With each passing day, it gets hotter, and we’re looking for something to eat that doesn’t require us to stand for long hours over the stove and isn’t heavy food that makes us crawl under a blanket and the air conditioner.
Here, Itai Dagan takes oat groats (not to be confused with oatmeal) and treats them like pasta, in cooking and as a filling and high-quality addition to a salad that will leave you full, even though it’s refreshing and not heavy.
Ingredients:
2 zucchinis
1 red onion
A handful of mint leaves
1/2 cup oat groats
Sheep's milk feta
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Salt and ground black pepper
Greek yogurt or labneh
1 garlic clove
Preparation instructions:
1. Bring the oat groats to a boil in a pot with plenty of water, like pasta, and 2 tablespoons of salt. Lower the flame and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the groats are al dente. Drain and rinse.
2. Meanwhile, cut the zucchini lengthwise in half, then into half-moons 1–2 cm thick. Also cut the red onion into strips.
3. Mix the Greek yogurt with one crushed garlic clove and half a teaspoon of salt.
4. Just before serving, mix the drained groats (important that they are cold) together with the zucchini, red onion, mint leaves, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper.
5. Place the Greek yogurt at the bottom of a serving plate and pile the salad high on top of it along with pieces of sheep’s feta, and garnish with additional mint leaves.
Itai Dagan, in collaboration with Sugat