Raw Vegetable Salad with Oil-Braised Garlic and Near East Spices
This vegetable salad is so delicious it's making my mouth water as I look at the picture; it's also exceedingly easy to make. You can use whatever vegetables you prefer, or whatever seasonings you prefer. The recipe is below, but these are the basic steps.
Slice, chop, or shred whatever vegetables you like.
Put the vegetables in a bowl and sprinkle salt over them.
Slow-cook whole garlic cloves in olive oil.
Add spices to the pan and remove from the heat.
Stir the still-hot oil-garlic-spice mixture into the vegetables
Stir in lemon juice.
Here it is in pictures, a recipe is below.
Raw Vegetable Salad with Oil-Braised Garlic and Near East Spices
Makes about 12 portions, but the recipe may easliy be reduced in size.
Slice, chop, and shred enough of your favorite vegetables to feed 12 people (I used red onion, cabbage, carrot, zucchini, asparagus, red bell pepper, celery, cucumber, and green beans). Mix the vegetables together in a large bowl and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of kosher salt over them; mix the vegetables again and set aside. In a small skillet, combine 1 cup of olive oil and up to 25 whole garlic cloves (their sharpness is greatly diminished when they braise). Place the pan over low-medium heat and cook the garlic for about 20-30 minutes...it will simmer for quite a while before it begins to brown, if it browns too quickly the heat is too high. After the garlic is lightly browned and soft enough that it can be mashed with the back of a spoon, remove it from the heat. Stir into the oil-garlic mixture--while it is still hot--1 tablespoon curry, 1 tablespoon black sesame seed, 2 teaspoons crushed hot pepper, 2 teaspoons whole coriander seed, 2 teaspoons whole cumin seed, and 2 teaspoons whole mustard seed. All the spices to cook in the hot oil for about 30 seconds, stirring them gently, then pour this mixture over the raw vegetables. Add 1/2 cup of lemon juice and gently stir the salad. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
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