Levantine cuisine · Salads & Mezze

Salatet Loubieh Khadra

Green beans cooked until crisp-tender and dressed warm with garlic, lemon and olive oil.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 800 g green beans
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 lemons
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion
• 1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp sumac
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Trim the beans, cut off the ends and halve them once depending on length, so all pieces cook evenly.
2. Bring plenty of salted water to a boil and cook the beans uncovered for 7–9 min. until they bend but still have some bite.
3. Drain the beans, briefly shock them in ice water to keep them vividly green, then drain well.
4. Grind the garlic with 1/2 tsp salt in a mortar into a paste and whisk it with the juice of the lemons and the olive oil into a dressing.
5. Toss the still-warm beans with the dressing – warm, they absorb the acidity much better – and let sit for 10 min.
6. Shave the onion into very thin rings, sprinkle over the salad along with the chopped parsley and sumac, and serve warm.