours on a recipe from Tender by Nigel Slater, we scattered in some sumac, giving each mouthful more citrus zing.  

Sumac is used a lot in salads in Lebanon. In mountainous areas where lemons don’t grow, these berries grow wild and provide the lemony taste for salads and more in Lebanon. Preserving them is part of the culinary heritage of Lebanon. Sumac is an essential ingredient in Lebanese “mouneh”, foods that are preserved in rural areas. It’s a spice added for its acidity.

Using seasonal produce is a trait of any Lebanese household. Celeriac and beetroot, while delicious cooked, when grated create different textures. Mandolin sliced kohlrabi marinated in thin slivers of blood orange, spiked with capers is a salad in itself. But here it forms the foundations of this beautiful rainbow. A handful of parsley, while not essential, provides the green we often expect in a salad and vitamins A, K and C. Drench the salad with Zejd’s extra virgin olive oil, for those polyphenols we need. When mixed with salt and lemon juice, marvel at how the EVOO emulsifies into a thick dressing as you whisk. The yoghurt dressing isn’t essential, but adds a luxuriously velvety note to your meal. 

enough for 4