Rachel’s Israeli Salad

This is the salad you see piled into a pita sandwich with all the fixings at Middle Eastern restaurants, but I decided to liberate it from all those falafel balls. Since it’s my daughter Rachel’s favorite, I make a mountain of it so that I can sneak prideful glances as she cracks open the fridge to forage . . . for salad. Some people remove and discard the seeds and jelly-like stuff inside the tomato before chopping, but that’s where all the flavor is, so leave it in there! Same goes for the cukes: wash them well to remove any wax, but keep them, and the seeds, intact. The hemp seeds add a boost of protein, omega-3s, and minerals like iron (essential for blood health), magnesium (helps with bone health and blood pressure), and zinc (boosts the immune system).

Serves 6

• 5 vine-ripened tomatoes, cored and diced
• 2 medium cucumbers or 6 small Persian cucumbers, unpeeled, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 tablespoons hemp seeds
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and toss. Season with more lemon juice. Serve immediately, or refrigerate and allow the flavors to meld for a few hours.

Tip If you don’t have lemon juice, swap in lime juice or unfiltered apple cider vinegar. Once this salad sits in the fridge for a few hours, a bunch of liquid accumulates on the bottom of the bowl; it would be a mistake to toss it. Either serve it as a cold broth at the bottom of the salad bowls, or pour it off and store it in the fridge to use as some of the liquid in Rawzpacho.