Israeli Salad
Salat Katzutz: cucumber, tomato, onion and parsley diced very small and dressed with lemon, olive oil and salt. Eaten morning, noon and night across Israel - at breakfast next to eggs and labneh, at lunch beside grilled meat, at dinner in pita. The size of the dice is the dish; everything finer than 5 mm.
Overview
Vegetables are diced into uniform 5 mm cubes, knife work matters. Lemon juice, olive oil and salt are the only dressing; sometimes a teaspoon of sumac or a clove of crushed garlic. Eaten freshly made; doesn't keep, the cucumbers weep.
Ingredients
- 4 tomatoes (medium, around 400 g; cores cut out)
- 2 cucumbers (medium, around 350 g)
- 1 red onion (small)
- 1 green pepper (small, optional)
- A small bunch of flat-leaf parsley (chopped)
- A small bunch of mint (chopped, optional)
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon (large, around 3 tablespoons, juice)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground sumac (optional)
Method
Stage 1 - Dice
- Halve the tomatoes; scoop out and discard the seeds and watery cores; dice the flesh into 5 mm cubes.
- Peel the cucumbers (or stripe them); halve lengthwise; scoop out the seeds; dice to match.
- Dice the red onion to match.
- If using, deseed and dice the green pepper.
Stage 2 - Combine
- Tip everything into a wide bowl.
- Add the parsley, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and sumac.
- Toss gently.
Stage 3 - Rest briefly and serve
- Rest 5-10 minutes (the salt draws a little juice; the dressing settles).
- Stir once; taste; adjust salt and lemon.
- Serve at room temperature alongside grilled meat, falafel, or eggs.
Notes
- Deseed the tomatoes and cucumbers: Wet seeds water down the dressing; the salad goes from crisp to soggy in an hour. Cut them out.
- Knife dice, not blender: A food processor turns this into salsa. The texture of clean small cubes is the point.
- Eat fresh: Won't keep beyond a few hours. Make at the table or just before serving.
Storage
- Best within 2 hours of mixing.
Recipes mentioned here
Falafel
Dried chickpeas soak overnight, do not cook them. Blitz with onion, garlic, herbs and spices to a coarse green paste. Rest for 1 hour. A pinch of baking powder mixes in just before frying. Shape into balls; deep-fry at 175°C 4 minutes until darkly crusted. Stuffed into pita with hummus, tahina, salata, pickles.
Labneh
Full-fat natural yogurt salts; strains through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth (or a thin tea towel) over a bowl for 12-24 hours. The result is a thick, soft cheese (looser than cream cheese, firmer than thick yogurt). Spread on a plate; swirl; drizzle olive oil; scatter za'atar, dried mint, sumac, and chopped fresh mint. Eaten with warm pita.
More like this
Hummus
Dried chickpeas soak overnight with a teaspoon of baking soda. Cook for 60-75 minutes with baking soda until very soft. Reserve a small handful of whole chickpeas as garnish. Blend hot chickpeas with garlic, lemon, salt, ice cubes (yes, they help the emulsion) and a generous quantity of good tahini. Result: smooth, silky, pale-gold. Plate in a wide bowl; swirl with the back of a spoon; top with chickpeas, paprika, parsley, olive oil, cumin.
Baba Ganoush
Aubergines char directly on a gas flame or under a hot grill until the skin is uniformly black and the flesh is collapsed inside. Steamed briefly under foil; peeled. Flesh chops, then mashes (don't blend, the texture is the point) with tahini, lemon, garlic, salt. Plate; pool olive oil; scatter pomegranate seeds and parsley.
Israeli Schnitzel
Chicken breasts butterfly and pound to 5 mm thick. Dredge through seasoned flour, beaten egg, then panko breadcrumbs mixed with paprika, garlic powder and a pinch of cumin. Shallow-fry in 1 cm of oil at 175°C 2-3 minutes per side until deep gold and crisp. Drain on paper. Lemon wedges.
Jerusalem Mixed Grill
Chicken thigh, liver and heart sear hard in a wide pan with onions; spices bloom; everything cooks together until the meat is just done and the onions are deeply caramelised. Stuffed into pita with hummus, salad, tahini, pickles. The signature is the spice blend, cumin, turmeric, paprika, black pepper, cardamom, and the onion-to-meat ratio (a lot of onion).