No this is not some metaphor for the situation in Lebanon or Israel or Palestine right now. Someone suggested I post recipes to this site and I thought that was a great idea so here goes. I would like to mention that I am posting this because it is delicious and perfect for the summer heat and not because of current events. Although it might be appropriate to note that even the most aggressive and corrupt states can produce some wonderful things (for example suspension bridges and the US Postal Service).
Ingredients
1 tomato
1 cucumber
1/2 red onion
1/2 lemon
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 small clove garlic (optional)
1/4 cup chopped parsley (optional)
1. Dice the tomato, cucumber, red onion, and garlic if you want into small cubes (about 1/4 inch) and place in a bowl.
2. Toss the diced vegetables with the rest of the ingredients.
This tastes great on top of almost anything. It makes a good breakfast mixed with some plain yogurt.
4 responses so far ↓
Carl // July 28, 2006 at 8:42 pm
No Israeli salad would be complete without the dressing-the blood of Arabs-you left that key ingredient out. Seriously, though, what makes this “Israeli salad”? It looks like a salad you could find in any much older Mediterranean country.
omnicrisis // July 28, 2006 at 9:22 pm
Carl- I think you’re right about the true origins of “Israeli salad” as well as many other Israeli foods. Israeli salad may or may not have some original adaptations, but it is definetly rooted in Mediterranean cooking. For a while now, I have half-jokingly called this “cultural appropriation salad.”
On another note, great blogging so far, Blixx. Looking forward to reading more of your thoughts about stuff and hearing more mixes.
blixx // July 28, 2006 at 10:27 pm
thanks for the comments and correction. I must confess that I learned growing up that Israeli salad was a product of the corageous and innovative early Zionist pioneers, but I stand corrected now.
debra from culiblog // September 3, 2006 at 5:26 am
Read Claudia Roden’s book on Jewish Cooking. It’s not only recipes, lots of history and culture, and one gets a sense of co-existence with especially in the Arab world (which in and of itself is vast and diverse). All folks gots to eat and share recipes.