Authentic, inspiring, home-cooked Israeli dinner for Sabbath

Today is Israel's Independence Day and an opportune time for me to share these pictures with you. Eli, my classmate from the culinary school, invited us over for an Israeli dinner and educated us on some of the Jewish Sabbath practices. See my last post on Eli when he gave us a basic introduction to Middle Eastern cuisine. The last time, I also shared Eli's chocolate cake recipe. I really do like that recipe - it's my go-to recipe for choc cakes now.

I arrived early to help Eli with some prep work and to take pictures before the dinner proper began so I wouldn't appear rude to the other guests as well. I have to be discreet about being a culinary paparazzi at the dinner table!

We were greeted by the aroma of these beautiful Callah bread, traditionally baked every Friday in time for Sabbath. Under Jewish practices, milk is not a permitted ingredient if you are baking Callah for Sabbath. It's unethical to serve lamb and milk at the same table, according to Eli's grandfather.

Look at Eli's overloaded fridge, the mark of a real home cook. This is only half of his fridge.

Beautifully roasted assorted peppers. Sweet on their own when caramelized and added so much colour to the table.

Aubergines roasted and burnt directly over open stove fire....

...resulting in this smoky, oaky, flavourful eggplant dip.

Humuus, a traditional Middle Eastern dip, with good quality EVOO, toasted pine nuts and torn parsley.

Of course, there's freshly baked pita bread at every Sabbath.

Eli and his baking stone lugged from Tel Aviv.

Green and brown olives from Damascus.

Cucumber yoghurt dip.

Beets, another powerful anti-oxidant.

Hyssop, or Za'ata, one of my past Word of the Week.

Pickled cucumber from Tel Aviv.

Ah, the Israeli sambal, I forget the actual name. So cute that he would use a Chinese bowl. So Eli.

Spread on pita dough before baking.

It was such a lovely evening getting to know and experience another cuisine, another culture, and to experience Sabbath over some good wine with new buddies from Israel, Morocco, France and Vladivostok.

Dinner at Artichoke, a Moorish delight

Meat platter - an assortment of freshness

I mentioned last week I would be checking out Artichoke, a contemporary and chic Middle Eastern restaurant located at Sculpture Square, and one of few courtyards left in Singapore. I had the rare opportunity to observe the kitchen and taste some interesting ingredients commonly found in the Middle East but foreign here. Seeing so much heart and soul in every plate that was pushed out to the dining hall, I decided I had to eat there. I pulled about 10 more friends to come along. I will spare you the ME jokes we shared (bad taste! Pun intended!) and focus on the wonderful glorious food that was presented to us.

Be inspired by the Meditteranean feel of the Sculpture Square and the museum next door

Creamy humuus dip with juicy pomegranates.
Great combination of taste and texture, and easy for me to copy at home!

Roasted carrot dip with dukkah (combination of nuts and seeds dry-roasted to fragrant).
I tried this at home too - easy, delicious, healthy, and my guests liked it too.

Yoghurt-cucumber mix with Za'atar - yummilicious with freshly-baked pita bread

Sauteed onions with pomegranates and a sprinkling of assorted spices

Practising food photography

This one stole my heart for the night. It doesn't even have a name yet. It's a new salad dish to be introduced to the menu
next week and Chef gave us a sneak preview. Everyone seemed intrigued by this new shining star. I invited Chef
to join us at the table and introduce his food - it makes such a difference talking to the person who prepared your food.

Not my personal favourite but I would love to be able to serve up a dish like this for meat lovers. I had the rare
opportunity to see how this whole dish was thoughtfully spiced and that made it so much more meaningful
by the time it reached the table.

A definite must-visit for those who have not been there. Check out Artichoke at Sculpture Square (junction of Waterloo Street and Middle Road).

Word of the Week: Za'atar

We had Za'atar with home-baked pita bread during our third Living Room Talk.
Miss Za'atar is seen here accompanied by Mr Atlantic Kosher Sea Salt.

I tasted Za'atar three times this week and thought I should highlight this interesting wonderful spice. It is a mixture of wild thyme, oregano, basil with kosher sea salt, toasted sesame seeds and dried sumac. Some varieties may include cumin, savory, coriander or fennel seeds. The commercial ones add roasted flour. I'm all for the home-made one though!

According to Wikipedia, "there is a belief in the Middle East that this particular spice mixture makes the mind alert and the body strong. For this reason, children are encouraged to eat a za'atar sandwich for breakfast before an exam. Palestinians also remind their children in the morning before sending them off to school that eating za'atar for breakfast will make them smarter." Any Palestinian friend out there who can verify if this is accurate?

Za'atar shrub in Jerusalem

Sumac 

It's definitely Middle Eastern cuisine week for me this week. I made Labane at home and added some Za'atar to it too. I also did a Mediterranean Labane plus plus - check it out here! Thanks to some dear friends who gave me a Mediterranean cookbook for my last birthday!

I am checking out a chic Moorish bistro tomorrow and will blog about it, so look out if you're interested.

Labane plus plus -  tested and tasted by some friends last night during caregroup

Labane plus plus

I talked about Labane in my last post. Look here what I'm adding to it.

Chilli, garlic, dill, parsley soaked in olive oil....

....then add my Labane to them. Great dip and can keep for 3 weeks.
Whole, healthy, home-made, unprocessed, REAL food.
Didn't cost me a bomb either.

Living Room Talk #3: Getting to know Middle Eastern cuisine & culture

Eli shows a prayer shawl used on Sabbath to pray and bless the little children at home.
As a child, it always made him feel secure when his Abba tucked him inside the shawl.

This is the third Living Room talk I've held and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this one with Eli, my friend from Israel leading the conversation. 

Eli started the evening with a demonstration on how to bake pita bread, za'atar bread and how to prepare labane. Then he gave a presentation on Israel - geography, history, politics, tourism, agriculture, and shared with us his beautiful photos of the land.

As always, I got busy and didn't make time for good photography. Still, I want to show you whatever I managed to shoot.

We baked some 8-10 pita breads. I enjoyed watching them puff up in the oven. One secret is to dab some water
on the dough before popping into the oven. 

I prepared again some humuus but this time, I learned to add pomegranates on top of the dip for an extra crunch.
That added texture and sweetness to a dry dip. I was happy to see an empty bowl at the end of the evening.

Za'atar - mixed herbs of wild thyme, oregano, and a few other things. Look out for the next Word of the Week.
Next to it is some Atlantic kosher sea salt

Not exactly picture perfect to say the least, but I want to show you this interesting dish called Labane -
traditionally using goat's cheese but here we used yoghurt. This is how it's made...

Yoghurt, dill, salt. Mix them and place them in a cloth bag to strain liquid in refrigerator.

Keep for 2 days for soft cheese and 4 days for hard cheese.
Discard liquid.  Labane is yummy!

I want to go to Israel and the Middle East, just to eat! Meanwhile, I will make do with a visit to a Moorish restaurant this week, and I will of course blog all about it.

And now, let's see who I should invite for my next Living Room talk...

A Jewish chocolate cake and more

An Israeli chocolate cake

With a beautiful layer of thick ganache.

Anyone wants the recipe for this cake? Here it is, in Hebrew!

I had to remind Eli that Hebrew is not a universal language yet. Ok, he replied resignedly and then went on to translate it for me line by line. Here's the version we all can understand, accuracy dependent on Eli's translation and what I could catch from his accent. 

Ingredients:

45ml water

45ml brandy/cognac

50g sugar

40g cocoa powder

200g soft butter

4 yolks

200g self raising flour, sieved

160g or 5 egg whites

150g sugar

Topping:

300g whipped cream

300g chocolate (66-72% cocoa)

50g butter

Method:

1. Grease a 25-35cm pan and lay with grease paper

2. Mix water, brandy, sugar and cocoa powder under heat

3. Add butter till melted

4. Add yolks and sieved flour. Set aside

5. In the mixer, beat egg whites and sugar slowly then increase to high speed till soft peaks

6. Fold into butter mixture

7. Pour into greased pan and bake at 150C for 30-45 min depending on oven performance or until a stick comes out clean.

8. Cool cake on wire rack.

For topping:

1. Boil cream, remove to cool, add to chocolate. 

2. At 40C, add butter

3. Spread topping on cake when cake is cool.

While we were at it, I asked Eli to show me the bible in Hebrew.  For those who are interested, this is how Genesis 1:1 looks. 

Eli says Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana, 2 major Jewish holidays are round the corner. Families ask one another for forgiveness during Yom Kippur, before they go into Rosh Hashana, their new year. I am thinking of organising a Bake-a-Pita session in my house taught by Eli and he can also share with us more on Jewish culture, history and politics. Ok, maybe not politics. Just food and culture. Would anyone be interested to join? Please send me a message if you are keen and I will work out the logistics and send you a private invitation. (Afternote: click here to see what we learned about Middle Eastern cuisine and Jewish traditions.)

Shalom!