Instructions: "In Israel, this lively salad is served with everything - grilled chicken, fish, with chickpea patties in pita bread or simply with a small wedge of feta cheese...

"Everyone knows that the quality of the tomatoes is of great importance for an excellent Mediterranean salad. But this is also true of the cucumber... Get into a discussion of cucumbers with people from Israel, and they become passionate. "American cucumbers are inedible," they say, referring to the most common cucumber in the supermarket. They will acknowledge that the long, hothouse cucumbers and the long, slim Japanese cucumbers are an improvement. But their favorite type is what gardening catalogs call Middle Eastern cucumbers. In my Los Angeles neighborhood, they are sold in Middle Eastern produce markets and farmers markets as Persian cucumbers. I have to admit that I prefer these small, thin cucumbers. They are crisp, delicately sweet and have tender skin with no trace of bitterness.

"For the onion component of the salad, I like those that are not too sharp, like sweet onions, red onions or green onions. Although its not classic, I often add red, yellow or green bell peppers. Other nontraditional additions we enjoy are diced jicama, celery and radishes."

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