Just Hungry » Israeli Kitchen

Yellow Watermelon

Everyday Cooking, Just Hungry 4 Responses »

Jul 032009

The sight of a big, red watermelon always fills me with optimism . I guess it’s because watermelon brings back childhood memories of hot, lazy summer days when we were all small and life was good. At the beach, our mother would lure us out of the water for a break, offering us red, juicy slices cut off a half watermelon that was cold from our insulated box . Hunkering down on the sand in our bathing suits, still dripping salt water and a bit dazed with swimming, we would bite with gusto into the “smile” of the slice, glad to hear that crisp, yielding sound as our teeth met melon. Sweet juice running down our chins and fingers, an almost salty flavor as we got closer to the rind. We’d collapse, replete, onto the sand, careless of stickiness and the heat. Mom would push us towards the sweet-water shower and then we’d rest under the beach umbrella for a while.

Or at home, late in the afternoon when lunch was hours behind us and dinner was still some time ahead. Bowls filled with those juicy red cubes would appear – Mom’s strategy to keep us happy till dinner was ready. We would feast.

So I was glad to see watermelons on display at the supermarket when I was there yesterday. I pushed the shopping cart closer, to reach for a good one. But hist – what was that?! Among the red, there were yellow watermelons. They’re a novelty in Israel. At first I thought they were a hybrid of some sort. Out of curiosity, I bought half a deep-yellow one. We all sat down to try it out. I didn’t know what to expect, but found that it had the true, sweet, watermelon flavor.

So I typed “yellow watermelons” onto a search engine and came up with this Wikepedia article. There I learned that there are 1200 varieties of this fruit, and what’s more, that it’s not a real fruit but a vegetable. (I was kind of sorry I learned that – I think I’ll forget I learned that and go back to thinking of watermelon as fruit.)

It would be neat to fill up a bowl with balls of red and yellow watermelon – maybe some cantaloupe too – when I give a little dinner party for my birthday next week.

Whee! Summer just got more fun.

Corrected Link: List of Kosher-for-Passover Restaurants in Israel

Eating Local, Just Hungry, Travels No Responses »

Mar 302009

Here is the corrected link to eLuna.com, an Israeli kosher food and travel site listing restaurants that will be kosher for Passover.

Fresh Garlic Oil And Garlic Soup

Eating Local, Everyday Cooking, Just Hungry, Useful Flavorings and Relishes 9 Responses »

Mar 192009

The weather’s cool and we’re having late rainfall, but spring must have arrived in Israel. There’s green garlic in the shuk.

Usually by this time the shuk is overflowing with garlic

Fresh garlic

- woven into braids

man braiding garlic

- or just stacked in piles for discriminating shoppers.

fresh garlic

But it was only today that I saw the first tender, purple-streaked bulbs. I’ll wait another week for the really big ones, then I’ll buy the 10 kg. that sees me through most of the year. I’ll hang my garlic up in the porch and convince everyone that we really love the way our apartment smells like salami.

One of my favorite things to do with green garlic is infuse it into a pungent, peppery olive oil, together with fresh oregano or za’atar. I can’t tell you how delicious salads are, made with this oil.

olive oil” src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3603/3368694116_1822364fca.jpg” alt=”Olive oil infused with fresh zaatar, garlic, and rosemary” width=”375″ height=”500″ />

In the above photo you see some dried sprigs of the round-leaved za’atar. It just finished for the season. The narrow-leaved variety, which is what I infused in oil, looks like this:

narrow-leaved zaatar

You must have a very clean, very dry glass jar at hand. Put a lot of green oregano or zaatar in it, and up to a whole head of fresh garlic, its tough outer membranes removed. Vary the herb as you wish, as long as it’s fresh and green. Then pour good olive oil over the herbs and garlic, to cover.

Push a chopstick or a knife through the oil to displace any air bubbles, then screw the lid on the jar and put it away in the fridge. The oil tastes good after a few days, and will stay good for about a month, gettting stronger the longer it sits. It’s important to keep it refrigerated to avoid spoilage. Also, use only a clean, dry spoon to remove oil for use.

In fact, today I made two oils, the one above for salads, and a hot one for cooking. The second oil had a 3-inch piece of fresh ginger root which I’d sliced, a handful of fresh, coarsely chopped garlic, and a couple of tiny shatach chili peppers.

shatah chili

A little of that ought to keep the heat high, I think.

Tender new garlic is a treat that I use with abandon. All too soon, it dries and the delicate, slightly sweet flavor becomes more pungent. Peel away the first tough layers of skin, flexible now but becoming papery as the bulbs dry out. Then you can:

* Anoint a few bulbs with olive oil, paprika and cumin, or thyme, then wrap them up in tin foil and roast them. Or tuck them into the pan in which you’re roasting a chicken. Roasted fresh garlic is food for princes. How do you eat it? Push the root end of each clove with the flat of a table knife, and the meat will slip out of the stem end. Spread the garlic paté on whatever’s on your plate that takes your fancy. Some people adore roasted garlic on challah, some like to cover their roast chicken with a thin layer.

* Crush a few cloves with za’atar spice (the dried kind, with sesame seeds in it) – add salt, dip your bread into it.

Confession: a favorite springtime snack of mine goes like this: I crush the garlic, scrape it into a small dish, and stir olive oil into it. Then I’ll add salt and pepper and eat the whole thing with a pitta. I defy any vampire to get me after that.

* Slice it thickly – lots of it, from half to a whole bulb – and layer it into lasagna or a casserole.

* Make garlic butter with it. Allow the butter to become a little soft, add crushed garlic and some lemon juice and salt to taste. Mix it well, cover, and allow the butter to mellow for an hour before using. No measurements given because it all depends on how much butter you’re making and how garlicky, lemony, or salty you like it.

* Garlic soup is light, warming, and a good base for other soups. Make a light stock from an onion, a washed but unpeeled potato, 2 carrots, 2 stalks of celery, a ripe tomato, parsley (or nettles), and salt. The vegetables should be sliced thinly. Simmer this for an hour or a little longer. Strain the broth. To this clear liquid, add all the cloves from a cleaned head of fresh garlic, a sprig of thyme (1/4 tsp), a small bay leaf, 2 Tblsp. olive oil. Simmer for 1/2 hour. Remove the garlic cloves and bay leaf and serve steaming hot, with buttered toast triangles.

A fancy touch is to roll out some frozen puff pastry and cut it out to cover oven-proof soup bowls. Ladle a serving of garlic soup into each bowl, cover the bowls with circles of puff pastry, and put them in the oven to bake. It’s fun to break the crust and push it into the soup – tasty, too.

If you find yourself with a stalk or two of fresh garlic, peel away the first, dirty layers of it and put it in soup. It’s not for eating, just for flavor, like bay leaves.

garlic bulb

Bruschetta (and how to say it)

Everyday Cooking, Just Hungry 6 Responses »

Jan 272009

A reader asked me what bruschetta is. It’s Italian for “toasted bread with toppings.” A handy, quickly-assembled appetizer or snack. If your toppings are substantial, add a glass of wine and you have a meal. All you need is some good bread, fresh or a few days old, plus olive oil, garlic, and any topping that presents itself to your mind. My favorite topping is simple: a slice of slow-roasted tomato, sprinkled with herb salt and plenty of pepper. If I have some around, a little chopped basil. Grated cheese is nice too, but more for looks than for flavor, because the garlic and tomatoes are delicious just alone together.

Today there was an unexpected guest for lunch, someone who really appreciates food and (probably because I write a food blog), has high expectations of my cooking. All I had on hand was vegetable soup and a tossed salad. But I wanted to please my guest, so to round out the menu I got this bruschetta together – in about 5 minutes.

There was sesame challah, getting stale.

I took slices off the challah and toasted them lightly under the grill. Tradition dictates rubbing a clove of garlic over the surface of the toast, then drizzling a little olive oil over it. But I like lots of garlic. I crushed a small clove, mixed it into a tablespoon of olive oil, and spread the garlicky oil over the toasted slices.

As there were some tomatoes slow-roasting in the oven, I fished some halves out and sliced each one in half again, horizontally. Each toasted slice received a slice of tomato. If I hadn’t had slow-roasted tomatoes handily sitting around, I would have sliced a tomato up thickly and sautéed the slices in olive oil. I sprinkled a little herb salt and some ground black pepper over the ensemble.

But there were more un-topped, grilled toasts. I snatched up some feta that was lurking in the fridge, sliced that too, topped the rest of the bread with it. Everything went back into the oven, under the grill for a few minutes. When the feta was warm and soft, I poked a few dimples into its surface, drizzled a little olive oil over it, and shook some paprika over the cheese.

You could taste each component, in every bite: toasty bread, olive oil, a hint of garlic, then either the slightly carmelized tomato or the salty feta. Thanks to the bruschetta, the simple meal became a feast, and my guest raved about it. I smiled airily and accepted the compliments, thinking, “It pays to read a lot of Italian cookbooks.”

Toasted bread with olive oil, that’s the base. Top the bread with slices of sautéed peppers, or rounds of fried eggplant, – or smoked salmon and a squeeze of lemon, dusted with finely-chopped chives and parsley (not to be grilled, this last) – or spread pesto on the toast and lay cheese on top. Big mushrooms, thickly sliced and sautéed, then thickened with cream, are very good. Some folks like to top their toast with chicken livers. Or onion confit. Or greens lightly cooked with garlic. Just look in the fridge and see what might taste good spread over garlicky toasted bread.

It’s up to you whether to lay your topping on and serve the bruschetta immediately, or to use ingredients that benefit from a quick grilling. I’m not in favor of chopped or diced toppings simply because they tend to slide off the toast and make a mess. For me, it’s long slices of this or that. And caution with juicy toppings: they can make your toast soggy. Assemble the bruschetta just before serving if your topping drips liquid, so the bread stays crisp.

And how to pronounce bruschetta? Like this: bruce-keta.

Spiced Nuts, Party Appetizer

Just Hungry, What's Cooking for Shabbos and Yom Tov No Responses »

Dec 242008

Guests enjoyed nibbling on these spicy/sweet roasted nuts at our Chanukah party. The recipe makes plenty of nosh in addition to more substantial fare.

Spiced Roasted Nuts

yield: 4 cups

Ingredients:

4 cups mixed raw nuts of choice. I used 1 cup each of Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, and walnuts.

4 Tblsp. butter or ghee

6 Tblsp. maple syrup – or for Israelis, 4 Tblsp. Silan date honey (which has a stronger taste but is more satisfactory than maple syrup to my taste)

2 Tblsp. powdered dried rosemary leaves

1/4 tsp. cayenne or chili pepper flakes

2 tsp. coarse salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F – 180 C

1. Take a large frying pan and toast the nuts over medium heat till they release a nutty odor and have lots of little brown spots all over them. Stir often and keep a sharp eye on them – they will burn in a second if you let them go too long.

2. Melt, in a separate pan, the butter/ghee and maple syrup/silan. Stir it up. When the liquid has cleared, add the rosemary and cayenne.

3. Pour the nuts into a lined baking pan and pour the flavored butter syrup over them. Toss several times to coat the nuts all over. Spread them out evenly. Don’t be alarmed at any liquid on the bottom of the baking pan: this will harden and become like a soft candy.

4. Roast the nuts for 10 minutes, then take a spatula and turn them over in the baking pan. Make sure to re-distribute them evenly.

5. Roast another 15 minutes and see if they’re done to your satisfaction. If not, let them roast another 5 minutes.

6. As soon as you take the nuts out of the oven, sprinkle the salt over them.

All the nuts to cool entirely before storing them or putting them into a bowl. Break up any big clumps. They will stay crisp and good for a week if kept in a dry place.

Latkehs: Traditional Potato Pancakes

Just Hungry, What's Cooking for Shabbos and Yom Tov 9 Responses »

Dec 112008

Chanukah is coming up – we light the first candle on the 21st of this month. Already I’m frying and freezing latkehs ahead of time for the little party we have each year. Family, a few old friends, and plenty of kids. They all eat latkehs!

Here’s my recipe for traditional potato pancakes. With a big, leafy salad, they’re all I serve at the Chanukah party. Topped with applesauce (here’s my applesauce recipe) and sour cream, of course. They’re so delicious and satisfying that no one wants anything else.

Over the years I’ve found that it’s easier to cook up a few batches ahead of time. Drain the latkehs and allow them to cool, then freeze them. To serve, pop them straight into a hot oven for 10 minutes. They will taste as fresh and crisp as if you’d been standing there frying in the kitchen all along (while everyone else is stuffing themselves at the table).

Latkehs

Yield: 25-30 latkehs – 6 generous servings (can easily be halved)

These instructions assume you’re using a food processor.

Ingredients:

6 large potatoes: 1.600 kg.

3 large onions

1 more large onion, chopped and set aside. This is is optional but worth the extra few minutes of work for the extra taste.

6 eggs

1 cup flour and 1 Tblsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt for separate onion

1 1/2 tsp. salt for potato batter

1 tsp. white pepper

Oil for shallow frying: olive, canola, or corn oil

Method:

1. Cut the potatoes into chunks that will work with your food processor. You don’t have to peel the potatoes, just scrub them well and go over them with a knife to remove anything undesirable.

2. In food processor: grate the potatoes with the fine-grating disk.

3. Dump the grated mass into a colander and rinse briefly to avoid discoloration. Allow to drain while everything else is being prepared.

4. Rinse the food processor; fit the knife in.

5. Peel and quarter the 3 onions; puree them in the food processor.

6. Add the eggs to the pureed onions; blend them for a few seconds.

7. Add the 1 1/2 tsp. salt, the pepper, flour, and baking powder to the contents of the FP. Whirl till all is smooth.

8. Optional Heat 1 Tblsp. oil in the frying pan. Saute the chopped onion until it’s golden, and remove it to a small bowl.

9. Put the grated potatoes in a big bowl and mix the batter into that. Add the sauteed chopped onion, if using; mix well.

10. Pour another tablespoon of oil into the pan and heat it. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, turn out little hills of raw batter into the hot oil. This works better than using cooking spoons. Flatten out the tops a little. Fry till the first side is brown; gently flip over with a spatula and fry till the other side is brown too. Taste the first one or two to determine what color the latkehs have to be when they’re done. The oil in the pan will need to be renewed once in a while.

Drain on paper towels.

Serve hot, topped with applesauce and sour cream.

Rice with Nettles

Eating Local, Herbal Shmerbals, Just Hungry 8 Responses »

Dec 022008

The first green wild plants start poking their heads up at about this time of year. Our rains have been sparse, but that moisture was enough to release the energy in their seeds. Out foraging and taking pictures, I see clumps of nettles standing in neglected street-side corners, and remember how good they taste cooked with garlic and rice. So I stoop down and quickly gather a handful, ignoring the slight sting. Passersby stare for a moment, then walk on, thinking who knows what. Yes, it probably is a strange picture: a middle-aged lady with a camera dangling from her shoulder, picking nettles. I hope someday to be an old lady picking nettles.

It’ll be another month or so till the nettles are big enough to harvest in quantity. Their sting will be powerful then, and I’ll have to be cautious. I’ll go out with a bag and a pair of scissors, cut my nettles close to the ground, and bring them home to dry.

Nettles fit into all kinds of food. Steamed, sauteed with garlic and/or onions, combined with cheese, mushrooms, as a filling for crepes or ravioli – just recall any recipe calling for dark green leaves, and substitute nettles. Hebalists say ironically that with enough cheese and butter, any wild green is tasty. But the rich, dark taste of nettles stands up to irony (and is good for raising hemoglobin).

And – nettles taste nothing like spinach. It seems that whenever an author is at a loss to describe the taste of a wild green, he or she says it tastes like spinach. Nettles have their own flavor, not earthy like chard, not mild like green beans, nor yet bitter, like spinach – but their aroma sometimes reminds me of wakame seaweed.

Rice With Nettles

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup of rice

1 Tblsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup of tender young nettle leaves, rinsed and chopped: a small handful

2 cups of boiling water or hot stock

Method:

1. Rinse your rice well to free it of dust. Allow it to drain in a sieve till no more water drips.

2. Heat the oil in a small pot and add the rice to it. Stir, covering the grains with a film of oil.

3. Allow the rice to heat through and change color slightly. Add the garlic, salt, and nettles. Stir well.

4. All the water or stock- carefully, there will be steam. Stir again and cover the pot.

5. Steam the rice on the lowest possible flame for 10 minutes. Check to make sure all the liquid is absorbed and the grains are tender all through. Let it sit a further 5 minutes before serving. If you like the taste, you might try using a full cup of nettle leaves next time.

It’s not only good, it’s good for you.

Pears in Wine

Just Hungry, Sweet Things, Wine and Vinegar 5 Responses »

Nov 302008

The Anjou pears of The Colors of November were pretty, but rather dry and not very sweet. Looking around the kitchen, I saw a bottle of summer fruit wine that was half-full. To use everything up, I made a wine syrup and made Poires au Vin, and everyone was glad I did.

Pears in Wine

6 servings

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

6 large, firm pears

3 cups dry or semi-dry wine

1 1/2 cup white sugar

1 stick of cinnamon

Method:

Choose a pan into which the pears will fit with a little room to spare. In it, pour the wine and the sugar. Add the cinnamon. Simmer the wine and sugar for 10 minutes, uncovered.

Meanwhile, peel the pears, leaving the stem on. It just looks pretty that way.

Gently place the pears in the wine syrup. Cover the pot and tilt the lid to let the steam escape. Cook the pears over a low fire for 30 minutes or till tender, turning them over 15 minutes into the cooking so that they absorb the syrup all over and come out colored evenly. If you use a red wine, they will be almost burgundy.

Chill the pears and serve each one in a small bowl with some of the syrup.

Even small children like this simple fruit dessert.

Pumpkin Soup with Garlic Croutons

Just Hungry 4 Responses »

Nov 272008

Sometimes a woman knows she’s going to be too busy to cook next day. Sometimes she’s going to be making wine instead. I know that once I start working on wine, it’ll take too much time and concentration for me to think of What’s For Lunch. So last night I made pumpkin soup and prepared the croutons to heat up again at lunchtime today. With an omelet and a salad, lunch is on the table in 15 minutes.

This is a simple winter soup. Savory garlic croutons complement the slight sweetness of pumpkin and corn, and release their buttery flavor into the soup as you spoon it up. If you decide not to make croutons, swirl a tablespoon of butter into the soup just before serving, for creaminess.

Pumpkin Soup

6 servings

Ingredients for the soup:

2 Tblsp. olive oil

500 grams pumpkin

1 medium potato

1 ear of corn

1 medium tomato

1 onion

1 leek

1 bay leaf

1 liter – 4 cups – water

salt and white pepper to taste

1/4 cup cilantro or parsley

Ingredients for the garlic croutons:

1 1/2 cups dice of fresh, or day-old bread

1 clove of garlic, chopped

2 Tblsp. butter

2 Tblsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

A pinch of black pepper

A pinch of thyme.

Note: you can add as much black pepper as you like, but refrain from adding more thyme, which is a strong aromatic. It can dominate and mask the delicate flavor of the soup.

Method:

1. Chop the onions.

2. Cover the bottom of a large saucepan with the oil. Turn on a low flame. Add the onions and bay leaf.

3. While the onions are starting to cook, peel and chop the potatoes, clean the leek and chop it, peel the pumpkin and chop it.

4. When the onions in the pan are soft and starting to turn golden, add the potatoes, leek, and pumpkin cubes. Bring the flame up to medium. Stir.

5. Cut the kernels off the ear of corn. Chop the tomatoes. Add these to the pot.

6. Cover the pot and cook the vegetables for 20 minutes They will release some of their juice, but lower the flame if necessary to keep them from scorching.

7. When the vegetables are soft, add the water and stir. Cook 1/2 hour on a low flame.

8. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chopped cilantro or parsley.

9. Cook another 5 minutes.

Now you can either serve the soup in its clear native state, with all the chunks of vegetables

Or blend it. Blended is the only way I can get Daughter to eat pumpkin, so that’s what I do.

To make the Croutons:

In a frying pan, melt the butter together with the olive oil. Add the garlic and allow it to infuse in the butter/oil mixture, over the lowest possible flame, for 15 minutes. Watch the pan. If the garlic looks like it’s going to burn, the flame has been too high – remove the pan from the heat. If you can’t make a lower flame, just heat the garlic through for a few minutes, but the flavor will be much lighter.

Add the salt and pepper and thyme. Stir.

Have the diced bread in a bowl. Dribble the garlic butter over and along the sides of the pile of bread dice, mixing gently with a wooden spoon. Bake the coated croutons in a hot oven for 20 minutes, turning them over twice.