20 Things to do with Matzah

Now that Passover is over, here are 20 things to do with your leftover matzah. Enjoy!

On the Hummus Hunt in Israel

In this month’s issue of Food & Wine, Philadelphia chef Michael Solomonov explores Israel’s kebabs, eggplant salads, and hummus in search of the best versions to bring back to America:

When I go home to Israel, I’m on a strict five-meal-a-day eating regimen,” says Philadelphia chef Michael Solomonov. “I just can’t get the same flavors here in the States.” Recently, he set out to change that: Solomonov, who spent the past two years as executive chef of Marigold Kitchen, has opened a new restaurant, Zahav, serving the foods of his home country: smooth, nutty hummus; light, chewy Yemenite flatbread; and dozens of variations of eggplant dishes, ranging from a tangy stew to sabich, a fried-eggplant pita sandwich.

To educate and inspire his staff before Zahav’s opening, Solomonov took them on a weeklong tour of the restaurants in Jaffa and Tel Aviv and around Ganei Yehuda, the small Israeli community where he was born. The group set out to hit four kebab shops one day, five hummus parlors the next. A daylong eggplant extravaganza segued into a night of club-hopping and ended with a predawn bureka, a savory breakfast pastry stuffed with tangy Bulgarian feta cheese.

One of Solomonov’s goals was to show his colleagues how different cultures have shaped the food of Israel.

Read the full story by Jen Murphy.

The World of Israeli Cuisine

With many in Israel celebrating Passover with large family gatherings, we thought it a good opportunity to comment on the food some might serve. Fortunately, the Washington Post today posted a story about Israel’s “evolving, composite cuisine” that was too good to pass up.
We’ve come a long way from falafel and hummus. Now, Israelis have embraced new ingredients from overseas and incorporated new touches of their own.
Looks tasty. B’Teavon (Bon apetit)!!

Raising a Stein

In previous posts we’ve covered the world of Israeli wine (see our selections here), now gaining worldwide acclaim and attention. But now we turn to much more mundane pursuits—beer.
We were intrigued by this article on Israel21c describing a nascent Israeli beer industry. The article makes it clear most of these microbreweries are really “micro,” so don’t start clearing out the fridge just yet. But don’t be surprised when these beers do hit the shelves; they’re sure to be a hit.

WSJ Loving Israeli Wine

The Wall Street Journal brings us a compelling piece today about Israel’s booming boutique wine industry. Enjoy, and of course, drink responsibly.

Israel’s New Revolution in QualityBy WILLIAM ECHIKSON
SPECIAL TO THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
February 22, 2008

It started as a hobby. Eli-Gilbert Ben-Zaken, an Israeli restaurateur and poultry farmer, planted a few grape vines on a hilltop next to his house in the Judean hills in 1988. He chose the name Domaine du Castel after a nearby crusader fortress and, starting with a mere 600 bottles, attempted to make high-quality, French-inspired wines.

In the beginning, Mr. Ben-Zaken’s quest looked quixotic. Wine was produced in ancient times in Israel — archaeologists have found antique wine presses in the Galilee and Judean Hills — and the Rothschild banking family reintroduced grape cultivation at the end of the 19th century. But for most of the country’s history, the Israeli industry was dominated by sweet wines of poor quality that taste like alcohol-tainted grape juice — tired red wines with cooked, herbaceous flavors.

Today, Mr. Ben-Zaken and a small group of other Israeli pioneers are creating world-class reds and whites that are gaining increasing recognition from critics both at home and abroad. Ever more-prosperous Israelis are demanding better drinking choices, while connoisseurs in the U.S. and Europe in search of something different are intrigued enough to taste these “new” world wines from an ancient land.

“We were real pioneers — the Israeli market used to be a prisoner market for poor-quality kosher wine,” Mr. Ben-Zaken, 63 years old, recalls. “It’s different these days. Everybody is trying to make something good.”

Continue reading WSJ Loving Israeli Wine…

NY Post Travel Blog

From today’s NY Post’s travel blog:

Tel Aviv may be Israel’s city that doesn¹t sleep, but if the coffee culture in Jerusalem continues its fashionable rise, there won¹t be much shuteye in the Old City, either.

Three new ultra-trendy cafes have opened inside the old-meets-new Mamilla Quarter Complex, a $400 million, open-air shopping, residential, and hotel development taking shape under the nose of Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City.

The 25,000-meter pedestrian mall features Israel’s trendiest brands. Teva Naot shoes, Ahava for cosmetics from Dead Sea materials. Some of the shops are carved out of meticulously restored 19th Century homes. The project is a brick-by-brick affair headed up by Alrov, which owns the David Citadel Hotel nearby.

But the masterstroke of the ongoing project is a trio of outdoor cafes, where tourists can blend seamlessly into a local crowd of the bold and beautiful. Everyone sips some of the best coffee in the city while pondering majestic views of the Old City and The Citadel (Tower of David).

Most popular is Aroma, which will be familiar to New Yorkers as that-cafe-on-Houston-that-looks-like-a-chain-but-you’re-not-sure. (It is.) Also check out Roladin for high-end pastry and a gorgeous wait staff) and Rimon, the veteran of the group).

– Kevin Raub

Israeli Photogs Bring Food to Life

From Haaretz:

Israeli Duo Shoots Good Eats

Shimon and Tammar, a pair of Israeli photographers, are in demand among chefs at New York’s elite restaurants. “They make the food speak,” says Eric Ripert, chef at Le Bernardin. The two admit: “We are trying to surprise ourselves.”

By Haim Handwerker, New York (Haaretz 29 January 2008)

Many photographers would be happy to work with Eric Ripert, chef at Le Bernardin, the New York fish and seafood restaurant that earned a three-star rating in the Michelin Guide, its highest rating. Ripert chose the Israeli husband-and-wife team Shimon and Tammar (as they sign their work) to shoot his last two books. “They’re the best,” he says. “I’ve worked with many photographers and no one works like they do; they make the food speak.”

Shimon Rothstein and Tammar Shavit, who came to the United States in 1999, have since managed to shoot 17 cookbooks—by such leading chefs as Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit, the late Jean-Louis Palladin, and David Burke, among others—and a catalog for Daniel Boulud.

“We don’t try to stage the shots,” says Rothstein. In their photographs, one can see, for example, an apple with brown spots or a ladle with a few drops of soup. In the past few years, they have specialized in photographing moving liquids. How do you shoot in tandem? “There is no set division of labor, we do everything together,” says Shavit. “Sometimes we argue, but we learn from it.”

Continue reading Israeli Photogs Bring Food to Life…

Selling Falafel to Eskimos

Think it’s impossible to sell ice to Eskimos? Try selling falafel in Alaska!

If you compare Nadav Weiss, 30, to a salesperson selling ice to Eskimos, he will laugh. Ice to Eskimos? That is no match for the challenge he took upon himself: selling falafel to the residents of Fairbanks, Alaska without ever cooking it before and in a place where most have never heard of the national Israeli food.

Yet, the risk paid off. Nadav’s “Falafel Place” that is open four hours a day, sells about 200 falafel meals. The locals love it.

Read the full story here on Ynet.

A High Quality L’Chaim

The Land of Milk and Honey is getting rave reviews for its wines. These are serious reviews, too, from noted wine critic Robert Parker and Wine Spectator magazine. And that’s something we can drink to. Manischewitz, anyone?

Read the full review on Israel21c.

Chanukah Recipe from Israel