The weather leaves much to be desired here (in Dubai), and the sun is all day long. Today is 47C (117F)!!!! and needless to say, how hot it is 😀

So I’ve started enjoying salads for dinner pretty much. I know what you could think: salads are boring! Be creative! Upgrade your small salad to big entree and add extra meat or beans to make it more hearty.

The below salad is named Georgian or Tbilisi, after the country, which cuisine offers various meat dishes with herbs and vegetables.

We need 300 g of baked (or boiled) beef meat;

1 can of red beans;

2 yellow or green bell peppers;

1 red onion;

1-2 cloves of garlic;

seeds of 1 pomegranate;

juice of 1 lemon;

olive oil;

khmeli suneli.

First, I need to explain what khmeli suneli is. It’s a Georgian spice mix, which can be used in any dish, it gives nice flavor to beef stew, goulash or hearty soups. You can buy it at any Russian store or DIY 🙂

In equal parts (all ingredients are dry):

-dill

-parsley

-coriander

-crushed bay leaves

-marjoram

-chili pepper- much less~2%

Next ingredients are not necessary, but you can put them as well:

-fenugreek leaves or seeds

-basil

-mint

-savory

-saffron ~0.10%

Cut the red onion into half moons and keep it in a hot water. Meanwhile cut the meat and peppers into cubes.

In a serving bowl, combine together meat, peppers, beans (without liquid) and onions.

In a small cup, prepare the dressing-mix olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic and spice mix (khmeli suneli). Pour it over our salad, mix well and let stand for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, black pepper and salt.

Bon appetite!