It’s sweltering outside, you’re hungry but the last thing you want to do is heat up the kitchen with a bubbling slow cooked casserole. When the temperatures creep up, keep cool with visits to the sea, ice cold sangrias and fresh colorful salads. With the addition of a handful of ingredients, the standard tomato and cucumber salad can be transformed into a main course both filling and healthy.
In Israel there is a plethora of fresh produce at reasonable prices which can be made into countless variations of tasty salads. So with some imagination it’s possible to keep the kitchen closed until the rainy season. And with the time you save in the kitchen, you can reintroduce the late afternoon siesta.
Fresh salads from around the country:
- Marinated Carrot Salad
- Balkan Salad with Roasted Pepper and Feta
- Baby Lettuce Salad with Pears, Blue Cheese and Candied Walnuts
- Pretty Purple Salads
- Greek Salad with Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives
Tips and Ideas for Tasty Salads
- Toasted pita makes a wonderful addition to vegetable salad.
- Make a Tex-Mex style salad with corn, beans, tomatoes, avocados and coriander.
- Israel has wonderful feta and Bulgarian style cheeses which can be grated, cubed or crumbled into a salad.
- Add hard boiled eggs, tuna fish, cubed potatoes and roasted peppers for a more substantial salad.
- Top vegetable salad with leftover shredded or cubed chicken.
- Add zing and flavor with sundried tomatoes, olives and capers.
- Make a more filling salad by adding a handful of beans and/or grains such as bulgur, chickpeas, kidney beans and even canned or fresh corn.
- Do not add dressing to lettuce salad until ready to eat, otherwise the leaves will wilt.
- Longer marination times are suitable for tomato and salsa type salads.
