Israeli cuisine - traditional dishes: baba ganush, shakshuka, forshmak, hummus. National cuisine recipes

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Israeli cuisine is very diverse. Part of the dishes "migrated" to it from the cuisine of other countries - Russia, Poland, Germany and the USA. Other dishes have been influenced by Middle Eastern traditions for centuries. Today we want to share with you some of the most popular Israeli dishes that you can easily prepare at home.

Forshmak. Classic herring recipe

This cold appetizer is usually made with fish, but is sometimes made with meat or offal. The traditional dish also includes apples, eggs, bread, butter and onions. Sometimes there are quite surprising variations. For example, instead of the usual products, processed cheese or tomato juice is added to the snack. However, today we want to tell you how the traditional mincemeat is prepared. The classic herring recipe looks like this:

• Cut three slices from a loaf, put them in a bowl and cover with water.
• Peel the green apples (we will need one and a half pieces), remove the core and cut them into cubes.
• Free the onion from the husk, and then cut into several small pieces.
• Put the prepared foods in the bowl of a food processor, add 500 grams of s alted herring (fillet) and two boiled eggs to them.
• Chop the ingredients, then transfer the appetizer to a separate bowl. If desired, you can finely chop all of these products with a knife. Serve minced meat to the table with slices of brown bread.

Israeli cuisine is known for its other delicious dishes. We will talk about some of them below.

Hummus recipe at home

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 hummus recipe. At home, cooking it is not difficult. So:

• Soak 100 grams of chickpeas in hot water overnight.
• In the morning, put the grits to boil in the same water for two hours.
• When the peas are soft, drain most of the liquid (should be about one cup).
• Place the chickpeas in a blender, add 20 grams of olive oil to it, and then grind to a puree.
• Put 40 grams of tahini into the bowl and grind again.

At the very end of cooking, add paprika and cumin.

Cold Eggplant Appetizer

"Baba ghanoush" is the original name of the dish that we will make from blue, garlic, hot peppers and cilantro. Please note: according to the rules, eggplants must be cooked on an open fire, so you can cook this appetizer in the country or during a picnic. So, how to make baba ghanoush? Read the recipe below:

• Take two eggplants, brush them with oil, pierce them in several places, and then wrap them in foil. Place the vegetables in the oven and roast until tender (just remember to turn them in time).
• Release the eggplant from the skin and finely chop the flesh with a knife. Do the same with half a hot pepper, two cloves of garlic and a bunch of cilantro.
• Butter the appetizer and mix well.

Serve it with tortillas or thin slices of bread.

Shakshuka

This dish is perfect for breakfast, as it is a scrambled egg cooked on stewed vegetables. The recipe for this dish is very simple, and Jewish shakshuka is prepared as follows:

• Peel two onions and then chop them very finely.
• Cut two bell peppers into cubes, and one chili into rings.
• Tomatoes (approximately 500 grams) peel and then cut into cubes.
• In a preheated pan, fry the onion first, then add the peppers to it, and at the very end - the tomatoes.
• Add a pinch of s alt and simmer everything together until the excess has evaporatedliquid.
• After that, make a few indentations in the vegetables with a spoon and break the eggs into them.

Spice the dish with s alt and spices, wait until it is cooked, and serve.

Hamin

The classic version of the traditional soup is cooked for a day, but we suggest reducing the time to 11 hours. You can read the Jewish soup recipe below:

• Soak 200 grams of beans overnight.
• Peel one onion and ten garlic cloves. Grind the first product arbitrarily, and cut the second into slices. Fry the onion and garlic in vegetable oil.
• Rinse a kilo of beef and then cut into small pieces.
• In the bottom of a large clay pot, put the approached beans, put 150 grams of peas and 75 grams of lentils on it.
• Next, add sliced potatoes, onion and garlic. This layer needs to be s alted.
• Cut the celery and zucchini into cubes, then place the vegetables on top of the potatoes.
• Followed by another 75 grams of lentils.
• At the very end, put the potatoes again, and put the meat on it.
• Spice the dish with turmeric, cumin and ginger.
• Dissolve four tablespoons of paprika in water and pour the liquid into the pot.
• Place the hamin in a preheated oven at 180 degrees. Do not forget to periodically add water to the pot to replace the one that has already evaporated.
• Two hours before the soup is ready, take the soup out of the oven and add chopped parsley to it.
• 120 grams of washed rice wrapped ingauze (preferably in several layers). Place the structure on top of the pot and secure it with a lid so that the rice is steamed.
• Spread the finished dish on plates and add two tablespoons of steamed cereal to it.

The appearance of hamin 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

Jewish dish "Regel Krusha" is a jelly made from cow's feet. The recipe is quite simple:

• Prepare two pieces. cow's feet, some beef and three pieces of chicken (you can use wings or thighs).
• Peel one carrot and remove the top skin from the bulb.
• Cook five chicken eggs.
• Simmer the legs over low heat, and after a while put the prepared vegetables, meat, s alt and allspice to it.
• When the beef is tender, take it out and discard the vegetables and spices.
• Separate the meat from the bones, separate it into fibers and put it into jellied dishes.
• Pour the broth into the molds and decorate the future dish with boiled egg halves.

Put the jellied meat in the refrigerator for a while so that it can harden.

Eggplant salad

As you know, Israeli cuisine is famous for its variety of delicious Lenten dishes. And this time we recommend you prepare a spicy roasted vegetable salad. The recipe is verysimple:

• Peel three eggplants, cut the flesh into cubes, s alt, put in a colander and leave them alone for one hour.
• Grilled three red bell peppers. When ready, transfer them to a bowl and cover with cling film. After an hour, remove the skin from the peppers and cut them into small cubes.
• Fry eggplant in small portions in olive oil with garlic. Hold the cooked vegetables on a paper towel for a while to get rid of excess fat.
• Combine prepared foods with chopped herbs, s alt, two teaspoons of sugar and a spoonful of vinegar.

Stir the products and put in the refrigerator overnight.

Conclusion

Israeli cuisine is very bright and rich. It contains meat, fish, poultry, a lot of greens and fresh vegetables. Also, local chefs are happy to flavor 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 "oriental" tastes. Examples include couscous and shakshuka. The Arab population of the country also influenced the national cuisine and gave it some of the dishes typical of North Africa.

Some foods are banned for Israelis, while others can be eaten only on the condition that they will not be combined with others. This interesting feature stands out from other culinary traditions.