i visited Israel in June and nearly every meal came with this type of salad, even breakfast! even so, i have made this many times and usually emulsify the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt & pepper and then drizzle that over the mixed veggies. blending it helps intensify the flavor IMHO. a tip i learned in Israel is to grate the lemon peel of the lemon used. again, the flavor is just kicked up a notch. nice if you like lemon as I do. (7/11)
--so i made this and immediately ate a big bowl with a panzella cracker. just super fresh, clean flavors, delicious. i used persian cukes & followed recipe exactly. while licking the bowl it occured to me that chick peas and some feta would make it spectacular. and that second bowl was indeed. (oh yeah, fresh tomato was the only item i didn't have. i did have a can of muir glen diced toms but decided to wait until i put everything else together. honestly, i thot it was perfect w/o them. i only drizzled olive oil as well.)
I stuffed this into a pita picket. I am thinking that it would be easier to manage if it was rolled like you would a burrito as the filling would fall out if you just rolled it pita style. This was really good! The only thing the garlic was a bit much for us so next time I will add garlic to taste! Great recipe though!
Yummy combination of flavors. I loved the parsley mint and lemon - so simple. Took a lot more prep time than I imagined it would - lots of peeling and seeding and chopping. WAY too much olive oil. I would at least halve it and drizzle slowly till you get the consistency you want. Too much salt for my liking too so I will play with that. Nice and refreshing and will definately make again though!! Served in a pita pocket with some cream cheese.
So good! Don't make ahead though I made the huge mistake of making this the night before and the dressing leached all the liquid out of the tomatoes and cucumbers and it was like soup. When it was fresh it was fabulous. If you want to do anything ahead of time just keep the dressing separate and dress at the last minute. I should have known this but I wasn't thinking. Definitely keep the mint it gives a little something you can't even tell it's mint it just tastes herbal and good.
Just in case any one reading this recipe travels to the Middle East: This is widely known as Arabic Salad or "Salata Arabiya" throughout the Middle East not Israeli Salad. It is absolutely delicious!
This was really good! Was surprised at the amount of cukes needed but it ended up great! Substituted 3 Hot house for the roma. I served it with moussaka and a pumpkin bread loaf from this site.
This a great salad. I added in shredded cabbage to add volume and crunch and used only 3-5 graded garlics. I only used a drizzle of olive oil and added more lemon than the recipe calls for. I subbed dried mint for fresh and added in 1/4 of a chopped jalepeno. It was delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!
Mmm I loved the mix of flavors! My boyfriend had his in a pita with hummus and I kept mine as a salad and we both enjoyed. I liked this because all the ingredients were things I already had in...yay for convenience! And deliciousness =) Thanks Maslow
I've made this for years usually for 4th of July or a late June family reunion and it's always a hit. The last few years I started adding in about a cup (2-3) mangoes small-diced and substituting the mint with cilantro. I like it this way even better as the sweetness of the mango goes perfectly with the acid of the lemon and astringent feature of the cucumbers. And I always make it the day before and then adjust seasoning a few hours before serving if needed.
I always add back olives leave out the mint and put a bit of red wine vinegar rather than lemon juice.
