New York Times recipe: Naan-o Paneer-o Sabzi (bread, feta and herb platter)

The heart and soul of the Iranian table, this humble and satisfying meal is a simple combination of briny cheese, fresh herbs, walnuts and flatbread. Taken together, they make a perfect bite, known as loghmeh in Persian. A summer platter can include cooling watermelon, crunchy grapes and crisp Persian cucumber (commonly known as a Lebanese cucumber in Australia). Think of the suggestions below as an open canvas and add your preferred summer fruits and vegetables. Enjoy this for breakfast or brunch with a cup of hot black tea, as an afternoon snack, or as a beautiful, refreshing and light dinner with a glass of your favourite beverage. This is meant for those long, lazy summer nights when all you want to do is nibble and get lost in good conversation with good friends.

Ingredients:

1 cup walnut halves

Salt

140-170g lavash or pita bread, cut into smaller pieces

280g feta, sliced or cubed

1 bunch Persian basil or sweet Italian basil, lemon basil or Thai basil (see tip)

1 bunch mint

4 spring onions, cut into 5cm lengths

1 small watermelon, cut into wedges or cubed

1 bunch radishes, cut into quarters or slices, or kept whole

4 Persian (Lebanese) cucumbers, cut into halves or slices, or kept whole

1 bunch grapes

Preparation:

Step 1 Traditionally, walnuts are soaked to remove their bitterness and to make them crisp and more digestible. If you’d like to soak them, place them in a medium bowl and add a pinch of salt and enough ice-cold water to cover by 5cm. Cover and soak in the refrigerator for 1 hour and up to 24 hours. Drain the walnuts.

Step 2 Arrange all of the ingredients as casually or as artistically as you like on a platter and serve. To create a loghmeh (perfect bite): Take a piece of bread, place some feta in it, then pluck a couple of basil and mint leaves and set over the cheese, along with a piece of spring onion and a walnut half. Roll up or fold over the lavash and eat. Follow with bites of watermelon, radish, cucumber and grapes.

Tip: Persian basil (reyhan) is extremely fragrant and sweeter and more delicate than other basil varieties. If you can’t find it, use the more tender leaves of sweet Italian basil, or use lemon basil or Thai basil.

Serves 4

Total time: 10 minutes

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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