Israeli food is an interesting subject. What is exactly Israeli food? Jews were the nation with no land for a huge part of history, so the traditions and the recipes, along with the ingredients, are from all those places they inhabited, and when they moved to Israel, they took all these recipes with them.
On today’s Israeli restaurants you will find a very interesting fusion. From Argentinean asado, to Northern European varenikes, including Middle Eastern hummus or sweets like baklava or Turkish delights. And all these are traditional to Israel, not because were imported to impress a market by a bunch of rising young chefs or because of “fusion fashion”. All these dishes are an integral part of their culture.
With the “Reverse Diaspora” where Jewish from all around the world gathered in this little tiny country, they brought the recipes they had during centuries in the different regions. Without getting much into history, there are two big cultural branches among Jews: the Ashkenazi and the Sephardi.
The Ashkenazi are the ones that live or come from Central and Northern Europe. The common language is Yiddish, which is a sort of German but written with Hebrew alphabet. Two of their popular dishes are varenikes, a sort of ravioli stuffed with mashed potatoes and onion and served with cream, and borscht, a beetroot and meat stock soup, also served with a dollop of sour cream.
The Sephardi are more Mediterranean. They live in Turkey, Greece, among other countries, and they were the subject of the expulsion from Spain in the 1490´s by Fernando and Isabel. Their common tongue is Ladino, which is 85 % ancient Spanish, and very easy to understand by anyone that speaks a romance language. Two of their most popular dishes are hummus, that mashed chickpea paste, and kebab.
On a short call in Israel, there are some staples that you have to taste. I would say varenikes:
Particularly when you see that they are being made in front of your eyes. There is something charming of seeing two or more ladies making a homemade dish and chatting, and smiling and laughing. Is an ancient tradition that takes us back in time to those days that was no other “entertainment” that conversing while cooking.
The other dish that is quintessential to the Ashkenazi tradition is borsch. Borsch is the generic name to any soup that is made with beetroot. Can be creamy, can be made with beef stock, even like a stew. Ah! Let’s not forget, there are some cold versions of it too! Due to my Polish heritage I prefer the creamy recipe. Still, this chilled version is a great example: svekolnik.
From the Sephardi branch, we will find more “Mediterranean” dishes, like hummus. The Israeli hummus tends to be topped up with tahini, which is an ancient sesame paste, almost like a spread, that the centennial mills still can be found in the alleyways in the Old Jerusalem.
And, of course, if we are taking about Mediterranean food, we have to have olives in some way. Either olive oil, or just plain green or black or red olives. In this case, a beautiful olive paste, almost a tapenade, but with a side of fresh cucumber slides that add freshness.
And then, of course, we can count all traditional dishes that the staple for the religious celebrations, like chicken broth with matzo balls, the braised brisket, the gefilte fish, which is one of my favorites: ground fishes shaped into balls and boiled and served cold with krein which is a mix of horseradish and beetroot.
Still, the one that makes me lose a heart bit every time I can get it is the chopped chicken liver. Don’t ask me why…
This is just a sampling of some characteristic Israeli dishes, mostly from the Jewish heritage. Let’s not forget that there is a strong Arabic influence, but that is a whole new subject.
World traveler in the quest of the authentic flavours from wherever the ship takes me.