I wanted a home-cooked meal last night but I just couldn’t after all that has happened. Instead, my boyfriend and I ordered too many burritos, mozzarella sticks, and wings. It made us feel better for a bit but now I’m having some regrets.
Chances are you’re in the same boat if you’re American. Whether you ate that entire thing of beer cheese because you were mourning or celebrating, you probably don’t feel so great this morning. Or maybe you couldn’t eat because you were still in shock.
So, I present to you a salad that has gotten me through the (admittedly few) setbacks I’ve faced. So versatile it’s barely even a thing, rainbow salad is for everyone.
Don’t eat meat or dairy? Great, it’s vegan! Are you an avid carnivore? It’s even better with some shredded rotisserie chicken! Want to make a meal of it? Toss in some grains and chickpeas!
At its simplest, rainbow salad is chopped cucumbers and peppers with grated carrot and beets. Born from a lack of prewashed lettuce or potable tap water, this salad has powered me through a breakup, a very stressful thesis, and the general daily grind that comes with living in Lebanon (unending summertime power, cuts mostly).
At times, I really think it was the only thing that kept me tethered.
I originally topped it with cumin and olive oil. Then I moved on to using zaatar and a handful of chopped parsley. These days I’ve taken to adding some grated ginger and finishing it off with a dash of fish sauce and lemon juice.
You can tweak this recipe to make it your own. It’s meant to be for everyone. The one constant of rainbow salad is that it never fails to make you feel amazing. More importantly, it gives you the energy to get up and take action.
Now we need that more than ever.
I’ve added some notes to adjust this recipe for the US because there are some differences between New York and Beirut produce. In a nutshell, the stuff you find in Beirut is smaller and sweeter – farmer’s market quality, essentially.
But I generally can’t afford the farmer’s market. I mean, look at these prices:
So I’ve made some suggestions. Most importantly, deseed the cucumber. Lebanese cucumbers tend to be a lot smaller and sweeter, and the standard US variety has seeds that break off and become their own, vaguely sour thing in the salad. It’s gross.
I also advise dressing the salad with sweet lemon or sour orange juice to make up for the relative starchiness of US grocery store carrots and beets.
Taste it as you go along, of course. Maybe it doesn’t need anything. The only way you can really screw this up is by adding too much salt. Be careful with that.
Rainbow Salad
Ingredients
2 Lebanese cucumbers or 1 US cucumber
1 bell pepper, any color
2 carrots
1 small beet
1 large handful parsley or spinach (optional)
1 teaspoon cumin or 1 tablespoon zaatar*
1 4oo gram (14 ounce) can Lebanese** chickpeas (optional)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice of ½ Meyer lemon or a sour orange (for the US; optional)
*Even better if you can get Aleppo zaatar, which gets its zing from pomegranate molasses.
** The Lebanese part here is non-negotiable. Trust me, they are much less starchy and have a more delicate flavor than even the freshest New York farmer’s market variety. Try al Wadi al Akhdar.
Instructions
1. Wash cucumbers and chop into slices ¼ inch slices. If you’re using a larger (US) variety, cut into quarters lengthwise and remove the seeds first. Add to a large bowl.
2. Deseed and chop pepper into ½ inch pieces. Add to cucumbers.
3. Peel and grate carrots and add to bowl.
4. Peel and grate beets and add to the rest of the vegetables.
5. If you’re using parsley or spinach, rinse thoroughly to remove dirt (I usually give it a good soak) and chop finely before tossing it in with the rest.
6. If using chickpeas, drain and rinse with clean water before adding to the salad.
7. Top with cumin or zaatar, salt, olive oil, and lemon or orange juice (if using).
8. Toss and add more seasoning to taste.
Serves 2-4
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