Mediterranean Cooking from the Garden with Linda Dalal Sawaya—yogurt and cucumber salad for a summer cool off
salatat laban ou khyar © linda dalal sawaya 2015
This morning I delighted in picking my first Middle Eastern cucumbers—small, crisp, and not seedy that give the best crunch to this favorite Lebanese summer salad, called laban ou khyar. While a cup of yogurt might be refreshing on its own, adding thinly sliced cucumbers, garlic mashed to a paste with salt, crushed dried spearmint, and a little lemon juice makes an even more summer-quenching complement to barbeques, kebabs, spicy entrees, or simply becomes a perfect light meal all on it’s own.
Every year I plant a variety of Middle Eastern, Asian, and even pickling cucumbers that have similar qualities—their seeds tend to be small, their skins are thin so no need to peel them, and they are crisp without bitterness. A secret to growing your own organic cucumbers without bitterness is providing ample water, and picking them small. This summer keeping things watered has been a challenge, so I use a lot of mulch and plant close together to create shade, retaining as much moisture in the soil as possible. There is still no comparison with a homegrown organic cucumber and a store bought one! Pick some up at the farmers’ market if you’re not growing your own, and taste the difference. This is my favorite time of the year!
three varieties of organic cucumbers from my garden © linda dalal sawaya 2015
Our chilled summer salad is the Lebanese cousin of Greek tsatziki, or Indian raita, or Turkish cacik, or Persian mast o chair whose name is very similar to the Arabic and Lebanese name, laban ou khyar, and is what mama called it in Alice’s Kitchen: Traditional Lebanese Cooking recipe on page 66.
One cucumber variety I’ve grown from seed is called “muncher”, an American version of Persian cucumbers or the Mid-East Prolific variety which i usually grow. It’s the first time I’ve grown munchers, and am quite pleased. The blossoms on the plant are huge—almost 3 inches wide! And the cucumbers are only about 4 inches long, picked when they’re young and crisp.
This summer I picked up a few new cucumber varieties at the farmers’ market to try out that are amazing: one is called salt and pepper because the cucumber is practically white with little black specs. It is delicious: crunchy, sweet, and juicy. Two small muncher variety cukes are on the right.
snow peas, Lebanese kousa, patty pan squash and cucumbers from my garden © linda dalal sawaya 2015
Choosing or making your own full fat yogurt (laban) makes the creamiest yogurt and cucumber salad. Simply slice cucumbers and add to yogurt with the garlic paste. The sea salt garlic paste is a secret to drawing the most flavor from garlic and infusing it into any salad. Our classic Lebanese salad dressing is a mix of garlic paste, lemon juice, and olive oil and it’s great drizzled on any vegetable—raw, sautéed, steamed, or grilled. For this yogurt and cucumber salad, the garlic paste is added to the yogurt and cucumbers, a little lemon juice is squeezed in, with crushed dried spearmint and mixed all together.
mincing garlic © linda dalal sawaya 2015
garlic and sea salt © linda dalal sawaya 2015
making garlic paste © linda dalal sawaya 2015
organic cucumbers for salatat laban ou khyar © linda dalal sawaya 2015
Chilling it a couple of hours before serving allows the flavors to meld and the coldness in one’s mouth is a fabulous counter to summer heat.
cool and refreshing salatat laban ou khyar © linda dalal sawaya 2015
These varieties of cucumbers are wonderful sliced and served on the table with feta cheese, cured olives, and pita bread as an appetizer, or light meal. They can be used for dipping into hommous or baba ghannouj instead of bread. They make a perfect accompaniment to Lebanese omelettes. In the Pacific Northwest where I live, it is not warm enough to grow another childhood favorite: Armenian cucumbers known as miiti in Arabic—God knows I have tried.
organic cucumbers for mezza © linda dalal sawaya 2015
Another salad in Alice’s Kitchen is a simple cucumber salad with green onions, fresh parsley, spearmint and dressed with our classic salad dressing of mashed garlic with sea salt, lemon juice, and live oil. Simply refreshing. Enjoy, keep cool, and sahtein!
—Linda Dalal Sawaya is a Portland artist, cook, Master Gardener, and author of Alice’s Kitchen: Traditional Lebanese Cooking.
Remember, as my mother Alice said, “If you make it with love, it will be delicious!”
