Discover the colourful, cosmopolitan and modern Tel Aviv, a city full of contrasts, fragrances, stories and flavours.
Colourful, cosmopolitan and modern, Tel Aviv is a city full of contrasts, fragrances, stories and flavours. It is a vibrant melting pot of cultures, religions and delicious culinary traditions. World-renowned restaurateur Haya Molcho and her four sons take you on a culinary journey of this extraordinary city and discover the special spirit of the city’s many cuisines and inhabitants.
You’ll meet Tel Aviv’s local chefs and story-tellers, and Haya revisits the recipes of her home town, re-creating the flavours of her childhood including, knafeh, green shakshuka, sarma, Israeli paella, pickled lemons and much more.
All of the 150 dishes featured in the book were prepared in Tel Aviv, all the ingredients purchased from local markets, and the contributors range from the epicures and the urban forager, to the magician and the survivor.
Thanks to Murdoch Books, we’ve got three of those authentic recipes to share with you. Sample the culture and life of Tev Aviv today and keep an eye out for our review of the whole cookbook soon!
Paneer Curry with Prunes (page 69)
For 4 people as a main dish
Haya’s
tips:
You can replace the rice in this recipe with naan bread or flatbread. The
paneer can be replaced with chicken. With the sweetness of the prunes and the
slight spiciness, this dish is then reminiscent of Moroccan cuisine.
For the curry:
- Canola oil for deep-frying, plus another 4 tablespoons of canola or grape seed oil for frying
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) paneer cheese
- 2 onions
- 200 g (7 oz) pitted prunes
- 2 cloves
- 500 ml (17 fl oz) coconut milk
- 75 g (2½ oz) tomato paste (concentrated purée)
- 50 ml (1½ fl oz) maple syrup
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon hot curry powder
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon flaked almonds
- 1 tablespoon pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 1 spring onion (scallion), green parts
- 1 sprig coriander (cilantro)
- Grated zest of 1 untreated lemon
For the rice:
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) Japanese short-grain rice
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
For the curry, heat an ample amount of canola oil in a tall saucepan. Cut paneer into 1 cm (½ inch) thick slices and then cut the slices into triangles. Deep-fry the cheese pieces in the hot oil until they have a golden-brown crust. Remove with a strainer and immediately place in a bowl of hot water. Let soak for 15 minutes. (This makes the paneer softer and gives it a nice consistency.) Then remove and drain.
While the paneer soaks, peel and finely chop the onions. Heat 4 tablespoons of canola oil in a frying pan, add the onions and sauté over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Halve the prunes. Crush the cloves in a mortar. Add both, along with the coconut milk, tomato paste, maple syrup and the remaining seasonings, to the onions in the pan and simmer uncovered for 10–15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). Spread a bit of the prune sauce on the bottom of an ovenproof dish, place a layer of paneer on it and cover with sauce. Repeat this process until all the ingredients have been used up, finishing with a layer of sauce.
Bake for 25 minutes in the oven.
Wash rice in a sieve until the water runs almost clear. Bring to the boil with an equal amount of water, add salt, turn down the temperature to the lowest setting and cook for 10–15 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to stand, covered, for 10 more minutes.
Meanwhile, dry-roast the almonds and pepitas in a small frying pan and coarsely chop. Trim the green parts of the spring onion and cut into very thin strips. Pluck the coriander leaves from the stems.
Remove the paneer curry from the oven and garnish with the almond-pumpkin seed mixture, spring onions, lemon zest and coriander. Serve rice separately.
Israeli Seafood Paella (page 136)
Recipe from Yael and Keren Stellegofen
For 6–8 people as a main dish
For the croutons:
- 3 slices sourdough bread, flatbread or challa (1 day old)
- 1 tablespoon dried za’atar spice mix
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the marinated za’atar:
- 1 small red onion
- 2 bunches fresh za’atar or oregano
- 2 tablespoons sumac
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
For the stewed tomatoes:
- 2.5 kg (5 lb 8 oz) multicoloured cherry tomatoes
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 20 calamari
- 12 prawns (jumbo shrimp)
- Olive oil
- 100 g (3½ oz) feta cheese
- 1 lime
- Fresh za’atar, to garnish
- Sumac, for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). For the croutons, tear bread into coarse pieces and combine with the dried za’atar spice mix and the olive oil on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Roast in the oven until the bread is golden brown and crispy, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
While the bread roasts, marinate the za’atar. Peel the onion and cut into thin slices. Pluck the za’atar leaves from the stems. Mix both together in a bowl with the sumac, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and let rest for at least 10 minutes.
For the stewed tomatoes, heat the oven grill to 260°C (500°F). Quarter the tomatoes and peel the garlic. Mix all ingredients together on a baking tray lined with baking paper and cook under the hot grill for 20 minutes, so that the tomatoes give off a bit of liquid. Take out and set aside.
Clean the calamari and prawns. Heat a chargrill pan and brush with a bit of olive oil. Cook the seafood, turning after 1–2 minutes. Grill the other side for 1–2 minutes and lift out of the pan. (The prawns are done as soon as they turn pink. The calamari should be lightly browned.)
Coarsely crumble the feta and quarter the lime. Arrange the seafood and croutons on plates with the stewed tomatoes. Add the feta and lime quarters and garnish with the marinated and the fresh za’atar and with the sumac.
Knafeh Tatin with Plums (page 254)
Makes a 28 cm (11 inch) tart
Haya’s
tip:
A delicious
complement to this dish is homemade yoghurt ice cream. It is easy to make as it
consists of only 3 ingredients. For about 640 ml (22 fl oz) of ice cream you
need 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) of Greek yoghurt, 100 g (3½ oz) of sugar and 2 tablespoons
of lime juice. Thoroughly stir all ingredients together and churn in an ice
cream maker. Ready to eat!
- 700 g (1 lb 9 oz) plums
- 200 g (7 oz) sugar
- 130 g (4½ oz) butter, plus extra for greasing
- 120 ml (3¾ fl oz) cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 200 g (7 oz) kataifi pastry (angel hair)
- Icing sugar, for dusting
Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Halve and stone the plums. Caramelise the sugar in a wide saucepan, add 55 g (2 oz) butter and stir until melted. Add the cream and 50 ml (1½ fl oz) water and slowly bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil down for several minutes to make a creamy sauce, then stir in the lemon juice and salt. Add the plums and toss in the sauce.
Melt 75 g (2½ oz) butter in a small saucepan. On a work surface or in a bowl, pull apart the kataifi pastry strings a bit with your hands, pour the butter over the top and briefly stir. (This makes the dough strings softer and easier to work with.)
Butter the tart pan. Spoon in the plums with the sauce and cover with the kataifi pastry strings. Bake in the oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Then take out and unmould onto a large plate (taking care not to burn yourself, as the hot juice of the fruit can leak out). Dust with icing sugar and serve warm.
Tel Aviv: Food, People, Stories, by Haya Molcho will be released in March 2019 through Murdoch Books, RRP: $49.99
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