Lemony Mint Salad Dressing

I recently had the opportunity to review a cookbook for The Daring Kitchen. The book, An Edible Mosaic, by Faith Gorsky, is a truly beautiful book imparting the author's learned knowledge and love for Middle Eastern food.

The first recipe that I tried was for Lemony Mint Salad Dressing. While there were many recipes that I wanted to (and subsequently did...) make, I knew I'd be starting with this one because half of the recipes that caught my eye throughout the book mentioned it. As the dressing for a chickpea salad. For a cabbage salad.

For a beet salad.  For an eggplant salad.  They all looked delicious. And they all called for Lemony Mint Salad Dressing.

The best part about this dressing is how easy it is to make. And how fresh it is.

Some lemons, some garlic and some fresh mint, which I was lucky enough to still have hiding in the garden. 

Squeeze a lemon, add some garlic that's been crushed with salt, then whisk in a thin drizzle of olive oil.

Add your fresh mint...

...and you're good to go!

And guess what - it goes great on everything! Aside from the recommended applications, I also tried the dressing on "regular" salad (mixed greens and cherry tomatoes), and even tried it over pasta for a light lunch!

Super tasty!

And if you want a peek as to what it's like trying to have a food photo shoot with a curious toddler around...

Yeah. Lots of little fingers in my photos.

I highly recommend checking out An Edible Mosaic. If you have any interest in, or even a bit of curiosity about, Middle Eastern food, this is definitely the book for you. To see my full review, check it out here.


Lemony Mint Salad Dressing
(from An Edible Mosaic)

1 clove of garlic, crushed with 1/4 teaspoon salt (I do not have a mortar and pestle, so rather than crushing my garlic with the salt, I minced it and used the side of the knife to crush the minced garlic with the salt, creating a coarse paste)
Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves

Whisk together the garlic/salt mixture and the lemon juice. Whisk in the olive oil, drizzling the oil gradually into the lemon juice mixture, whisking continuously. Stir in the mint.

I stored my dressing in a mason jar in the fridge. It did separate a bit, and the olive oil solidified in the cold, so I simply removed the jar from the fridge a couple of hours before using it, then shook it vigorously before using.

Enjoy!