Shared by Hila Alpert
Lali Salad (Cherry, Chile, and Cilantro Salad)
Yield: 6 to 8 servingsTime: 30 min
Lali Salad (Cherry, Chile, and Cilantro Salad)
Yield: 6 to 8 servingsTime: 30 minFamily Journey
Kibbutz Ma'ale HaHamisha, Israel
Tel Aviv
This recipe is featured in our cookbook "The Jewish Holiday Table: A World of Recipes, Traditions & Stories to Celebrate All Year Long." For more holiday recipes from around the world, get your copy!
This recipe was shared by Hila Alpert. Read more about her family in "Israeli Culinary Journalist Hila Alpert Looks Back on Shavuot on the Kibbutz" and try her recipes for cheese and chocolate truffles and phyllo bundles with feta, honey, and black pepper.
In Israel, this salad is a culinary icon, made popular by Habasta, a restaurant tucked into Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market. Nicknamed “Lali salad” the recipe originated with Hila, whose kibbutz, Ma'ale HaHamisha, was the first in Israel to grow sweet cherries. While harvesting them, she remembers hiding between the leaves so no one would see her as she devoured the cherries straight from the branch.
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds fresh sweet cherries, pitted
- 2 cups chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 to 4 jalapeños, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
Step 1
Put the cherries, cilantro, jalapeños, garlic, salt and olive oil in a large bowl and stir well until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Chill until refreshingly cold.
Step 2
Serve the salad chilled.
