Israeli Salad

Terry selected this week's salad - one that she first ate this salad when she visited Israel. She discovered that Israelis love eating fresh vegetables cut up small like this for breakfast!

I was intrigued about the whole notion of an Israeli Salad so I did some googling and discovered that . . .

Israeli salad consists of finely chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, fresh lemon juice, quality olive oil, and a bit of salt and pepper for seasoning. This is just a baseline!

You can add different ingredients to transform this salad from perfectly simple to something a bit more sophisticated.

Israeli salad is actually known in Israel as ‘salat katzutz’, chopped salad, or ‘salat aravi’, Arab salad. It’s known as ‘Israeli salad’ mostly outside of Israel (except for maybe in some hotels that cater to tourists…). This salad is a staple in the Israeli diet and can be prepared in a myriad of ways.

The dish cannot be an ancient one since the tomato was a New World crop. The tomato was introduced to cultivation in the Middle East by John Barker, British consul in Aleppo c. 1799 –c. 1825. Nineteenth century descriptions of tomato consumption are uniformly as a part of a cooked dish. In 1881 the tomato is described as only eaten in the region, “within the last forty years.”Israeli foods like hummus, falafel and Israeli salad are common to much of the Mediterranean and Arabic world."

Israeli salad is similar to other chopped salads found in the Middle East, such as the Persian salad shiraziسالاد شيرازي (which includes mint, diced onions, and peeled cucumbers), the Turkish choban salad, and similar chopped salads found throughout the eastern Mediterranean area in Turkey, Greece, Lebanon, and even Egypt.

Terry's recipe was from Molly Katzen's book, The Enchanted Broccoli Forest.

Paul loved this salad - declaring it fresh and tasty. I wasn't so sure that I enjoyed pickles, olives, and radishes in my salad. We had some again for lunch today and my opinion had changed - I guess that for me the flavours needed time to blend.

This is an easy salad to pull together. I'm not sure that I'll use the food processor when I make it again because some of the ingredients were chopped too small while others were still chunks. I guess if you want a uniform consistency you do it the old fashioned way! LOL

I suspect that this recipe is rather forgiving and you can add or subtract to it based upon the vegetables that you have on hand.

Enjoy!

Israeli salad

1 large English cucumber, or 2 6" regular ones (the English cucumbers have fewer seeds)
2-3 medium-sized ripe tomatoes
12 radishes
1/2 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives
2 scallions
1 large Kosher pickle
1 medium green pepper
3/4 cup (packed) fresh parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
juice from 1 large lemon
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cut the cucumber and tomatoes into small cubes and place in large bowl.

In your food processor, place the radishes and olives; pulse until roughly chopped. Add to the large bowl.

Place the scallions, pickle, and green pepper in the food processor and mince. Add to the large bowl.

Mince the parsley in the food processor; add to large bowl.

Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to your salad, and toss everything together gently. Chill.

Optional additions: feta cheese on top, or you can serve with yogurt or sour cream or little cubes of cream cheese on top.

Comments

[Cindy Ruth]

I thought I wouldn't like the salad with pickles, but I liked it a lot. I chopped everything by hand because I didn't see a need for the processor-I didn't think there was that much to chop. What's that on top of yours-is it feta?

[Candi]

Jerry,
I chopped my vegetables by hand, since that is the way I've always done it. Interesting about the history of the salad. In many part of the Arabic world, like Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, it is commonly known as green salad.

Your salad looks great, and I agree, it gets better after the flavors have time to blend.

[nancyhol]

Next time I will chop the veggies by hand too!

I used feta cheese on top the first time we ate it and sour cream the second time. I think I preferred the sour cream.

[JDeQ]

Yes Cindy - it is feta - I went a bit overboard (I LOVE feta! LOL).

Thanks Candi. I will follow your hand chopping advice next time.

I'll try some sour cream tonight Nancy.

[Ruth Golden]

I made this recipe again tonight for a Hanukkah celebration at my house; love the colors, aromas, and taste of this salad. Would not change a thing. Thanks for the historical perspective.

[JDeQ]

Ruth - I am glad to hear that you and your guests enjoyed this salad!