This Yotam Ottolenghi recipe was a nice complement to his lamb shawarma dish. It was also a nice, bright, fresh salad at a time of year when you're craving anything but kale. Serving it with labneh makes it a more substantial dish.

Serves at least 4 as a side salad.

• 2 small red beets
• 1 small carrot
• 1/2 small celery root
• 1 small kohlrabi
• 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 cup of mint leaves, chopped
• 1/2 cup of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• scant 1 cup of labneh or Greek yogurt (optional)

Peel all vegetables and then shred them in the food processor using the shredder disk.
Put beets in one bowl and rest of vegetables in another (unless you want a totally red salad!).

Combine lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, and 1 tsp salt in a small saucepan.
Bring to a simmer and stir until sugar and salt are just dissolved, then remove from heat.
Pour "dressing" over vegetables and then let cool in the fridge for at least 45 minutes.

When ready to serve, add the herbs, lemon zest, and pepper and toss to combine.
Taste and add a little more lemon, if needed.
Optional: serve with labneh on the side.