Take Your Israeli Salad Up a Notch with Pomegranate and Olives

Your basic Israeli salad gets a big upgrade with three simple additions: pomegranates, olives, and sumac (which might be a new addition to your spice cabinet!)

Each week, one of the ever present things on my list is chopping the Israeli salad. It’s one of those basics that needs to be in my fridge. I make a big batch on Wednesday or Thursday and leave it undressed so it stays fresh for almost an entire week. 

Renee Muller shows you the basics for a great Israeli salad in this post. But what’s great about Israeli salad is that you can customize it however you like. Include what you like, swap what you like, and leave out the things that you don’t want. 

In my version, I simply skip the tomatoes and instead include hot pink watermelon radish for extra crunch. Since there’s so much radish, even the red onion isn’t so necessary. 

But once that salad is chopped and in your fridge you can do lots of different things with it.

Like make this really upgraded Israeli Salad with Pomegranate. You can enjoy this version of Israeli salad on its own, or make a gorgeous hummus plate for an easy upgrade to your Shabbos table. When I’m serving a Middle-Eastern themed meal, I’ll serve this along with this Za’atar Roasted Cauliflower for the sides/salads. 

First, let’s upgrade our Israeli salad. I’m starting with 3 cups Israeli salad. Mine has peppers, cucumbers, regular and watermelon radishes, and parsley (but totally make your own version). 

Add pomegranate seeds…

And olives.

Dress with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and the secret ingredient…sumac! Sumac is a Middle Eastern spice that’s the secret ingredient in this salad. It adds a bright, lemony zing! 

We have our salad, now let’s make a pretty plate. 

Add chummus to one side of a dish.

Pile your salad on the side of the chummus. 

You can also make a well in the chummus and add some salad inside too.

Add some pita chips on the other side. 

This is a beauty you’ll love to serve!