Egyptian Style Tomato and Cucumber Salad

In Egypt, all of your fruits and vegetables are locally grown (well, in Egypt) and fresh.  This means everything is seasonal.  While this is great for freshness and price, it is not the best when you want something out of season (example: mangoes or figs in the fall/winter, strawberries and bananas in spring/summer).

Egyptians love fresh salads, but not the kind you're thinking.  In the Unites States and much of Europe, we have come to think of a salad as a main meal kind of thing.  Lettuces, vegis, meats, dressing...  Unless you're dining at a restaurant in one of the pricey malls, you won't even find a salad like that in Egypt.

Salad in Egypt is mainly made of the items you can find year round, the staples to every Egyptian's diet; tomatoes, onion, cucumber, and fresh cilantro.  This is eaten in Egypt as the side with most cooked fish meals (and seafood) and unlike in America, eaten on top of rice.  I think it's great with rice and alone.  One of my favorite dishes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 medium tomatoes
• 2 English cucumbers (small short cucumbers with tiny seeds)
• One medium onion
• 3 tbsp white vinegar
• about 3 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped (parsley works well also)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Chop tomatoes and cucumbers into about 1/4" pieces and add to bowl
2. Peel and quarter onion, add to food processor and roughly chop
3. Add onion to bowl of tomato and cucumber mix
4. Add finely chopped fresh cilantro, cumin, salt, pepper, and vinegar
5. toss together
6. serve cold with Egyptian rice