Israeli cuisine is very diverse. Some of the dishes "migrated" into it from the culinary of other countries - Russia, Poland, Germany and the USA. For other dishes, the traditions of the Middle East have influenced for centuries. Today we want to share with you recipes for the most popular Israeli dishes that you can easily cook at home.
Forshmak. Classic herring recipe
This cold appetizer is usually made from fish, but sometimes meat or offal is used to make it. The traditional dish also includes apples, eggs, bread, butter and onions. Sometimes there are quite amazing variations. For example, instead of the usual foods, cream cheese or tomato juice is added to the appetizer. However, today we want to tell you how to prepare a traditional forshmak. The classic herring recipe is as follows:
- Cut three slices from a long loaf, put them in a bowl and fill with water.
- Peel the green apples (we will need one and a half pieces), remove the core and cut them into cubes.
- Peel the onion, and then cut into several small pieces.
- Put the prepared foods in the bowl of the food processor, add 500 grams of salted herring (fillet) and two boiled eggs to them.
- Grind the ingredients and then transfer the appetizer into a separate bowl. If you wish, you can finely chop all the indicated products with a knife. Serve the mincemeat to the table with slices of brown bread.
Israeli cuisine is also known for other delicious dishes. We will talk about some of them below.
Homemade Hummus Recipe
This dish is very popular among the peoples of the Near and Middle East. It is usually prepared from chickpeas, and then mashed with any vegetable oil and a variety of spices. We want to bring to your attention a classic recipe for hummus. At home, cooking it is not difficult. So:
- Soak 100 grams of chickpeas in hot water overnight.
- In the morning, put the cereals to boil in the same water for two hours.
- When the peas soften, drain most of the liquid (about one cup should remain).
- Transfer the chickpeas into a blender, add 20 grams of olive oil to it, and then grind to a puree state.
- Put 40 grams of tahini in the bowl and chop the food again.
At the very end of cooking, add paprika and zira.
Eggplant cold appetizer
“Baba Ganush” is the original name of the dish, which we will make of blue, garlic, hot pepper and cilantro. Note: according to the rules, eggplants should be cooked on an open fire, so you can cook this appetizer in the country or during a picnic. So how to make a woman ganush? Read the recipe below:
- Take two eggplants, oil them, make punctures in several places, and then wrap in foil. Place the vegetables in the oven and bake until cooked (just remember to turn them in time).
- Free the eggplant from the skin and finely chop the flesh with a knife. Do the same with a half hot pepper, two cloves of garlic and a bunch of cilantro.
- Add oil and mix well.
Serve it to the table with tortillas or thin bread slices.
Shakshuka
This dish is ideal for breakfast, as it is scrambled eggs cooked on stewed vegetables. The recipe for this dish is very simple, and Jewish shakshuka is prepared as follows:
- Peel the two onions and then chop them very finely.
- Cut two bell peppers into cubes and one chili into rings.
- Peel the tomatoes (approximately 500 grams), and then cut the pulp into cubes.
- In a preheated pan, first fry the onions, then add peppers to it, and at the very end - tomatoes.
- Add a pinch of salt and simmer all together until excess liquid evaporates.
- After that, make a few cavities in the vegetables with a spoon and break the eggs into them.
Season the dish with salt and spices, wait until it is cooked, and serve.
Hamin
The classic version of the traditional soup is prepared 24 hours a day, but we suggest reducing the time to 11 hours. You can read the recipe for Jewish soup below:
- Soak overnight 200 grams of beans.
- Peel one onion and ten cloves of garlic. Grind the first product at random, and cut the second into slices. Sauté the onion and garlic in vegetable oil.
- Rinse a kilogram of beef, and then cut into small pieces.
- At the bottom of a large clay pot, put the beans that came up, lay 150 grams of peas and 75 grams of lentils on it.
- Next, put sliced potatoes, onions and garlic. This layer needs to be salted.
- Dice celery and zucchini, and then lay the vegetables on top of the potatoes.
- Next, lay another 75 grams of lentils.
- At the very end, put the potatoes again, and the meat on it.
- Season the dish with turmeric, zira and ginger.
- Dilute four tablespoons of paprika in water and pour the liquid into the pot.
- Place the hamin in an oven preheated to 180 degrees. Do not forget to periodically pour water into the pot instead of the one that has already evaporated.
- Two hours before cooking, the soup should be removed from the oven and add chopped parsley to it.
- Wrap 120 grams of washed rice in gauze (preferably in several layers). Place the construction on top of the pot and secure it with a lid so that the rice is steamed.
- Arrange the finished dish on plates and add two tablespoons of steamed cereal to it.
The appearance of Hamina is closely connected with the Sabbath day, when believers were forbidden to work. This means that they could not cook. Therefore, a delicious soup of beans and meat languished in the oven all the time that the family spent in the synagogue.
Jelly
The Jewish dish Regel Crash is a jelly made of cow legs. The recipe is quite simple:
- Prepare two pcs. cow legs, a little beef and three pieces of chicken (you can take wings or hips).
- Peel one carrot and remove the top husk from the onion.
- Cook five chicken eggs.
- Boil your legs over low heat, and after a while put the prepared vegetables, meat, salt and allspice to it.
- When the beef is cooked, it needs to be taken out, and the vegetables and spices thrown away.
- Separate the meat from the bones, divide it into fibers and arrange it into jellied molds.
- Pour the broth into the molds and decorate the future dish with halves of boiled eggs.
Place the jelly in the refrigerator for a while so that it can freeze.
Eggplant Salad
As you know, Israeli cuisine is famous for a variety of delicious lean dishes. And this time, we recommend that you cook a spicy salad of baked vegetables. The recipe is very simple:
- Peel three eggplants, cut the flesh into cubes, salt, put in a colander and leave them alone for one hour.
- Grill three red bell peppers. When they are ready, put them in a bowl and cover with cling film. After an hour, peel the peppers and cut them into small cubes.
- Sauté the eggplant in small portions in olive oil with garlic. Hold ready vegetables on a paper towel to get rid of excess fat.
- Combine the prepared foods with chopped herbs, salt, two teaspoons of sugar and a spoonful of vinegar.
Mix the products and put in the refrigerator for the whole night.
Conclusion
Israeli cuisine is very bright and rich. It contains meat, fish, poultry, a lot of greens and fresh vegetables. Local chefs are also happy to season their dishes with spices and seasonings.
Although the national cuisine of Israel belongs to the Mediterranean, it is conditionally divided into several parts. Ashkenazi dishes came along with Jews from Poland and Hungary. Sephardic cuisine can be recognized by its "oriental" tastes. For example, these include couscous and shakshuka. The country's Arab population also influenced the national cuisine and presented it with some dishes typical of North Africa.
Some products are prohibited for Israelis, while others can only be provided that they will not be combined with third ones. This interesting feature stands out from the rest of the culinary traditions.