At home in Israel

If you are visiting Israel and want to dig deep into the dishes, you must take part in a Shabbat dinner. The spread is satisfying and the ritual just holds you in rapt attention. On Friday night in Jerusalem, we visited the home of Rachel and Eliyahu, a couple full of affection and stories to tell as we discovered around the sumptuous-spread dining table.

Shabbat is a period of rest that runs from sunset on Friday till Saturday night. It’s when time stands still. Jews abstain from productive work during this stretch and do not even operate electrical switches or light a flame, so cooking has to be completed by Friday afternoon. Well, Rachel & Eliyahu had done so with much care.

Eliyahu began the rituals by singing the popular ‘Shalom Aleichem’ and chanting a blessing over the wine and bread (challah) before varieties of salads almost stuffed us up — the Salata Koucha, a traditional Moroccan tomato and pepper salad; the Zaalouk — roasted eggplant, bell peppers and tomatoes with garlic and olive oil; bowls of carrot salad; beetroot salad with pomegranate dressing; green lettuce salad with basil dressing; cabbage salad with cranberries and walnuts and Sabich — creamy hummus made with red lentils, tahini and olive oil, served with eggplant. That’s surely a mouthful.

Well, the meal was yet to begin, for the starters made their way to the table — salmon with vegetables in a spicy Moroccan sauce and fried cod with fresh lemon. By the time we got to the main course, it was a challenge but Osso Buco (cross-cut veal shanks braised with root vegetables) and Chicken Sofrito (slow-cooked chicken casserole with onions and potatoes) got us gripping the cutlery again.

Rachel’s delectable desserts provided the icing, on the stuffed grape leaves cake that was filled with herb-infused rice, decorated with apples and dried plums in a sweet-and-sour style; the lip-smacking chocolate fudge and Tarte Tatin, a caramelised apple tart. Phew! Shabbat Shalom folks.

Next up is a workshop at Miad’s home in the Galilee region where we are actively involved in preparing the Middle-East and Mediterranean meal comprising Siniya (chicken kebabs cooked in tahini), stuffed vine leaves and zucchinis; traditional tabbouleh salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley and mint dressed in olive oil and lemon juice); Mnazaleh (eggplant and chickpeas stew in tomato sauce), Pita with za’atar and the brilliant Basbousa (semolina cake) to top it.

And if you are in the ancient city of Akko north of Israel, a meal at the iconic Uri Buri fish restaurant is mandatory. Run by 82-year-old chef Uri Jeremias, in a 400-year-old structure by the seashore, the place serves a variety of fish (Barramundi, Tuna, Salmon, Sea Wolf, Herring, Oyster, Octopus to name a few), seafood (raw shrimp), vegetarian and vegan dishes to go with a selection of wines. Have you ever tried fish and ice-cream? Here it is!

On to the Mahane Yehuda Market in the streets of Jerusalem, it’s another feast, another day. There are 400 stalls of Jewish delight at this food hub, including those from Morocco, Poland and other countries. Start with the Rugelach from Poland, a popular pastry with an assortment of fillings before indulging in a variety of cheese from the Galilee and Golan heights area and wine from the hills of Judea. Then there are the Austrian Schnitzels, Makhboota from Morocco (crispy potato fritters) and the compelling Falafel from Egypt all washed down with a generous dose of Limonark that the lemonade with arak (an aniseed-flavored spirit) is affectionately known as in Israel.

In between, the drive around Kibbutz (agricultural settlement where property and produce is shared) Ayelet HaShahar near the Syrian and Lebanon border — we were 15 kilometres from Syria and 10 from Lebanon — threw up an interesting paradox. Amidst bitter political animosity, the fields flourish, thanks to smart irrigation adopted by tech-driven Israel. The drip irrigation delivers water directly to the plant’s root.

Israel is one of the largest producers of fruit and vegetables. They grow avocado, plum, orange, pomegranate, olives, pears and almonds by the heap here. Most of the produce is exported to several countries in Asia, Europe and African continents. Olives especially are a huge hit, for the healthy oil extracted from them as also the Biblical connection. Israel is blessed with plenty of olive trees.

Oh wait, did you know that Tel Aviv is considered the vegan capital of the world? The per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables is the best on the globe here. And so they stay healthy and happy.