How To: Israeli Salad

 

            Ever since I can remember, Israeli salad was always present at our family meals. We ALWAYS had Israeli salad for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks. This salad was present at every family event, social gathering, and holiday without fail. We even have it on holidays like Thanksgiving! The salad is quite simple, it includes tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers, and is drizzled with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. The complexity of the salad came from the fact that it was always chopped up perfectly to create small cubes. While some preferred a rough chop, the salad at our table was always tiny and perfectly uniform. 

    This dish has many names depending on who you ask and where they are from. My grandfather explained to me that when Jews from the middle east bagn moving to Israel, they often went and lived in a Kibbutz. A Kibbutz is a form of communal living, in which each person lives and works in the Kibbutz in order to contribute. Each person has a job, whether that be farming, helping with children, raising animals, or teaching. In the Kibbutz, Israeli salad became popular as they were always growing the ingredients neccesary to make it! Israeli salad can be made so many different ways and it is so interesting to see various takes on the dish.

            Now, who has the patience to sit down and chop up vegetables for hours? I personally could not understand how my mom and grandmother, two of the least patient people I know could do this. That is when I learned their trick, and it definitely changed the game! My grandmother, a Food Network superfan had seen an infomercial for this new device that would chop the veggies for you in a matter of seconds. Not only did she buy one, but she bought each of her daughters one to ensure everyone could use this amazing new device. 

            Now, this product is not as exciting now as we have many variations of it but it definitely works! The product is available on Amazon and other major retailers and is super easy to use. 

 INGREDIENTS:

1. One large Persian Cucumber 

2. One large ripe Tomato

3. Half an onion 

4. (Optional) Fresh parsley

5. Olive oil

6. Fresh lemon juice

7. Salt & pepper to taste

HOW TO:

1. First, collect all ingredients and wash them thoroughly 
2. Roughly cut all vegetables into 2-3 inch chunks 
3. Begin dicing vegetables to desired size
4. Repeat until all vegetables are cut up 
5. Mix salad together with some olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper
6. Enjoy! 

 

                                                Most meals are served with this salad in Israel!