Israeli Salad

October 28, 2019

“Excerpted from SHUK by Einat Admony and Janna Gur (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2019. Photographs by Quentin Bacon.”

Serves 3 or 4

active:
15 min

I’ve probably eaten a chopped salad every day of my life (once I moved past baby food). My mother, who added carrot and kohlrabi to hers, took great pains to chop her salad finely and evenly. As she got older, her “chopped” became more like “chunked,” but it still tasted great. If you’ve never made an Israeli salad before, this recipe will serve you well as a guide to the flavor profile. Use it as a template for your own variations . . . and challenge yourself to cut everything into a perfect quarter-inch.

Ingredients

4 ripe but firm medium tomatoes, cut into ½-inch (1.5 cm) chunks, or 1 pint (455 g) sweet cherry tomatoes, halved

3 Persian cucumbers, cut into ½-inch (1.5 cm) chunks

½ large or 1 small red bell pepper, cored and cut into ½-inch (1.5 cm) chunks

1 medium carrot, cut into ½-inch (1.5 cm) dice

1 small red onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley and/or mint

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons flavorful extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon ground sumac

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps

Put the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, carrot, onion, parsley, and/or mint in a large salad bowl and toss with the lemon juice and oil. Season with the sumac. Taste and season with salt and black pepper. Serve right away.