Dhania (Cilantro) Salad

I ruined dinner yesterday arghhh! I was trying to make a recipe for Samak bi Taheeni (fish fillets in sesame seed sauce from Lebanon) out of Paula Wolfert's cookbook "Mediterranean Cooking". I was having one of those really frustrating days where nothing is going right and everything is happening at once; phone, doorbell, screaming child. I was also trying to do too many things including make dinner before heading to a birthday party and then after that to work. My usually good natured and cooperative child had turned into exorcist baby and was cranky and clinging and throwing herself onto the floor and having a fit whenever she wasn't getting her way. She would not go down for a nap. I was exasperated and on the verge of crying and trying very hard not to explode. I was actually vibrating out of sheer frustration! Every time I tried to walk away and do something the babe would crumple to the floor angrily and cry her eyes out. what is that about? Reasoning with her was ridiculous; how could she understand that I had things to do and couldn't play with her, after all she's only 18 months and it all probably sounded like "mwah, mwah, mwah mwaaah" anyway. I have been slowly learning how to just let her lie there and cry it out; luckily she doesn’t do this too often. I have come to realize that giving in to her fits does nothing for either of us but just reinforce that a tantrum is acceptable behavior. Which it is not, so I did my best to ignore her while I went about trying to continue with cooking, but my concentration was shot and the words were not making sense and I'm not sure where I went wrong, but boy did I go wrong. All I know is I ruined fourteen dollars worth of fish. sob

Luckily, the dhania salad turned out delicious!

This is the salad I make every summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day and as many times in between as I can, it is truly a salad of summer. There are very few dishes that I can make that I ever feel confident enough about to say "trust me, this is delicious" but this is one of those recipes. I know you're thinking "whoa, that is way too much cilantro"... but trust me the flavors and combination works.

Over the years I've added to the recipe to better suit my tastes. I've omitted the green bell pepper and opted for the sweeter and more colorful orange and yellow ones, I started using plum tomatoes rather than regular ones, and I added fresh lemon juice and lemon zest which I think took the salad to a new level, the lemon pairs well with the cilantro. I often make this salad for gatherings and have always prepped it the night before, leaving out the onion* until the last possible minute and dressing the salad when I arrived at whatever place it was destined to be eaten at. I like to use plum tomatoes but for this recipe I'll keep the original 3 tomatoes in the ingredients list because I've always "eyeballed" the amount of plum tomatoes and am not sure what to tell you here. I would spend what felt like hours slicing seeding and dicing the tomatoes along with all the other ingredients. This year I tried using grape tomatoes, slicing them in half and not bothering to try to remove the seeds. It worked, although I think the plum tomatoes provide a nicer "toothier" texture.

I apologize for some of the more vague instructions like "red wine vinegar to taste" but cooking is so subjective and it would be hard for me give you an exact amount here.

Adapted from "Karibu-Welcome to the Cooking of Kenya" by Ann Gardner

Dhania (Cilantro) Salad

• 1 large bunch cilantro, washed, stems removed, and leaves coarsely chopped
• 3 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped, seeds removed
• 1 orange bell pepper, chopped, seeds removed
• the juice of one lemon plus zest, but the zest is optional and the amount of juice to use is sort of "to taste", use more or less as you see fit
• 2 tablespoons (or more if you like) extra-virgin olive oil
• red wine vinegar to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon zest and whisk together to create an emulsion. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside until you are ready to dress the salad.

Mix all the chopped ingredients together and add the viniagrette, toss well and serve at room temperature.

*Years and years ago while watching a cooking show (I can't remember which one but I want to say "Two Hot Tamales") I learned that you never want to use an onion that has been sliced at any other time than on the day it is being used because it releases some sort of chemical (?) that makes it smell and taste funky. Not too long after that I made some tuna salad with onions and found that I couldn't finish it so I put it in the fridge overnight to save for lunch the next day. Well wouldn't you know, the onion had released scary juices during the night and the salad was a bit watery and smelled like sweaty armpits the next day.

Written by Deb on July 14, 2005 12:47 AM