Gordon Rock - The Israeli Kitchen Testament: Israeli Religion of Cooking

The Israeli Kitchen Testament

Israeli Religion of Cooking

By

Gordon Rock

Published by Gordon Rock at Smashwords

Copyright 2020 Gordon Rock

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Food in Israel is not just a necessity, but also a joy, thus it is consumed at home and restaurants as well as on the streets, in parks and at beaches. And tables filled with various dishes and condiments are a life style and expression of traditional hospitality. Traditionally the main meal of the day, as characteristic with all of the Mediterranean region, is the midday meal. Evening meal is traditionally lighter and based around dairy products and salads. Israelis enjoy picnics, where they often make and eat various kebabs, such as shishliq, with sides of salads or hummus.

Jewish, and thus most of Israeli, cuisine is defined by strict religious laws called kashrut which are part of 613 mitzvot, commandments, of halakha, the laws. To observe some of these commandments Jews have created long and slow stewed dishes, such as the cholent, or fish patties like gefilte fish. But also, many dishes have liturgical significance or relating to Biblical stories and commemorating events of Biblical history.

As Jews were spread around the globe in Diaspora, their influence spread among other national cuisines. So much that today some are unimaginable without those influences, such as Italians cooking without the tomatoes which were used as flower plant in Europe until the Italian gentile cooks adopted Jewish recipes. While making dishes from this cookbook you will find true roots of many dishes you believed to be originating in some other cuisines. But, not all Israeli dishes are of Jewish origin. Many were influenced by or adopted from the cuisines of regions in which Jews lived, and here you will find aromas and flavors from the Far East, Maghreb, Central Europe, Southern America, and all other corners of the world.

In this cookbook you will find dishes that represent all the influences which enriched Israeli cuisine and have created this mischen of flavors and aromas from all sides of the globe.

Challa is traditional braided ceremonial bread of Ashkenazi Jews. From the Ashkenazi tradition it has spread among other Jewish traditions. It is consumed on Sabbath and all major holidays except Passover.

Serving Size: 46

Prep Time: 3 hours 20 minutes (35 minutes active)

Cooking Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• Fresh yeast, 2 oz.
• All purpose flour, 4 cups or more as needed
• Water, cup, lukewarm
• Sugar, 1 tbsp.
• Honey, cup
• Eggs, 3
• Olive or vegetable oil, 3 tbsp. and 1 tbsp.
• Raisins, cup
• Poppy seeds, 2 tbsp.

For egg wash:

• Egg yolk, 1
• Water, 2 tbsp.

Instructions:

1. Place in a bowl lukewarm water, sugar and yeast. Stir until it melts, and then leave in a warm place for five minutes until its lightly foamy.

2. Add to the bowl, all-purpose flour, honey, eggs, three tablespoons oil and raisins and mix well to combine.

3. Transfer to a floured surface and knead well until dough is tacky but not sticky, for 10 minutes, adding flour if needed.

4. Grease a bowl with a tablespoon of oil and place dough in and then flip it over so it is completely oiled, and cover with the kitchen towel. Leave in a warm place for an hour, then punch dough and leave for another hour to rise.

5. Punch again dough and divide it in six equal parts and roll them into 1518 inches long ropes.

6. Place three ropes in a cookies tray covered with a baking paper close together and parallel. Braid from the middle toward the ends on one side and then on the other, while pinching together and then tucking under the ends.

7. Then repeat braiding with other three ropes.

8. Make the egg wash by mixing an egg yolk and two tablespoons of water. Brush the braids and sprinkle with the poppy seeds and leave covered by kitchen towel to rise for 45 minutes.

9. Place in a preheated oven at 350F and bake for 50 minutes.

10. After baking leave for at least 10 minutes to rest and cool before serving.

As the fourth of the Ten Commandments forbids work on Sabbath, from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday, a type of dish was invented which is cooked low and slow and is ready just in time for the lunch on Sabbath. We bring you here a cholent recipe adapted for much shorter cooking time, as cholent can be eaten on other days beside the Sabbath.

Serving Size: 5

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cooking Time: at least 3 hours

Ingredients:

• Beans, 3 cups
• Onions, 3 large, diced
• Smoked goose breasts, 1 lbs.
• Paprika, 2 tbsp.
• Vegetable or canola oil, 2 tbsp.
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper berries, dozen or so

Instructions:

1. Wash beans well, and place in a large pot and add at least six cups of cold water. Bring to boil on high heat and then leave to cook for 15 minutes.

2. While beans are cooking cut smoked goose breasts into an inch sized cubes.

3. Saut diced onions in vegetable oil until light yellow, not longer than 5 minutes.

4. Drain beans, but preserve the water it cooked in.

5. In a deeper casserole dish place a third of beans on the bottom, then spread half of sauted onions over it followed by half of meat.

6. Over meat spread second third of beans, followed by half of onions and the other half of the meat. Finish with the last third of beans.

7. Pour into the casserole dish enough of the water the beans were cooked in to cover everything by an inch.

8. Add paprika and salt and bake in a preheated oven at 300F for at least three hours, or longer until desired amount of liquid has evaporated.

This is a more traditional cholent recipe which has its real flavor if cooked low and slow. We have adopted this recipe for ten people for simple fact that this dish deserves to be shared with large number of friends or extended family members. Cheaper cuts of beef have flavor like nothing else when cooked for extremely long periods.

Serving Size: 10

Prep Time: 2530 minutes (spread over two days)

Cooking Time: 4 or 16 hours

Ingredients:

• Beef chuck, 2 lbs., 7-bone steaks
• Beef brisket, lbs.