My late grandfather, Charalambos, from my mothers’ side, spent some years in Palestine working for the British regime there, at those days. Inevitably, and thankfully, he brought back home some local Gazan culinary habits among them this ‘hot’ tomato salad/dip, called Gazawiye Salad or Gazan Dagga (aka salata ghazaweh).
I remember watching him pounding with a pestle the ingredients in a mortar and with great patience and glory he would mix everything together for this unforgettable salad/dip. He served it alongside meatballs, made by my late grandmother, chicken or fish for a blast of heat and flavour. He would also serve it with Arabic Pitta bread or with thick slices of toasted rustic bread.
It has been some time now that I was contemplating to reproduce it and I will present it to my brother and sister for an acknowledgement (hopefully).
Gazawiye Salad
Have a look below at the full recipe. Don’t forget, you can always print it.
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I hope you enjoy it!
Here you can find more of my sauces, dips and dressings.
Gazawiye Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cloves Garlic , roughly chopped
- 3 Chili Peppers , 2 green + 1 red Hot Chili Peppers, thinly sliced (seeds included for the brave)
- 2 Tomatoes , ripe and roughly chopped
- 1 small Shallot , roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon Fennel Seeds
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons EVOO , Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Use a mortar and pestle and start by adding in the mortar the chopped garlic and onion along with the salt. Pound well with a circular motion but not to a paste as you want small bits of garlic to be left there.
- Add the fennel seeds to be pound and crushed in order to release their natural flavourful and aromatic oils.
- Add the chilies and continue the crushing.
- Then it’s time for the tomatoes, to be mashed as much as you desire. I like to have a bit of feel of the tomatoes.
- Finally pour the olive oil and lemon juice and toss. It should eventually reach a salsa-like consistency with bits of the ingredients.
- Serve with Arabic Pitta bread on the side for dipping, or with toasted slices of rustic bread.
