Israeli Salad

4 small plum tomatoes, chopped

2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped

3 scallions, cut in 1/2" slices

1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped

1/2 cup fresh mint, dill, cilantro or a mix of these, finely chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 juice of one large lemon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Mix all ingredients and serve either at room temperature or chilled.

Basic Israeli Salad consists of tomatoes, cucumber and onion and fresh herbs. The herbs must be fresh. (O.K, I confess, dried dill is almost as good, so if you aren't going to use fresh then at least add some dried dill.) It is a very flexible salad and fun to experiment with. Try adding:

a chopped pickle

a handful of sliced olives

a couple of stalks of celery, the leaves are good, too

a drizzle of honey

a tablespoon of zaatar

a smidgen of Yemenite szchug

What do you like in your Israeli Salad? I'd love to hear!