page_title: Israeli cuisine
section_title: Salads and appetizers
hierarchical_section_title: Israeli cuisine / Foods / Salads and appetizers
caption_attribution_description: A dish of hummus with pine nuts at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa, Israel.
context_page_description: Israeli cuisine comprises both local dishes and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli Jewish fusion cuisine has developed.
  Israeli cuisine has adopted, and continues to adapt, elements of various styles of diaspora Jewish cuisine, particularly the Mizrahi, Sephardic and Ashkenazi styles of cooking. It incorporates many foods traditionally included in other Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, so that spices like za'atar and foods such as falafel, hummus, msabbha, shakshouka and couscous are now widely popular in Israel.
  Other influences on the cuisine are the availability of foods common to the Mediterranean region, especially certain kinds of fruits and vegetables, dairy products and fish; the tradition of keeping kosher; and food customs and traditions specific to Shabbat and different Jewish holidays, such as challah, jachnun, malawach, gefilte fish, hamin, me'orav yerushalmi and sufganiyot.
context_section_description: Vegetable salads are eaten with most meals, including the traditional Israeli breakfast, which will usually include eggs, bread, and dairy products such as yogurt or cottage cheese. For lunch and dinner, salad may be served a side dish. A light meal of salad ("Salat"), hummus and French fries ("Chips") served in a pita is referred to as hummuschipsalat.
  Israeli salad is typically made with finely chopped tomatoes and cucumbers dressed in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Variations include the addition of diced red or green bell peppers, grated carrot, finely shredded cabbage or lettuce, sliced radish, fennel, spring onions and chives, chopped parsley, or other herbs and spices such as mint, za'atar and sumac. Although popularized by the kibbutzim, versions of this mixed salad were brought to Israel from various places. For example, Jews from India prepare it with finely chopped ginger and green chili peppers, North African Jews may add preserved lemon peel and cayenne pepper, and Bukharan Jews chop the vegetables extremely finely and use vinegar, without oil, in the dressing.
  Tabbouleh is a Levantine vegan dish (sometimes considered a salad) traditionally made of tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, bulgur and onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Some Israeli variations of the salad use pomegranate seeds instead of tomatoes.
  Sabich salad is a variation of the well known Israeli dish Sabich, the ingredients of the salad are eggplant, boiled eggs/hard boiled eggs, tahini, Israeli salad, potato, parsley and amba.
  Kubba is a dish made of rice/semolina/burghul (cracked wheat), minced onions and finely ground lean beef, lamb or chicken. The best-known variety is a torpedo-shaped fried croquette stuffed with minced beef, chicken or lamb. It was brought to Israel by Jews of Iraqi, Kurdish and Syrian origin.
  Sambusak is a semi-circular pocket of dough filled with mashed chickpeas, fried onions and spices. There is another variety filled with meat, fried onions, parsley, spices and pine nuts, which is sometimes mixed with mashed chickpeas and breakfast version with feta or tzfat cheese and za'atar.
  It can be fried and cooked.
  Sigarim are soft minced meat with onions and spices or mashed patato filling wrapped in phyllo-dough, and deep fried in oil or oven baked. They are commonly served at weddings and other celebrations..
  Roasted vegetables includes bell peppers, chili peppers, tomatoes, onions, eggplants and also sometimes potatoes and zucchini. Usually served with grilled meat
  Khamutzim are pickled vegetables made by soaking in water and salt (and sometimes olive oil) in a pot and withdrawing them from air. Ingredients can include: cucumber, cabbage, eggplant, carrot, turnip, radish, onion, caper, lemon, olives, cauliflower, tomatoes, chili pepper, bell pepper, garlic and beans.
  A large variety of eggplant salads and dips are made with roasted eggplants. Baba ghanoush, called salat ḥatzilim in Israel, is made with tahina and other seasonings such as garlic, lemon juice, onions, herbs and spices. The eggplant is sometimes grilled over an open flame so that the pulp has a smoky taste. A particularly Israeli variation of the salad is made with mayonnaise called salat ḥatzilim b'mayonnaise. Eggplant salads are also made with yogurt, or with feta cheese, chopped onion and tomato, or in the style of Romanian Jews, with roasted red pepper.
  Tahina is often used as a dressing for falafel, serves as a cooking sauce for meat and fish, and forms the basis of sweets such as halva.
  Hummus is a cornerstone of Israeli cuisine, and consumption in Israel has been compared by food critic Elena Ferretti to "peanut butter in America, Nutella in Europe or Vegemite in Australia". Hummus in pita is a common lunch for schoolchildren, and is a popular addition to many meals. Supermarkets offer a variety of commercially prepared hummus, and some Israelis will go out of their way for fresh hummus prepared at a hummusia, an establishment devoted exclusively to selling hummus.
  Salat avocado is an Israeli-style avocado salad,
caption: Hummus with pine nuts
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