Salatet Gargir

the Egyptian rocket plate that arrives with grilled fish and with breakfast beans: whole bunches, lemon, garlic, cumin, and a little oil, meant to be eaten with the fingers

Origin: Egypt

From the journey of Rocket.

Gargīr is not a salad ingredient in Egypt. It is a thing in itself, sold in dripping bundles from barrows and handcarts across every city in the country, carried home in a plastic bag, and put on the table more or less as it arrived: whole leaves, long stems, no arrangement. It goes with ful medames at breakfast, with ta'meya, with kebab and kofta, and above all with grilled or fried fish, which in Alexandria and along the coast it accompanies as a matter of course rather than as a choice. The dressing given here is therefore already a slight formalisation of ordinary practice, where the leaves are as likely to be eaten plain with a squeeze of lemon over them at the table. What it adds is the Egyptian seasoning grammar: cumin, which turns up in almost everything on that table, and raw garlic, and enough lemon to make the plate function as a condiment. The point of it against oily fish is exactly the point of a pickle, and Egyptian meals typically field both. What is striking about the dish historically is how little it has needed to change. The plant is native to the region, the habit of eating it raw and undressed by hand is documented from antiquity through the Arabic agricultural literature, and the modern barrow is doing what has been done in the Delta for a very long time. It remains one of the cheapest things in the market.

Ingredients

Salad

250 g rocket (arugula), large coarse bunches with their stems
1 small red onion, sliced into thin rings
2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges (optional)

Dressing

1 whole lemon, juice only
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste with salt
0.5 tsp ground cumin
0.5 tsp sea salt, or to taste

To serve

1 whole lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Method

Wash the rocket in several changes of cold water, lifting it out each time. Shake it dry and leave the leaves long, trimming only the toughest ends of the stems.
Crush the garlic to a smooth paste with the salt, using the flat of a knife or a mortar, then whisk in the lemon juice, cumin, and olive oil.
Lay the rocket out on a wide flat platter rather than heaping it in a bowl, and scatter the onion rings and the tomato wedges, if using, over the top.
Spoon the dressing over just before the plate goes to the table, and put the lemon wedges alongside.

Notes

This wants coarse, hot, full-grown rocket rather than the fine mild leaves of a supermarket bag; look for it in Middle Eastern or Turkish greengrocers, where it is sold in large bunches with the stems attached and at a fraction of the price. The tomato is genuinely optional and many Egyptian households leave it out entirely. Serve it with ful medames and warm baladi bread for breakfast, or beside grilled fish with plenty of lemon, which is the pairing the dish exists for. It does not keep once dressed; the undressed washed leaves will hold a day in the refrigerator wrapped in a damp cloth.

The Gastrographer

Name: Salatet Gargir
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Egypt
Ingredients: 250 g rocket (arugula), large coarse bunches with their stems; 1 small red onion, sliced into thin rings; 2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges (optional); 1 whole lemon, juice only; 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 2 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste with salt; 0.5 tsp ground cumin; 0.5 tsp sea salt, or to taste; 1 whole lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control