Scrumptious Israeli Salads

In Israel, it is customary to serve several different types of salads at the Shabbat meals with the entrée or first course. Salads go great with Shabbat challah, large Iraqi pita and off course don’t forget the humus and tehina.

Colorful salads will dress up your Shabbos table. When preparing an Israeli vegetable salad use fresh vegetables and cut the vegetables in very tiny pieces. Israelis love to make salads using cucumbers, tomatoes, different color sweet peppers and some chopped purple onion. Your salad can be dressed with an oil and vinegar mixture. Eggplant and colorful peppers both hot and sweet are very popular vegetables used when preparing Israeli salads.

Preparing cooked salads can be time consuming, but when you are preparing food for Shabbat, it becomes a pleasure.

My daughter, who is a great cook and married to a Tunisian, has shared some of her Israeli salad recipes with me over the years, since my family and I made aliyah (moved to Israel)twelve years ago. Usually I make my salads Thursday morning to allow the flavors to marinate.

Here are several Shabbat salad recipes.

Eggplant and Tomato Salad

• 1 large or 2 small eggplants
• 1 small and ripe tomato
• 1 large onion
• 1 small red pepper
• 2 garlic teeth pressed
• oil – for frying
• ¼ cup vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ¼ cup hot water
• salt to taste

Cut all the vegetables into small pieces and fry until golden brown. Drain the oil well. Place fried vegetables in a large bowl and add sugar, garlic, tomato paste, salt and mix well. Add vinegar, hot water and mix well. Store in container and chill before serving.

Imitation Israeli Chopped Liver Salad

• 1 large eggplant cut in small chunks
• 2 very large onions
• 3 raw eggs
• oil – for frying
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 pressed garlic teeth [optional]

Fry eggplant and onions until they are golden brown. Remove from fry pan and drain well. Do not pour out the oil left in the fry pan. Put the eggplant back into the fry pan and add beaten eggs. On a low heat, stir constantly so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of pan. When the mixture is dry (no more raw egg) place in container add salt, pepper and garlic. When cooled, put thru grinder to look like chopped liver.

Sweet Pepper Salad

• 6/7 roasted red/yellow/orange peppers
• 2 pressed garlic teeth
• ¼ cup oil
• ¼ cup vinegar
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 tablespoon lemon
• salt to taste

Roast peppers on a barbeque or gas stove fire until well done. Place in plastic bag for 1 hour (to make peeling easier). When cooled, peel, slice and put peppers into a container. Add all the other ingredients. Mix very well. Chill before serving.

Oil and Vinegar Dressing

• 1/3 cup oil
• ¼ cup vinegar
• juice from ½ lemon
• 1 or 2 pressed garlic teeth [optional]
• salt and pepper to taste

Blend all the ingredients together in a blender or in shake well in a dressing jar. Pour over salad and mix well. This is for a small to medium salad. Adjust for larger salad.

And now for those who are not faint of heart. These next two salads are very hot. If you are not used to eating spicy salads, taste with caution. If the salad is too hot for you and your mouth feels it is on fire, eat bread. Water, soup etc. will not put out the fire.

Tirshey Salad (Tunisian Pumpkin salad]

• 8 large cubes of pumpkin
• 2 small/medium potatoes
• 6/8 pressed garlic teeth
• 1 heaping tablespoon of hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground pumpernickel
• juice from whole lemon
• salt to taste

Cok pumpkin and potatoes in enough water to cover. Partially drain and puree. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Chill overnight for best taste.

Nishweya Salad (Hot pepper & tomato salad)

Note: Cooked hot peppers can burn your skin. Hold by the stem and use a knife and fork.

• 10 straight hot peppers [mixture of red and green]
• 2/3 ripe tomatoes
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 sliced garlic teeth
• juice from whole lemon
• salt to taste

On each hot pepper make a small X with a knife to keep the peppers from exploding and then roast on all sides on a barbeque or stove fire. Repeat with tomatoes. Place all the cooked vegetables in a plastic bag for 1 hour. When cooled, carefully peel and dice the peppers and grate the tomato. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Chill overnight for best taste.

Enjoy the salads and Shabbat Shalom!