Recipes
from the Holy Land
My
friends, Issa and Tamara, took me out for lunch to their favorite
place in Bethlehem. I didn't have nice enough clothes to eat
where we went. I never go to places that nice. Innov8tion
was on the top floor of a building near the Old City with a
spectacular view. And, the food, service, and especially the
company were even better.
We started off with salads, bread, hummus, and baba ganoush. One of the salads looked like tabbouleh, an herb and bulgar salad with parsley as the main ingredient. I've had it, and must confess, I am not a fan. Both of my hosts felt the same way, but this Sunflower Seed Salad was simply amazing. Sharing the table with Issa, he could figure out most of the ingredients. However, the dressing was a mystery. But, my friend knew one of the employees from his school days. The mystery was solved and, for the first time, I heard
about pomegranate molasses. It's as good as it sounds.
It's a salad, so it isn't hard to make. You can make your dressing separately by mixing the molasses, olive oil, salt, and sugar. If that is too much of a bother, just put everything together and enjoy your salad. I thought that adding the pomegranate seeds would be amazing, and I found it in some recipes. However, Issa said that the pomegranates would compete against the cranberries. The chef knows best, but I am still tempted with those red seeds.
We started off with salads, bread, hummus, and baba ganoush. One of the salads looked like tabbouleh, an herb and bulgar salad with parsley as the main ingredient. I've had it, and must confess, I am not a fan. Both of my hosts felt the same way, but this Sunflower Seed Salad was simply amazing. Sharing the table with Issa, he could figure out most of the ingredients. However, the dressing was a mystery. But, my friend knew one of the employees from his school days. The mystery was solved and, for the first time, I heard
about pomegranate molasses. It's as good as it sounds.
Sunflower
Seed Salad
Bethlehem, Palestine
Bethlehem, Palestine
Ingredients:
| 3 large handfuls of minced parsley 1 Tbs pomegranate molasses 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil 1 pinch of salt |
1 pinch of sugar 2 Tbs dried cranberries 1 Tbs roasted and salted sunflower seeds 3 Tbs pomegranate seeds (optional) |
It's a salad, so it isn't hard to make. You can make your dressing separately by mixing the molasses, olive oil, salt, and sugar. If that is too much of a bother, just put everything together and enjoy your salad. I thought that adding the pomegranate seeds would be amazing, and I found it in some recipes. However, Issa said that the pomegranates would compete against the cranberries. The chef knows best, but I am still tempted with those red seeds.