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Joan Nathan’s The Foods of Israel Today (Win a Copy)

by Leah Koenig · May 8th, 2008

Cookbooks, Cooking, Featured, Food History, Israel, Jewish Culture, Kosher, Recipes

If America is the proverbial “melting pot,” then Israel is a close second – at least when it comes to Jewish food and Mediterranean cuisines. In her book The Foods of Israel Today (Knopf), culinary goddess, Joan Nathan, explores the multiple culinary landscapes – European, Russian, Moroccan, Syrian, Italian and American to name a few – that converge and overlap across Israel’s homes, restaurants, and cafes.

Today, in celebration of Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day), we’re raffling off a copy of The Foods of Israel Today so you can bring all the tastes of Israel into your home. To enter the raffle, tell us your favorite Israeli food experience – either an inspiring or interesting meal you ate in Israel, or delicious Israeli food you ate somewhere else… (deadline to enter: Sunday, May 11). Update: Congratulations Debra!

More and a recipe below the jump.

In her book, Nathan describes how a typical Israeli meal might include, “Middle Eastern hummus, a European schnitzel (made with native-raised turkey) accompanied by a Turkish eggplant salad and a Persian rice dish, with, perhaps, Jaffa Orange Delight for dessert.” She also perfectly captures the mood surrounding Israeli food – from the bustling shuk to the tiny hummus joints that sprout up like mushrooms between the sidewalk cracks. “Every Israeli has strong opinions, especially about food.” Nathan writes. “And everyone likes to find a tiny hole-in-the-wall to call their own.”

Nathan talks with the authority of someone who spent years traveling across Israel, learning its identity and feel through its many foods. Her recipe for Jerusalem Artichoke Soup below is a perfect example of how multiple cultures can fuse together in one, delicious pot.

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Lemon and Saffron
This soup, from The Foods of Israel Today, originated with Chef Moshe Basson of Jerusalem’s Eucalyptus Restaurant.
Yield: 6-8 Servings

2 medium onions, diced in 1/2-inch pieces
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and quartered
4 cups chicken broth
10-12 blanched almonds
2 Tbs water
Pinch saffron
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbs chopped fresh Italian parsley, with stems
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Using a heavy casserole with a cover, saute the onions in the olive oil over low heat, covered, about 20 minutes. (This is called “sweating” the onions.) Uncover, add the garlic and artichokes, and increase heat. Continue to saute for a few more minutes.
2. Add the chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
3. Grind the almonds in a spice grinder and mix with the water. Whisk the mixture into the soup along with the saffron strands and the lemon juice. Reheat, sprinkle parsley on top, and serve.

Note: You can replace the Jerusalem artichokes with artichoke hearts; or make a dairy soup by replacing the chicken broth with a vegetable broth and substituting 1/2 cup of heavy cream for the almonds and water. The vegetables may also be pureed before serving.

Thank you to Alfred A. Knopf Publishers for donating the book for the raffle!

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30 Responses to “Joan Nathan’s The Foods of Israel Today (Win a Copy)”

Simon Olsberg Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Several wonderful meals at different houses on Amirim, a vegetarian moshav in the Galil
Gersh Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Schwaffels. I think I had about 10 on my birthright trip. Especially schwaffels with amba.
Larry Lennhoff Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I lived in Jerusalem for 3 months in 1991-92. I remember a wonderful dairy Italian restaurant right around the corner from where I lived. It served pasta al arrabiata – a wonderful spicy tomato sauce. I’ve had the dish many times since returning, but I’ve never found the exact flavor as made by that amazing little neighborhood restaurant.

Additionally, spending time with me in Israel was what got my dad into making homemade hummus.
Avi Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Warm pita with zatar bought in the shuk
Avigail Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
My friends Hannah and Assaf taught me to eat “spicy” which is a snack I’m now obsessed with. Their shabbes candle-lighting ritual is to light, have a “shnepsel” (a Yiddish schnapps) and then eat the aforementioned “spicy,” followed by an afternoon nap – pre-daylight savings, I think.

The “spicy” is some combination of crackers or toast with chutney and either goat cheese or plain yogurt. YUM!

Not particularly Israeli, per say, but so so yummy.
Rachel Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Just got back from Israel where I did a stint volunteering with MDA (Magen David Adom in Israel)… One night, a couple of hiking paramedics from the south set up camp in our station (up in the north western galilee), and volunteered to Barbeque for us. We went out on a call, and when we came back, we had a feast of humus, fresh baguette, mixed grill and hot grilled veggies waiting for us – which we ate on a plastic table which we set up in the ambulance bay.

It was a priceless memory – which could have only happened in Israel.
Hilary Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Eating jachnun at a restaurant off of Ben Yehuda St. in Jerusalem
Sara Korn Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Anything wtih zatar! so good on bread, pizza, in mezze, etc. Yum!

On my last visit I also got addicted to Magnum ice cream bars…
~M Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I followed bureka boy’s recipe to make the best homemade falafel every – and it was easy too, with a cookie scoop! YUM!
Corey Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
When I was in Haifa on business, our group visited about half a dozen companies in the area. It was interesting for me to note that every single company always provided us with the same brand of tea with our refreshments: Wissotzky Tea. I made a point of trying a different flavor at each company and bought plenty for myself to drink at home.
Alix Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Malawach! Yum!
Honi Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
We just got back from our first visit to Israel on April 1st.. I had had Falafal before but lets just say I had never really had it before.. We were near Haifa in a small town and we went to a small ( VERY SMALL) eatery and watched them make the falafal fresh.. it was heavenly.. not greasy .. and nice and hot and yummy.. the most unusaly falafal combo we had was near Elat.. they put french fries in the pita.. with the falafal.. We also were in Akko and had a rather interesting combo of spicey beef mixed with humus not sure what that was. We loved the Shwarma too .. that was wonderful .. and that concludes eating our way through Israel.. OHH and we had some of the best Hamantaschen too .. YUM!!
Jessica Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Last year I taught 7th graders and we did a six week unit on Israel, rotating them between mini-units on music, history, poetry, politics, and (of course) food! In my Israeli food class, many of the students were chopping, stirring, measuring, etc. for the first time! They researched recipes and learned about how culture and environment influence foods. We made our own hummus, falafel, shakshuka, and salads then served them to the whole class. They loved it!
debby Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I was on vacation in Jerusalem, staying with friends. They had a wedding Thursday night, and I offered to make challah while they were at the simcha. I started the dough, then realized I needed something for dinner… which lead to a trip to Machaneh Yehudah, my favorite place to shop in the whole city. I got tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, olives, Bulgarit cheese, and a couple of aish tanur (the big pocketless flatbreads that seem to have acquired a new name since 1993), turning it into a wonderful Israeli salad with bread. There were even leftovers for breakfast! (And the challah came out pretty well too :-)
shayna Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
When I lived in Rechavia, there was a fruit store I liked to go to that was owned by very proud Iraqi Jews, with large pictures of all sorts of Sephardi dignitaries and rabbis adorning the walls. They had amazing quality and selection, and were right across the street–perfect for rolling home a huge watermelon. One time I was paying for my purchase, and I was counting out my shekels–it looked like I would have exact change. The owner, who seemed to know every single person who walked into the store, looked at me counting my coins and said, in Hebrew, “You are so Ashkenzai”, and laughed at me. He then proceeded to give me take what money I had laid down, and gave me the few shekels uncounted as a discount.

I miss it. =)
Merav Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Hot pita with zaatar in the shuk in Tel Aviv! All oily and messy but sooooo delicious! :D
Merav Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Just realized that Avi (above) stole mine! :(

My second favorite: cold watermelon quickly chopped up by my uncle and eaten (without forks!) by everyone around a bowl on a small table in the middle of the room! Nice and tight! :)

Ahhh so much excellent food in Israel!
Aviva Zeltzer Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Roasted lamb…..with Mediterranean spices……I can smell it all the way in NYC!
Tamar Erlich Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
My favorite Israeli food is “Sabich”. It is an Iraqi Jews breakfast pita filled with fried eggplant, hard boiled egg, israeli salad, tahini sauce and amba (mango pickle). Boy, is this goood…
Edith Stevenson Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
When I was 17, I went on a youth group trip for 7 weeks in Israel, preceded by a mini-ulpan to learn the basic Hebrew phrases we would need to communicate. For some reason, all I remembered by trip number 2, 24 years later with a husband and two pre-teens in tow, was “Ani rotza glida b’vakesha.” So upon our arrival in Jerusalem, we saw the first of many roadside ice cream stands, the kids urged me to try my “extensive” Hebrew speaking……… but of course was totally embarrassed when the reply was something like (in Hebrew) “what flavour do you want?” and I couldn’t understand a word! The vendor enjoyed my lame attempt to speak the language, and let us carry on the rest of the transaction in English. And yes, the ice cream was delicious!
Mich Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
On a bright and sunny Friday in Jerusalem, sitting with a former classmate at Pinati restaurant at the end of the lunch rush, enjoying hummus basar.
Even to took a picture before I dug in.
Rabbi Shmuel Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
a plate of grilled chicken hearts at Sami in Yerushalayim or a fresh squeezed xlarge OJ in Geula – aaaah
phyllis Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
ah….nothing beats a felafel eaten in Mahane Yehuda market. or wait, maybe it’s the hot and fresh pita matched with the hummus bought nearby….or is it the marzipan rugelach bought hot on a friday afternoon and eaten out of the box? maybe it is the fondue i ate during pesach at a restaurant up in the north somewhere…or a big ol’ ice-cream-waffle-something-delicious dessert at yotvata on the beach in tel aviv…i definitely eat my way through israel:-)
Joel Abrams Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
From a trip several years ago, I remember the range of food: the streetside felafel, of course, but also a fancy seafood restaurant in Tel Aviv, the mall food court, the cafeteria at a Kibbutz guest house near Tiberias, and cafes in Jerusalem.
Debra Says:
May 10th, 2008 at 1:29 am
I love the food in Israel! My favorites from a recent trip were sabich (I love it even more than falafel, which is saying a lot) and some amazing rugelach from a hole in the wall bakery in Mea Shearim.
judi Says:
May 11th, 2008 at 8:59 am
My life has changed since I learned to make shakshuka. Now, there’s nothing I would rather eat.
Jeff Yoskowitz Says:
May 11th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Just today I was invited to a friend’s home to eat her mother’s traditional Yemenite chicken soup. I went over to her home and there was this delicious looking thick soup, with cilantro and sweet potato and two chicken legs on the stove. But there was only one bowl. “You’re eating alone,” she told me. “I know how much you love Yemenite soup and my mother sent it home with me for my friends.” She hates the stuff for precisely the same reasons I love it: the chicken is so tender that it melts like butter in your mouth, it is so flavorful and hearty, and it smells pungent.

My experience eating this soup as she watched me was not unique in Israel. So many Mizrahim I know do not like their traditional foods while I, a full blood Polish-Ashkenazi Jew, eat them with a guilty desire to be a part of their tradition. My cousin makes me fish in the Iraqi style and watches me eat it. Another cousin makes Jachnun which he doesn’t like (and I shouldn’t eat due to gluten sensitivity) and forces me to eat it, which I do, loving every minute of it and at the same time knowing that my stomach is regretting it. Clearly eating Mizrahi Israeli foods has been wrought with cultural tensions and confusions, a complicated gastronomic experience that adds a depth to every meal.
Leah Koenig Says:
May 13th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Congratulations #25 – Debra, you were randomly selected ( to receive Joan Nathan’s The Foods of Israel Today.

http://www.mdani.demon.co.uk/para/random.htm

Thanks everyone for writing in with your comments about Israeli food – they were great! And keep your eyes open for more chances to win great books and cookbooks!

Leah
Susan G Says:
May 15th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
While 5/ll has passed, I can’t miss this chance to dig into the memories you’ve all brought back. My first visit was in 1975. Lemons big as oranges, picked from a tree at my sister’s neighbor. Cucumbers with a flavor never duplicated. In an open air market in Tel Aviv, falafal topped with fried eggplant. Breads bought daily, full of character. Small food stores, neither paper or plastic. Jaffa oranges, intensely tasty, nothing like the disappointing imports. Spice markets and Turkish coffee from the Old City markets in Jerusalem. On several visits in the 90’s, wonderful food (even Iraqi bread fresh from clay ovens) — but never so intense an experience as the first trip.