JUNE 26, 2013 FOOD IN ISRAEL

JUNE 26, 2013 FOOD IN ISRAEL

BREAKFAST at a hotel is a buffet with lots of variety: juice, fresh fruit, salads (see other meal description), two kinds of herring, dry cereals, cheeses including cottage cheese, cheddar, swiss, lebaneh (a smooth soft white cheese the consistency of sour cream often served herbed with fresh dill).

Warm dishes: berekas (filo dough stuffed with potatoes and herbs, or mushrooms, or cheese); eggs cooked in various ways ie omelet, soft boiled, easy over, and my favorite shaksouka which is eggs poached in a sauce. I've had 2 different kinds—chopped spinach with herbs with a little cream and fresh tomato sauce with garlic, onions, and paprika.

Breads: many whole grain, often warm, pita, sour dough and butter, margarine, jams, Nutella, and peanut butter. There are usually some kinds of cake as well.

TYPICAL MEAL IN A RESTAURANT begins with small dishes of many kinds of salads (“salatim” which is Hebrew for salads): the ubiquitous Israeli tomato and cucumber in a light vinaigrette with herbs, grated carrots with ginger, beets, eggplant with peppers, eggplant with tomatoes, eggplant mushed with herbs and sesame; hummus (garbanzo spread) on warm bread or pita, cabbage salad, occasionally lettuce with lemon juice, olives, pickles, hot peppers. Details and recipes vary.

Main Course: grilled meat or fish including chicken marinated and served on spear, lamb or chicken kabobs (in Israel and the Mideast this means ground meat clumped on a spear or a cinnamon stick—shashlik would be chunks of meat (not ground). Meat is either marinated or herbed and very tasty.

Dessert at one restaurant was a tart lemon sorbet with a tart mixed fruit compote spooned over the sorbet—very refreshing on a hot day.

Beverages: Pitchers of lemonade and orange juice and flasks of water are on the table. Coffee or tea brewed with mint followed. Ice Coffee is a delicious drink of coffee and vanilla ice cream with a little extra vanilla and whipped cream—don't expect plain coffee over ice.

Israel produces wonderful wines. I especially liked the cabernet sauvignons which are grown from the Negev Desert to the Golan Heights. Very smooth. Great bouquets. Restaurants do not need a liquor license. They either are or are not certified kosher; this means closed for Shabbat, undergoing extensive preparation for Passover, and serving either meat or mild foods but not both. Fish goes either way. No pork or shellfish is kosher. Most Jerusalem restaurants are kosher; most Tel Aviv restaurants are not. This seems to reflect a north to south geographic divide between religious and secular populations of Israel.