Dateline Jerusalem – While sitting around the dinner table at a friend's home, the subject of my weekly articles became a topic of discussion. We were commenting about the delicious meal before us when one guest suggested I write about Israeli food. Several persons spoke up. One thought I should include a weekly recipe at the end. Another decided that it would be inappropriate with some subject matter. Consensus was that I write this week about Israeli food and include recipes. Considering I never measure anything when I cook, the ingredient amounts are approximations.
In Israel, it is almost impossible to walk down the street without breathing in the fragrance of exotic spices, the tantalizing scent of freshly baked bread, and the aroma of garlic and onions mixing with other flavors in mouthwatering dishes. No wonder I have gained so much weight since moving here. Yet Israelis tend to be lean. I guess they have the willpower to resist the temptation of second helpings. I do not.
Israeli cuisine often is described as a Mediterranean diet. Actually, it blends Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, North African, Spanish, French, Yemenite, Moroccan, Iraqi, Persian, Ethiopian, and Indian influences along with Eastern European, Russian, German, and Hungarian fare. Because Israel is a melting pot, the table tends to be as diverse as the population. More than 70 nationalities are represented just in my city of Rehovot. Whatever it is, the food must be healthy. Life expectancy is higher than in most of the rest of the world. For men, Israel comes in second behind Sweden. For women, it ranks eighth, with Japan being first.
Have You Ever Tried These?
Better known culinary delights in Israel include falafel balls (chickpeas, onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, cumin, cardamon, and hot peppers all ground together and deep fried); kubba (minced lamb or beef, onion, parsley, raisins, peas, tumeric, and cumin patties, stuffed in a rice and breadcrumb coating, then fried); matbucha (tomatoes, garlic, chili peppers, and red peppers, slow roasted into a salad type of dip, served cold); shashuka (eggs swimming in a tomato, cumin and paprika sauce); sabich (deep-fried eggplant slices, hard- boiled egg slices, mango chutney, tomatoes, slices of potato, and pickles in a hummus coated pita); hummus (chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic made into a paste); tahini (sesame seed paste); schnitzel (flat slices of chicken or turkey breasts dipped in egg, flour, seasoned bread crumbs and deep fried or oven baked); shwarma (lamb or turkey, seasoned with cumin and curry powder, slow roasted on a vertical spit, shaved off into pieces and put in a pita sandwich); ground beef kebabs; shishlik (kebabs of marinated chunks of beef, lamb or chicken, roasted on skewers); bourekas (pastry-filled with cheese, potatoes, eggplant or mushrooms); mejadra (rice, onions, cumin and lentils); baba ganoush (minced roasted eggplant, tahini, minced garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil); roasted eggplant; and, of course, Israeli chopped salad (finely diced tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, lemon juice with parsley and/or mint).
Spices include cinnamon, tumeric, cardamon, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, ginger, baharat spice (cardamon, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg), hawaj ( a mix of ground black pepper, cumin, cardamon, caraway, tumeric, coriander, and cloves), harissa (lemon juice, cumin, olive oil, garlic, dried hot red peppers and sweet red peppers), and za’atar (sumac, dried hyssop and/or oregano, salt and sesame seeds).
The recipe for this week is malabi, a sweet dessert: 4 cups milk, ¾-cup corn starch, 1 tbs rose water, 1 cup whipping cream, ½- cup sugar, raspberry syrup, coarsely chopped pistachio nuts, and coconut flakes. Mix 1 cup milk, corn starch and rose water until the corn starch dissolves. Bring remaining milk, whipping cream, and sugar to a simmer in saucepan on stove. Add corn starch mixture and cook over low heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens (two to three minutes). Remove from stove and pour into individual half-cup goblets, cover with cling wrap, and allow to cool to room temperature. Put into refrigerator for minimum of 4 hours. Take out and top with raspberry syrup, chopped pistachio nuts and coconut flakes. Serves about 12 in half-cup goblets. Do not think it is too much. You will finish it in no time. Absolutely delicious!
Bitayavon (bon appetite or eat in health).
L'hitraot. Shachar