Borani-e-labu is a Persian beet and yoghurt salad, and I’ve taken some inspiration from there for the Persian Cucumber Salad but besides the existence of beets and Greek yoghurt, there’s fairly little in common.
I’ve done a similar version before in Beet Carpaccio – a richer Persian version of the dish with the inclusion of buffalo mozzarella pieces.
Today, I lighten (read: diet) it up with smears of thick Greek yoghurt and a variety of ‘bird food’ (read: seeds, nuts…) but I promise, it’s a real treat without the foreboding sense of diet food.
The layers of texture with pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, hemp seeds, bee pollen and pistachios, along with the freshness of parsley work brilliantly against the rush of sourness from Malta orange zest.
And the beauty of this dish is that it brings out the artist in you – it’s a dish that’s not just appealing to the waistline, but to the eye as well.
