Break Fast Salad

I have no idea what this salad is called, and despite several e-mail to Istanbul I am still none the wiser. I had it along with a delicious lentil soup to break fast during Ramazan a few years ago. I got the recipe and even my hostess does not have a name for it…"It is a common salad we make often during the holiday. "

I found that a lot in travels, various regions had dishes that they just made, common, typical and wonderful.

1 cup green olives

1 head of Romaine lettuce finely chopped

2 carrot grated

1/2 cup of walnuts chopped small, but not quite a paste.

Dressing

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 tablespoons pomegranate juice

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

4 garlic cloves

Put the salad and carrots in a bowl. Mix the dressing in the food processor. Toss with the dressing then add in the olives and walnuts and toss again. Plate and serve.

If it is pomegranate season it makes a nice garnish to sprinkle each salad with a few fresh seeds. At 4 servings this is just under 350 calories a plate. The calories come from the olive oil and the nuts, but I don’t recommend reducing either. This salad has close to 100% of the Vitamin A and 50% of the Vitamin C you need. As with most foods in Turkey it is typically delicious.