Our visit to Israel to celebrate its 70th anniversary last April was a once in a lifetime experience. We have always loved Israeli food and appreciated its traditional presentation. Sitting at a table with many small salad dishes is a great way to start a good meal, but we wanted to give it a more modern twist with a touch of design while preserving its essence. Once we arrived from our trip to Israel we got inspired to host an Israeli themed Shabbat, of course, with our own magical touch in the presentation department. We teamed up for a cooking class with our talented dear friend Chef and Blogger Sylvia Hanono. Besides looking great, all the dishes were absolutely delicious.
Here are the recipes and the results:
FALAFEL
Makes 20 falafel pieces or 2 pizza crusts
Ingredients:
1 cup of garbanzo beans
½ white chopped onion
½ cup of parsley
½ cup of cilantro
¼ cup of mint or peppermint
1 tbs lime juice
1 tbs salt
1 tbs chilli flakes
1 garlic clove
1 tbs cumin
1 tsp baking powder
4-6 tbsp wheat flour
Canola oil for frying
Preparation:
- In a food processor combine the garbanzo beans, onions, parsley, cilantro, mint, lime juice, chili flakes, salt, garlic, cumin, baking powder and the flour.
- Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Form falafel mixture into round using wet hands or a falafel scoop. Here is where you can get creative and shape the falafel into any shape you like, triangles, cubes, or anything you can imagine. For the triangles we used triangle cookie cutters.
- Fill a deep skillet with canola oil to a depth of 1 ½ inches, heat the oil over medium heat. The ideal temperature to fry falafel is between 360 and 375 degrees.
- When the oil is at the right temperature, fry the falafels in batches of 5 at a time till golden brown on both sides.
- Once they are golden brown you can remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon. Let them drain on absorbent paper towel.
- When the oil is at the right temperature, fry the falafels in batches of 5-6 at a time till golden brown on both sides.
Falafel Pizza Variation:
- In a food processor combine the garbanzo beans, onions, parsley, cilantro, mint, lime juice, chili flakes, salt, garlic, cumin, baking powder and the flour.
- Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Transfer falafel mixture into a previously oiled baking sheet and spread into a circle, resembling a pizza crust. If you want to make a perfect circle you can cut it with a mold and remove the excess.
- Bake at 400F for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Once it is baked spread hummus on top.
- Add desired toppings, we added arugula, israeli salad, kalamata olives and tahini.
Presentation:
- Shape the falafel into triangles, cubes, and balls to give the plate a more modern feel.
- We also added wooden clothespins to complement the side of each falafel.
- A white marble plate with a gold coated corner adds the perfect color contrast to the dish.
TABBOULEH SALAD
Ingredients:
1 Cup Chopped Parsley
1 Cup Bulgur Number 2
2 Chopped Tomatoes
4 Chopped Persian Cucumber
1 Chopped Cup Peppermint
3 Lime
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Preparation:
- Wash the bulgur in a strainer.
- Place bulgur in large bowl and soak with water for about 15 min or until bulgur is tender.
- Drain the bulgur.
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
- Let stand at least 30 minutes to blend flavors.
TAHINI
Ingredients:
½ cup sesame paste
2 or 3 limes (depending on their size)
½ tsp garlic salt
¼ cup water (depends on the consistency that you like, if you like it thicker add less water, if you like it more liquid add more water)
Preparation:
- Blend all the ingredients.
Presentation:
- Use a black plate for your side of triangle pita chips.
- After you’ve place the tahini in a contrasting colored bowl, top it with pomegranate seeds and parsley.
ISRAELI SALAD
Ingredients:
4 Diced Roma Tomatoes
6 Diced Persian Cucumbers
2 teaspoons Dry Peppermint
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
¼ cup virgin olive oil
2 Lime
Salt to taste
Preparation:
- Mix till vegetables are well coated with parsley, oil, lime juice, and salt.
Presentation:
We recommend you stack the salad by pressing layers it in a mold and flipping it upside down in the middle of the plate. If not, simply press the mix in a mold and make it look colorful.
AVOCADO HUMMUS
Ingredients:
1 Cup of canned garbanzos beans
2 Avocados
¼ Cup sesame paste
Lemon juice (2-3 depending on the size)
½ spoon of garlic salt
¼ Cup of extra virgin olive oil
Dukkah spice
Water if necessary
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch cumin
1 pinch sweet paprika
Preparation:
- Add all of the ingredients into a processor.
- Process ingredients until they form a smooth paste, if the mixture is too thick add water.
Presentation:
- Serve on an extended plate, spread nicely using a spoon and decorate with olive oil, Dukkah, and Paprika.
BEZERGAN
For 6-8 portions.
Ingredients:
1 Cup of thin wheat (can be found in arab food stores)
1 Cup chopped nuts
½ corn oil
1 Cup of tamarind syrup (can be found in arab food stores)
½ ground onion
1 Serrano chile (optional)
Ground cumin
Salt (up to you how much)
2 Sesame shortbread arab cookies crushed up (can be found in arab food stores
Nuts for decoration
Parsley leaves for decoration
Olive oil
Arab bread
Preparation:
- Wash the wheat with cold water, rinse it as many times as needed until the water is no longer cloudy.
- Once its clean, let it soak for 30 minutes.
- Squeeze it with your hands and move it into another bowl.
- Add the nuts, corn oil, tamarind syrup, salt, and shortbread. If necessary, add some water until you achieve a smooth mixture.
Presentation:
- Use the same type of plate we used for the falafel.
- Place the mixture in the middle of the plate in a triangle cookie cutter shape and decorate the sides with little yellow flowers.
GRAPE LEAVES
Ingredients
1 Jar of vine leaf (purchased from kosher stores)
2 liters of water 500 grade filled with rice and meat (recipe attached)
4 cloves of whole garlic
3 tablespoons of corn oil
1 cup of lemon juice
Salt, to taste
4 teaspoons of peppermint or dried mint ¼ teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of consomme
Preparation:
- Boil the vine leaves in parts. Drain and remove the stem, making sure that they do not break.
- Spread them out and fill with rice and meat (on the light side). The edges are folded inside and formed as taquitos.
- Place them in a previously oiled extended pot, then add the garlic and sprinkle a little more oil. Leave them to sweat for 15 minutes.
- Add water until they are covered, season with salt and a little consommé. (Put an enzymes dish inside the pot so that at the time of cooking they do not fall apart).
- Let them cook for 30-40 minutes over medium heat.
- Once it's ready remove the plate. Add lemon juice to sugar and mint or peppermint.
- Option: Sandwich artichoke hearts with grape leaves.
Presentation:
- Serve in individual decorative sardine can.
LACHMAGINE
Ingredients:
Makes approximately 150 pieces
1 large white onion in pieces
4 cups of parsley leaves
2 cups of tomato puree
1 kg or 2 pounds of ground beef
1 ½ cup liter of tamarind syrup
1 cup of corn oil
6 teaspoons cumin
3 teaspoons of arab or all spices
14 wide chiles, washed cooked, ground and cast
Salt to taste
3 packages of empanadas discs.
Preparation:
- In a processor or blender, grind the onion, parsley, tomato puree, tamarind syrup, oil, cumin, broad chilli, Arabian pepper or all spice and salt.
- In a bowl, mix the meat with the previously liquefied mixture. Ideally, prepare the meat one night before and leave to marinate in the refrigerator or refrigerator.
- Thin the pie disk with a rolling pin or with the help of your hands. If necessary, add a little flour so that it does not stick.
- A thin layer of raw meat is added throughout the pie disk.
The oven is preheated to 350º f
The empanadas are baked open for 5 minutes. They are taken out of the oven and folded in half.
Return to the oven for 5-7 more minutes, or until they catch a light golden color.
Presentation:
- Classic presentation is circular shaped, we got inspired by our packaging design and created Lachmagin in the shape of triangles.
- Use a mold to make triangles, both for the dough and the meat
- Spread two dolups of hummus (avocado and original) on the side
1 kg of ground beef
½ kg Bulgur wheat
1 Cup of parsley leaves
1 Cup peppermint leaves
1 Serrano chile without seeds (Optional)
¼ Cup white onions
¼ Cup of water
¼ Sifted flour
3 Teaspoons salt
2 Teaspoons cumin
3 Teaspoons paprika
½ Teaspoons white pepper
¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil
Preparation:
- Wash the wheat until the water is transparent.
- Let it soak in cold water for 15 minutes.
- Ring out the excess water with your hands.
- Mix the meat and the wheat in a bowl.
- Blend the parsley, peppermint, serrano chile, onion, water flour, salt, paprika, cumin and white pepper.
WE HOPE YOU GOT INSPIRED AND THAT THE RECIPES COME IN HANDY! REMEMBER TO SHARE YOUR CREATIONS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND TAG US USING #TRADITIONMEETSDESIGN
