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September 26, 2008
Israeli flavor for the holidays
New cookbook takes you on a gastronomic journey of home.
RON FRIEDMAN
Ask any Israeli who has been outside of the country for any length of time what they miss most about Israel and chances are good that the first thing that will come up is "the food." An Israeli friend of mine, who recently went back for a visit, vowed before he left that he would eat at least one shawarma every day.
Now, thanks to a new cookbook by Janna Gur, The Book of New Israeli Food (Schocken Books), you don't have to travel for 17 hours to get your falafel fix. With recipes both light and sumptuous, alongside lush photography by Elion Paz, just flipping through the book will make your mouth water.
Gur's book is an attempt to introduce readers to the new Israeli culinary scene, one that is rapidly maturing, combining the best regional ingredients with techniques from around the world. "In less than 30 years, Israeli society has graduated from Spartan austerity to a true gastronomic haven," writes Gur.
The Book of New Israeli Food is a culinary journey of the land and its people. Gur writes about the different influences that shaped Israeli cooking, from the use of indigenous ingredients – like olive oil and wild herbs – that have been part of the diet since biblical times, to the recipes picked up from the millennia-long Diaspora in far off lands. In Israel, the melting pot is not only figurative.
From spicy Yemenite calf leg soup and fresh Turkish salad to grilled and savory meals, from familiar comfort dishes to exotic desserts, this book offers selections for simple meals at home and for gatherings with family and friends. I'm personally tempted to try to recreate the variety of a Tel Aviv falafel stall using the dozen or so salad recipes the book features (now if I could only find some place that sells good pita in Vancouver).
Contextualizing these recipes are passages in which Gur details the multi-faceted history of Israeli dishes. With detailed narratives dedicated to certain basic ingredients like bread, cheese and fruit, Gur provides her readers with a deep understanding of Israel's diverse cuisine and culture. "The finest almonds in Israel are called Um-El-Fahem, and it is said that the best almond trees are all children of one famous giant that still grows in the Arab village in the Ara Valley that bears that name," writes Gur.
Along with recipes for everyday cooking, Gur includes a section dedicated to Shabbat meals. This includes several variations on the traditional sweet challah, Jewish chicken soup and three types of Shabbat casseroles that are left overnight on a hotplate or in the oven. The recipes for Shabbat cakes and cookies make you long for an invitation to come to Gur's house on the weekend.
The Book of New Israeli Food also features a chapter on special holy day foods, starting with Mul Eden executive chef Dadi Shaulski's gourmet gefilte fish for Rosh Hashanah and finishing with Gur's malabi mousse cheesecake for Shavuot.
All of Gur's recipes are straightforward and easy to follow. And although it might not be as easy to find all of the ingredients in Vancouver as it is in Jerusalem's Machane Yehuda market, a trip to Granville Island's public market or a well-stocked neighborhood grocery should get you everything you need. This reviewer attempted to make a flame-roasted eggplant carpaccio, a basic shakshuka and marinated pargiyot (chicken thighs) following the recipes from the book. The results were well received and momentarily took the tasters back to the old corner shipudiyah (grill house) back home.
Here are just three examples of the delicious Israeli recipes you will find in Gur Book of New Israeli Food.
Moroccan-style hot fish
Chunks of fine saltwater fish (traditionally grouper) are cooked casserole-style with hot peppers and garlic. No holiday dinner in a Jewish Moroccan household is complete without it.
8 portion-sized (about 180 g) chunks of grouper or other saltwater fish
4 hot red peppers, cut into strips
2 sweet red peppers, cut into strips
20 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped coarsely
1 cup fresh coriander, chopped coarsely
Seasoning mix:
8 tbsp. paprika
salt
1 cup olive oil
Line a wide saucepan with the peppers and herbs.
Mix the ingredients of the seasoning mix. Dip the fish chunks in the mix and arrange them in the saucepan. Mix the remaining seasoning mix with the garlic and three to four cups of water and pour over the fish.
Cook for 10-15 minutes (depending on the size of the fish chunks) over a high heat, lower the heat, cover and continue cooking for another 15 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Makes eight servings.
Lamb and quince casserole
A traditional lamb casserole for Rosh Hashanah that features quinces, the autumn fruit Bulgarian Jewish cooks love, from Yehiel Filosof, chef of the Balkan restaurant in Yaffo.
1 kilogram lamb cut into large cubes
4 tbsp. oil
3 large quinces, peeled, cored and cut into 6 wedges each
salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 level tsp. sweet paprika
4-5 tsp. sugar
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and brown the meat. Cover with boiling water, put on the lid and cook for an hour or more, until the meat is tender and almost ready to eat.
Add the quince wedges, seasonings and cook for another 10 minutes.
In the meantime, dissolve the sugar and two to three tablespoons water in a frying pan and cook to a light-colored caramel. Add some of the lamb cooking liquid to the caramel and stir well. Pour the caramel into the saucepan and cook for another 10 minutes, until the lamb is completely tender and the quince wedges are soft but retain their shape.
Serve with steamed rice. Makes six to eight servings.
Magical honey cake
"Do you have a really good recipe for a honey cake?" This is a standard query of the pre-Rosh Hashanah rush. The following recipe was given to Gur by an enthusiastic amateur cook, Dalia Zarchiya, and has been a favorite for years. Pay attention: the cake should "mature" for seven days before serving.
6 cups plus 3 tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 heaping tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups honey
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2 tbsp. instant coffee
2 level tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 170°C (325°F).
Combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the honey, oil and eggs and beat into a smooth batter with a whisk or a mixer.
Dissolve the instant coffee in one cup of boiling water. Stir in the baking soda and then the coffee into the batter. Gently fold in the raisins and the walnuts.
Pour the batter into greased pans and bake for about 45 minutes, until the top of the cake is dark brown and a toothpick comes out dry with a few crumbs adhering.
Allow the cakes to cool completely, wrap with aluminum foil and place in a cool, dry place (not in the refrigerator) to mature for seven days. Makes three loaves
Variation: If you don't like the taste of coffee in your honey cake, replace it with one cup of strong dark tea.
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