This wonderful salad is a perfect accompaniment to classic Middle Eastern dishes. You can also build a meal around it in the summertime; serve with store-bought or homemade hummus, fresh pita bread, and stuffed grape leaves. See the menu with Tofu Shakshouka (page 45) for another menu idea. Make sure to use an organic, unwaxed cucumber, as it’s best unpeeled in this salad.

Ingredients

　　3 medium tomatoes, diced

　　1 medium cucumber, scrubbed and diced

　　1 yellow or orange bell pepper, diced

　　1/3 cup pitted black olives, preferably oil-cured

　　2 scallions, thinly sliced, or 1/4 cup quartered and thinly sliced red onion

　　1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

　　2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

　　Juice of 1 lemon

　　2 teaspoons sesame seeds

　　1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, optional

　　Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

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　　Reprinted with permission from Vegan Express: Featuring 160 Recipes for Quick, Delicious, and Healthy Meals by Nava Atlas. Copyright © 2008 by Nava Atlas. Excerpted by permission of Broadway, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.Nava Atlas is the author of nine cookbooks, including The Vegetarian Family Cookbook, The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet, and Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons. She lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York with her husband and two teenage sons (all vegans).