Recipes

‘Zahav’ Mango, Cucumber and Sumac-Onion Israeli Salad

The Israeli chef and restaurateur known for his legendary Philadelphia restaurant, Zahav, Chef Michael Solomonov created a mango, cucumber and sumac-onion Israeli salad that’s a perfectly fresh addition to any meal. Image by Gayle L. Squires

By Michael Solomonov October 14, 2015

This salad contains homemade pickled onions, which wake up a slew of recipes. Chef Michael Solomonov came up with them because he realized raw onions didn’t always appeal to the American palate. “So the quick-pickle treatment is really attractive,” he said. “You can eat a bunch of it. It’s nice, it’s refreshing, but it’s still got crunch and a little bit of savory robustness.”

Serves 4–6

2 mangoes, peeled and cut around the pit into small cubes (3 cups)
1 large English cucumber or 3 smaller Persian cucumbers, diced (3 cups)
¼ cup simple sumac onions (see below), plus more for topping
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, toss to combine, and serve with additional sumac onions on top.

Simple Sumac Onions

Makes about 1 cup

1 red onion, thinly sliced or finely diced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground sumac
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from “Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking” by Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO