The word keshké refers to keshek, a traditional staple in the Lebanese larder made up of dried yogurt mixed with bulgur. In rural areas especially, keshek is made at home and is considered an essential food. It sustains for the long days out in the field, it has natural health benefits, it has a long shelf life and it can be incorporated to soups, stews, flatbreads or salads.
Here, the classic Lebanese pair of yogurt and bulgur is a hearty salad gathering this season’s fresh produce and legume: Zucchini, fresh fava beans, flat-leaf parsley, green onion and green pepper.
This salad is dressed with a yogurt sauce spiked by a touch of tahini and garlic paste. Drizzle it with a filet of extra-virgin olive oil.
INGREDIENTS: 8 servings
- 1 cup of coarse bulgur (#4)
- 1 cup of packed minced flat-leaf parsley
- 1/3 cup of minced green onions
- 1 cup of boiled fava beans (boil for 3 minutes in salted water, cool and peel)
- 1 cup of diced zucchini, sauteed in olive oil till tender but still crunchy
- 3 cloves of garlic mashed with a dash of salt in a mortar
- 1 1/2 cup of yogurt, drained in a mesh sieve over a coffee filter or paper towel for one or two hours
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 or 2 tablespoons of tahini (optional)
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin (can replace with paprika)
- salt, pepper to taste
- juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 cup of toasted and chopped pecans or walnuts or pine nuts
METHOD:
- Bring a quart of water to a boil; place the bulgur in a bowl and pour the boiling water on top of it. Let it swell for fifteen minutes or longer until soft. Drain the bulgur of its water. Add to the bulgur the diced zucchini and boiled, peeled fava beans as well as chopped parsley.
- In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, tahini, garlic paste, lemon juice, cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to the bulgur mixture and combine. Serve at room temperature.
28 Comments
Looks fantastic! I love learning about Lebanese dishes I’ve never had. Can you make this with powdered kishk instead of yogurt?
This is a new dish to me .. in fact I always come across new dishes from your blog every time
Great clicks too!
As usual, this looks like another delicious dish. We were never big fans of yoghurt before moving to Turkey. Now, we always have a huge tub of it in the fridge. It’s definitely a staple.
Julia
Lebanese food seems distant back in Tokyo. They should open Lebanese restaurants here!
I love how beautifully you’ve presented it…so artfully. The leaves are a lovely touch.
That healthy and flavorful salad is very appealing! A great summer dish.
Cheers,
Rosa
Quelle belle salade…bien vitaminée et si bien présentée!! Passe une belle journée.
The salad sounds delicious. keshké reminds me of Greek trahanas.
@Kate: You could try it with powdered kishk; I prefer the freshness of the actual yogurt.
Quite an interesting and new salad for me..
Je suis ravie de découvrir ton joli blog tiche et pleine de saveurs libanaises. Une cuisine que j’aime vraiment beaucoup, ton blog va me permettre d’acquérir de nouvelles connaissances culinaires de ce pays.
I never dreamed of combining all these ingredients, yet they sound so wonderful together! Can’t wait to try this out…thank you for another wonderful (and beautiful) post!
A very beautiful and healthy salad. Hope one day I can really try some Lebanese food.
Cà a l’air délicieux… Quelle belle cuisine libanaise…
I love Lebanese food! This salad looks delicious, and I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Looks oh so good Joumana and the more you teach about Lebanese cuisine the more I want…the refreshingly light flavors and textures are incredibly endearing. Another wonderful recipe as always my friend
chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
This looks so amazing. I love the combination of flavours you’ve got there. It’s such a shame that it’s completely out of season for me. I’d love to try it. We won’t have any broad beans for ages. I’ll have to try and remember this one if and when our spring ever comes (this winter has barely started, and is very cold).
That’s a delicious mound of healthy goodness! I’m eating more bulgur this year and I think this ingredient is going to soar in popularity.
love your take on keshke, so fresh and intensely flavorful with the addition of the fava beans, yogurt and tehina.
I love anything with bulgur. Love the way you presented the dish too!
I LOVE grain based salads and this one looks just perfect. Favas, cumin, lemon and yogurt, and your presentation on top of a grape leaf is gorgeous! – S
Hi Joumana, we really like all your flavorful Lebanese dishes, and especially how you incorporate Lebanese culture in the stories you share.
We would love to feature you and Taste of Beirut. Can you send us a quick email and we will get back to you with the details?
Thanks!
Reese & Mark
I have to get back into kasha (bulgur), I love this healthy salad and beautiful presentation!
Miamm! It looks delicious!
This sounds great! I recently got some Himalayan pink salt and organic peppercorns from Sustainable Sourcing https://secure.sustainablesourcing.com and I’ll have to try them out in this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Everything about this salad screams fresh and delicious! I also love your presentation.
I referred to it in my post about my zucchini love.
http://tandteacake.blogspot.com/2011/09/zucchini-pan-stew.html
Cheers,
Tobias
Delicious! I love bulgur in salads, so I’ll do this surprise for my family. I did a recipe by Jamie Oliver’s zuchini (unfortunately is in Romanian), which I think would be better with bulgur – http://bucatariaelenei.blogspot.com/2011/11/salata-de-orez-la-jamie-oliver.html
Another winner! Thank you for a great recipe. This is delicious, and perfect for the summer-like weather we’re having here in Pennsylvania.