When my husband was in film school, a classmate from Israel had a wife, Hadas, who was an amazing cook. She later became a pastry chef but in those days, I mostly remember loving her salads and the unique twist of herbs and dressings she played with to create crisp, aromatic flavors. And she ate salad any time of day including breakfast.
This past weekend, my friend and also amazing cook, Marqui, came over to make some confits, pastes and sauces so our larders would be full of fun things to improvise with in the coming weeks. She busted out a killer tahini based on a Zahav recipe to use as a base for dressings, sauces and dips. The first thing I made with it was this breakfast homage to Hadas with fresh cucumbers from the garden and tomato confit. I’ll post the confit soon. This is more of an improvisation than a recipe so switch out the herbs and summer vegetables as you like.
[lt_recipe name=”Summer Breakfast Salad” servings=”1″ summary=”by Kristina Robbins” print=”yes” ingredients=”1 cucumber sliced into thin rounds. (If organic, leave the skin on. If not, peel);2 hard boiled eggs, sliced;a handful cherry tomatoes or 1/2 cup tomato confit, chopped;2 T chopped dill;2-3 T herb tahini (recipe below)salt and pepper”]Lay the cucumbers down first followed by the eggs and top with chopped tomatoes.;Thin tahini with water until it reaches a dressing like consistency and drizzle over the salad.;Top with chopped dill.;[/lt_recipe]
[lt_recipe name=”Herb Tahini Sauce” summary=”Adapted from Zahav by Marqui Hood” print=”yes” ingredients=”1 head garlic;3/4 c lemon juice;1 1/2 tsp salt or more to taste;2 generous cups of tahini (Soom brand if you can find it);1/2 tsp ground cumin or more to taste;1/4 c chopped parsley;1/4 c chopped chives;1/4 c chopped fresh dill;1 T fresh mint;1 T cilantro;” ]Break apart head of garlic into cloves but do not peel.;Whiz garlic cloves and lemon juice in a food processor until garlic is finely minced.;Strain lemon juice/garlic mixture through a fine mesh sieve. Press solids with a wooden spoon to get all the juice. Discard solids. Return juice to the food processor. ;Add tahini, salt and cumin to the processor and pulse until well mixed. If needed, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until you have a paste like consistency. Adjust cumin and salt to taste.;Add in all the herbs and pulse until blended.;Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 1/2 weeks.;;[/lt_recipe]
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