I discovered the glory of Israeli salad like most every other Jew does — while traveling abroad to Israel in the summer of 2005. Only for me, I was sitting on a beach at an ocean-side restaurant in Tel Aviv 24 hours after landing. But this wasn’t just any Israeli salad. The base was the traditional cucumbers and tomatoes but it never dawned on me that one could ‘dress up’ Israeli salad with yummy accessories like feta cheese, watermelon, fresh herbs, radishes, etc. This salad was a culinary revelation and when I got home from that trip all I did was experiment with the humble yet glorious Israeli salad not only because it’s delicious but because those fresh flavors always bring me back to that beachside Tel Aviv cafe. The recipe below is an example of one of my go-to recipes that came from all my Israeli salad experiments. Grilling peaches is such a treat — it really enhances the sweetness of the peaches, which is such a lovely partner to the saltiness of feta cheese.
Enjoy and happy summer!
Whitney Fisch received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan and is currently working as The Director of Counseling at Milken Community Schools’ Upper School Campus in Los Angeles, CA. When not dealing with the trials and tribulations of roughly 600 high schoolers, she is at home dealing with the trials and tribulations of her3 young children as well as cooking… a lot. She blogs about all things food and life on her blog, http://jewhungrytheblog.com/. Jewhungry was a Top 5 finalist in 2013 for The Kitchn’s Homie Awards for Best Health & Diet blog and in 2014, Whitney co-authored a Passover e-cookbook that same year with fellow Jewish foodbloggers, Amy Kritzer, Sarah Lasry and Liz Reuven called, “4 Bloggers Dish: Passover – Modern Twists on Traditional Recipes”. Whitney contributed recipes and blog posts to Interfaithfamily.com, The Huffington Post, and The Nosher. You can follow Whitney’s adventures on Instagram at @jewhungry or via her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jewhungry