Lebanese Tomato Salad

This Christmas I received a lot of fun food related goodies as gifts. HMMMMM!!!! Imagine that. :) I was lucky enough to get some fabulously delicious cookbooks, spices, gourmet coffee and even some gourmet popcorn as gifts this season. I feel so special and so blessed. You all know me so well. You definitely know that food is the way to my heart. :)

One of the cookbooks I was gifted was a beautiful Lebanese cookbook called Rose Water & Orange Blossoms by Maureen Abood. This came with a jar of za’atar seasoning and a bag of ground sumac seasoning as well, all wrapped in beautiful silver and purple individual gift bags. That you my dear friend Julia, our very own from Julia from Retirement RV Dream at https://retirementrvdream.com/.

All the recipes in this book sound fabulous, but alas, I can’t cook everything all at once. Everything has to be tried one recipe, maybe two or three, if I am lucky, at a time. 

We had some leftover Christmas lamb, so making something Middle Eastern was a perfect idea to re-use and repurpose my lamb. I made the Lebanese tomato salad from this book, as well as the cover picture, to go with my lamb.

This salad is beautifully delicious, and so simple to make too.

Lebanese Tomato Salad

As you all know, I love tomatoes, and I love to mix and match them. I wanted to use heirloom tomatoes, but none were available this time of year. No problem. There are plenty of other tomato varieties available right now that work almost as well. Of course, I changed the recipe slightly and as my friend Gabe would say, I “Jeannified” it.

2 lbs tomatoes, any kind and any variety, diced in large pieces

1 medium sized sweet onion, sliced very thin

1 TBSP lemon juice

2 TBSP olive oil

1 TBSP lemon olive oil, optional

1/2 tsp garlic

kosher or sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1-2 tsp za’atar seasoning

parsley

Mix everything together and toss gently. Refrigerate until ready to use. That’s it. Easy-peasy, beautiful and super delicious! It doesn’t get much better than that.

I served this fabulous salad alongside some lamb atop a pita spread with hummus, and a glass or two of Malbec to complete the meal. This is another recipe in the book, but I already had the lamb so I just heated it up. I did however present it like it was featured in the book.

Earlier in the season, I received another deliciously fabulous cookbook, Kool Kosher Kitchen https://ajeanneinthekitchen.com/2023/11/28/cooking-with-dolly/ again from own of our very own, and another dear friend Dolly, over at Kool Kosher Kitchen at https://koolkosherkitchen.wordpress.com/

Both Julia and Dolly are dear friends of mine. We all met from our WordPress family, through our shared passion for cooking and living life to the fullest. Thank you both, not just for these fabulous gifts from the heart, but mostly for your treasured friendships. We have lots of fun and delicious times still yet to come and to share.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. Happy New Year. I hope 2024 brings peace, love and prosperity to everyone. ’Til next time.