''Resek agvaniyot'', or ''resek'' (), is an Israeli

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to enhance the Flavoring, flavour, to complement the dish or to impart a specific flavor. Such specific flavors generally add sweetness or pungency, or sharp or piquant ...

made of grated

tomatoes The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originated from and was d ...

that is traditionally served with

malawach Malawach or Melawwaḥ (Hebrew: מלוואח), is a Yemenite Jews, Jewish Yemenite flatbread that is traditional in Yemeni cuisine as well as Israeli cuisine. The name of the dish comes from the Arabic "ملوح", literally “board-like bread� ...

jachnun Jachnun or Jahnun (, , ) is a Jewish pastry, originating from the Adeni Jews, and traditionally served on ''Shabbat'' morning, with resek agvaniyot (a freshly grated tomato dip), hard-boiled eggs, and zhug (a type of spicy green herbal condiment ...

bourekas Bourekas or burekas (),() are a popular Baking, baked pastry in Sephardic Jewish cuisine and Israeli cuisine. A variation of the Börek, burek, a popular pastry throughout southern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East, Israeli bourekas are ...

kubaneh Kubaneh () is a traditional Yemenite Jewish yeast bread that is popular in Israel. It is traditionally baked overnight to be served for Shabbat breakfast. The bread is often served alongside haminados (eggs that are baked in their shells along wi ...

, and other dishes. It is frequently paired with

zhug Sahawiq (Yemeni Arabic: , IPA: aħaːwiq, is a hot sauce originating in Yemeni cuisine. In other countries of the Arabian Peninsula it is also called mabooj (), and bisbaas. In Israel, it is commonly known as zhoug or zhug (from Judeo-Yemenit ...

, and is also commonly served as part of the

Israeli breakfast An Israeli breakfast is a style of breakfast that originated on Israeli collective farms called kibbutzim, and is now served at most hotels in Israel and many restaurants. It is usually served buffet style, and consists of fruits, vegetables, sal ...

Origins

''Resek agvaniyot'' originated in the

Yemenite Jewish Yemenite Jews, also known as Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ; ), are a Jewish diaspora group who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. After several waves of persecution, the vast majority of Yemenite J ...

community several hundred years ago, following the introduction of tomatoes to their cuisine, and as part of their traditional

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

morning meals.

Overview

''Resek agvaniyot'' is a condiment made of salted, grated, fresh/raw tomatoes. It is somewhat similar to a

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

or a

tomato puree The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originated from and was d ...

, except it is never cooked and it always has a very fine, smooth consistency. Resek is a common condiment in Israel, and has been prepared by the

Yemenite Jews Yemenite Jews, also known as Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ; ), are a Jewish diaspora group who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. After several waves of antisemitism, persecution, the vast majority ...

for centuries, who traditionally pair it with

zhoug Sahawiq (Yemeni Arabic: , IPA: aħaːwiq, is a hot sauce originating in Yemeni cuisine. In other countries of the Arabian Peninsula it is also called mabooj (), and bisbaas. In Israel, it is commonly known as zhoug or zhug (from Judeo-Yemenite ...

and

haminados Haminados, also known as huevos haminados, chaminados, or braised eggs, is a traditional Sephardic Jewish cuisine, Sephardic Jewish dish popular in Israel. These eggs are cooked for a long time, resulting in red-brown whites and darkened yolks. T ...

(slow cooked eggs) and serve it with

, and

as part of their

morning breakfast. With the arrival of Yemenite Jews to Israel seeking refuge after a series of pogroms, and their later expulsion from Yemen; it has since become a popular dish across Israeli society. ''Resek'' is commonly paired with a number of other dishes in both Yemenite Jewish, and non-Yemenite dining establishments across the nation such as

challah Challah or hallah ( ; , ; 'c'''hallot'', 'c'''halloth'' or 'c'''hallos'', ), also known as berches in Central Europe, is a special bread in Jewish cuisine, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat ...

falafel Falafel (; , ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter of Egyptian origin that features in Middle Eastern cuisine, particularly Levantine cuisines. It is made from ground fava beans, chickpeas, or both, and mixed with herbs and spic ...

and

pita Pita ( or ; ) or pitta (British English), also known as Arabic bread (, ), as Lebanese bread and as kmaj (from the Persian ''kumaj''), is a family of yeast- leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Levant ...

Preparation

''Resek agvaniyot'' is typically prepared by blanching fresh, whole tomatoes in boiling water then transferring them to an

ice bath In sports therapy, an ice bath, or sometimes cold-water immersion, Cold plunge or cold therapy, is a training regimen usually following a period of intense exercise in which a substantial part of a human body is immersed in a bathing, bath of ic ...

. The tomatoes are then peeled, and grated and seasoned with coarse/

kosher salt Kosher salt or kitchen salt (also called cooking salt, rock salt, kashering salt, or koshering salt) is coarse edible salt usually without common additives such as iodine, typically used in cooking and not at the table. It consists mainly of ...

. Sometimes

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

or fresh herbs such as

parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum''), is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to Greece, Morocco and the former Yugoslavia. It has been introduced and naturalisation (biology), naturalized in Eur ...

, or

cilantro Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the leaves as ha ...

are added as well

References

{{Cuisine of Israel Israeli condiments Jewish cuisine Mizrahi Jewish cuisine Tomato dishes Sauces

Origins

Overview

Preparation

See also

References