Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking Hardcover – October 6, 2015
by Michael Solomonov (Author), Steven Cook (Author)
Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
What a beautiful book! It is heavy and well constructed but it lays flat for easy use. And the pictures are gorgeous! I am salivating over a picture of eggplant with tahini, pistachios and pomegranate seeds. Absolutely beautiful but also what an interesting flavor combination!
I was hooked on this book early on. The first recipe in the book is for homade tehina (tahini). Then it goes to hummus and all of the different meals you can make from hummus. I admit that I am a hummus junkie!
There are some recipes with some unusual ingredients or things that I dont particularly care for (eg sweetbreads) but the bulk of the recipes are very intriguing. There are also well laid out instructions with useful pictures as well as detailed information on ingredients that are not common (eg carob molasses). I feel like you get an interesting perspective on Israeli food culture from this book. It is filled with interesting tidbits, and stories about the evolution of the recipes.
One of the chapters is subtitled "vegetables are everything". I couldnt agree more and I love the produce focused recipes and flavor combinations.
The bulk of the recipes do not use lots of ingredients and are not overly complicated. If you have a few staples on hand (eg tehina/hummus) it is a very practical cookbook
If you enjoyed the style of cooking in the Ottolenghi books, you will enjoy this one as well. It is a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach
Twice-Cooked Eggplant from Zahav
Makes 5 cups
This is probably my favorite eggplant preparation of all time. It first uses pan-frying to char and sweeten the flesh, followed by a second cooking with tons of vinegar. The result is a sweet, sour, and smoky salad that converts unsuspecting eggplant haters into passionate fan boys in a single bite. As a bonus, this recipe flouts all conventions of French technique by charring the eggplant until just before it’s burnt. Most of the chefs I’ve worked for would have made me throw it out if they saw it on my station. But by taking the eggplant to the edge, you can develop rich, deep, and almost chocolaty flavors that make this one of the punchiest bites there is. The flavor intensity of this salad makes it a great complement to roasted lamb, and it’s out of control as a sandwich addition.
Directions
Sprinkle the eggplant slices with the salt and let stand for 30 minutes on a paper towel or a rack.
Film the bottom of a large nonstick skillet with olive oil and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering but not smoking and working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding, remove the cooked eggplant to a plate. Add the eggplant slices in a single layer and cook until almost black on the first side, about 10 minutes. Turn and repeat on the other side, adding more oil as needed.
Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the red pepper, onion, coriander, and paprika to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft but not brown, about 12 minutes. Add the eggplant and sherry vinegar to the pan, breaking it up and mashing it coarsely with a wooden spoon until well combined. Cook until the vinegar has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Off the heat, add the parsley and lemon juice. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons salt
2 medium eggplants, cut into rounds
6 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ cup sherry vinegar
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
