Israeli Chopped Vegetable Salad

As is common with most mothers/home-cooks, I'm always looking for something easy, nutritious and tasty for my family to eat.  Admittedly, salads are typically little more than bland and boring side dishes that are added to a meal as an after-thought; a harried addition to a more appealing dinner.  Usually they only comprise a little spinach or romaine lettuce, a chopped tomato, a sprinkling of croutons and a splash (or, some days, a tidal surge) of dressing.  And then, voila - a salad.  Nothing original or particularly noteworthy.  Just a salad.  Thank goodness the Israelis can do better than me! 

Possibly due to generations of Jewish grandmothers and their incessant need for children to eat nutritious food, those in Israel have become well versed in the ways of a tasty and healthy vegetable salad.  Especially when some or all of the vegetables and herbs have come fresh from the garden, the taste just seems to blossom in a richness that has before been unmet in our home.  This is definitely a dish that I will look forward to making in the future.  And, a bonus note for the leftovers - they can be folded into some tomato sauce and used to make a super healthy pasta or pizza sauce!

Ingredients:

• 1 red, green or yellow (bell) pepper, seeded
• 1 carrot
• 1 cucumber
• 6 tomatoes
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
• 1 hot fresh chili, chopped
• 3-4 Tbsp. olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Using a sharp knife, finely dice the peppers, carrot, cucumber and tomatoes, and place them into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the garlic, scallions, cilantro, dill, parsley, mint and chili to the chopped vegetables and toss together to combine.
3. Pour the olive oil and lemon juice over the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and toss together.  Chill before serving.

(The original recipe came from "Jewish Cooking" by Marlena Spieler.)