Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Tomato salad with onions,walnuts,seeds and labneh with sumac.

Nothing beats simplicity on life. A simple tomato salad. Full of flavour and a taste of summer. A salad only to be eaten in season when the tomatoes are local and fresh and in abundance. I love labneh and with the added sumac, it adds a mediterranean flavour to the salad.

Recipe:

  • A variety of tomatoes in colour and size
  • A handful of mixed seeds, pumpkin seeds, lin seeds, sunflower seeds, and dried black currants
  • A few walnuts, roughly crushed
  • 1 large spring onion, diced on the diagonal
  • Plenty of fresh basil leaves
  • Labneh, torn in chunks
  • Sumac
  • Salt
  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar
  1. Labneh: Place a piece of muslin, or clean cotton towel over a sieve over a bowl. Scoop about two heaped TBSP of greek joghurt, or Skyr, onto the muslin. Add one heaped teaspoon of salt to the joghurt. Pull the ends of the muslin together and twist to form a ball of the joghurt. Put in the fridge and let it drain overnight. Remove the ball of joghurt(labneh) from the muslin and place in a separate bowl. Sprinkle liberally with sumac.
  2. Cut the tomatoes in different sizes and slices for interest. Add to a large bowl.
  3. Add the slices onion, sprinkle with salt and pepper some more sumac and mix the salad gently.
  4. Transfer to a large platter .
  5. Sprinkle the nuts, seeds and currants without mixing the salad.
  6. Add the torn labneh chunks.
  7. Liberally add some basil leaves.
  8. Drizzle lastly with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
  9. Serve with crusty bread and some more labneh and sumac on the side.

Serves 4

Pinch of salt:

  • Use goats cheese instead of the labneh.
  • Use seeds or nuts of your choice.
  • Add slices of peach to the salad.
  • Use Skyr, zero percent fat joghurt instead of fullfat greek joghurt for a healthier version, you won’t even know the difference!
  • Omit the onion if you have small children who dont eat onion, it won’t change the salad.
  • dont hesitate to mop up the tomato juices with your country bread!

Labneh: Place a piece of muslin, or clean cotton towel over a sieve over a bowl. Scoop two heaped TBSP of greek joghurt, or Skyr, onto the muslin. Add one teaspoon of salt to the joghurt. Pull the ends of the muslin together and twist to form a ball of the joghurt. Put in the fridge and let it drain overnight. Remove the ball of joghurt(labneh) from the muslin and place in a separate bowl. Sprinkle liberally with sumac.

Save any leftover labneh in a bowl with olive oil.

Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen · 6 Comments

Tuna salad and baked sweet potato.

Everybody has a tuna salad recipe. Not everybody loves a tuna salad though. But when its hot and you’re in the middle of a heat wave and not in the mood for cooking, a tuna salad is a quick and tasty option. Of course you can do anything with a can of tuna to turn it into a salad to give it interest and flavour. This is my version without mayonnaise. We dont always have to add mayonnaise to everything. Here in Provence we rely much on the freshness of herbs and of course olive oil!

Recipe

  • One medium sweet potato, cut in four, lengthwise
  • Olive oil
  • One can of tuna
  • One large spring onion
  • One or two baby red sweet peppers
  • One heaped TBSP of capers
  • Chopped fresh parsley or fresh dill
  • One TBSP pumpkin seeds
  • One TBSP sunflower seeds
  • One TBSP dried currants
  • For the vinaigrette:
  • Olive oil
  • One TBSP of mustard
  • One tsp of honey
  • Cider vinegar
  • Salt and pepper
  • Salad leaves of your choice
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degr C.
  2. Place the four slices of sweet potato, cut side up in an oven pan, drizzle with olive oil and season lightly with salt.
  3. Bake in the oven for 40 minute or until tender.Leave to cool down completely.
  4. Drain the can of tuna and flake with a fork.
  5. Slice the spring onion and the baby sweet peppers and add to the tuna.
  6. Add the capers and chopped herbs to the tuna mixture and mix together lightly.
  7. Add the seeds and currants.
  8. Mix the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a bowl and add little by little to your tuna. Don’t add too much vinaigrette so it gets soggy.
  9. Serve the tuna salad on top of the roasted and cooled sweet potato with some fresh salad leaves and extra vinaigrette on the side.

Serves 2

Pinch of salt:

  1. Change the ingredients and quantities to your preference.
  2. Serve a slice of sweet pepper on a plate and spoon the tuna salad on top.
  3. Dont add too much vianigrette to prevent it from being soggy. At the table more vinaigrette can be drizzled over the salad and sweet potato.
  4. Eat cold or at room temperature.
  5. Use shredded cooked chicken breast instead of the tuna.
  6. Serve with crusty country bread.