Israeli Salad All Day, Every Day!
One of the first
things I discovered about Israeli food culture is that salad is most certainly
a staple for every meal. The typical salad served contains cucumbers and
tomatoes (the most perfectly ripe and tender tomatoes I’ve ever had the fortune
of trying) and is lightly dressed. While I extended my trip, I stayed with the
family of one of the Israeli soldiers that joined our trip, Nitzan, and I was
sure to watch carefully as his cordial mother made this classic dish. I made this
refreshing salad for a family barbeque and here’s the recipe for your enjoyment!
Yield: 10, ½ cup servings
Tools: large mixing bowl, cutting board,
chef knife, measuring spoons
Ingredients:
·
2
cucumbers, 1 in. julienne
·
1 red
pepper, diced
·
¾ cup red
cabbage, chopped
·
½ each
red and/or white onion, diced
·
4 plum
tomatoes, diced
·
½ lemon’s
juice
·
1 lime’s
juice
·
¼ cup
extra virgin olive oil
·
½ tsp.
black pepper
·
1 tsp.
salt
Method of Preparation:
1. Cut vegetables as
directed above, the julienne should be 1”x1/8”x1/8”. Dice and chop should be ¼”
cubes.
2. Mix everything
together and enjoy!
Cherry Chocolate Chip
Pistachio Halva Bread Pudding
A
popular Israeli treat is Halva, a sweet sesame and sugar paste. It can come in
a variety of flavors, mostly plain, chocolate, or vanilla. More exotic flavors
can be found at the shook markets. I had to haggle a bit to get three delicious
flavors of this scrumptious delicacy. I purchased about ½ pound of the finest triple
chocolate, espresso, and pistachio halva. For this recipe below I used the
pistachio because my family can’t keep their hands off the other two!
Also,
I can’t let you go on to make this recipe without the knowledge that my
chocolate chip halva bread pudding past a taste test from about 400 Israeli IDF
(Israel Defense Forces) soldiers, and 50 Taglit Birthright travelers and staff.
I could not have made that happen without the help of my new friends Molly (Check out her dumpling blog!), Sonia,
Andrew, Sabrina, Jacob, Sari, Jenna, and Erez.
Yield: 24-28 servings
Tools: 13”x9” pan, pan spray, serrated
knife, cutting board, mixing bowls, whisk or stationary mixer with a whip
Ingredients:
|
1
loaf
|
490
grams
|
Challah
or Brioche
|
|
5
each
|
260
grams
|
Eggs
|
|
1
1/3 cup
|
250
grams
|
Sugar
|
|
1
cup
|
230
grams
|
Cream
|
|
3
¼ cup
|
850
grams
|
Milk
|
|
1
1/3 cup
|
225
grams
|
Pistachio
(or plain) Halva
|
|
1
½ cup
|
250
grams
|
Chocolate
Chips
|
|
¾
cup
|
100
grams
|
Dried
Cherries
|
|
¼
cup
|
30
grams
|
Pistachios,
roasted, salted, hulled
|
Method of Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375oF.
Grease pan. Hull pistachios. Measure out all ingredients.
2. Cube challah/brioche
into 1” square pieces.
3. Place in pan and toast
for 30 minutes, stirring pieces every ten minutes until all pieces are dried
out and toasted golden. Remove from oven and set oven to 325oF.
4. Whisk together eggs
and sugar, then add cream and milk and whisk for 5 minutes or until smooth and
no egg lumps. Set aside.
5. Crumble halva into pea
size pieces, sprinkle evenly over toasted bread. Agitate the pieces a little to
get them to fall slightly in between the bread cubes.
6. Add the chocolate chips
and dried cherries, and move the pieces of bread so they fall a bit as
well. Make sure there are no large
pockets of chocolate, cherries, or halva.
7. Pour custard batter
over bread and press the bread into the liquid so that it is absorbed.
8. Sprinkle pistachios on
top.
9. Allow to sit 10 to 20
minutes until batter is well absorbed by the bread.
10. Bake at 325oF
for about 1 hour or until the pudding is set and is not runny in the center.
11. Remove from oven when
ready, allow to cool slightly, cover with foil until ready to serve.
12. IF there are any
leftovers J Refrigerate for up to
4 days!
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