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25 recipes

Malai (Romanian-Jewish cornmeal cake)

Romanian Jews brought malai to Israel, and it is a much-loved bake for Shavuot, the early-summer festival when dairy foods fill the table. Coarse cornmeal is mixed with sour cream, soft cheese, eggs and a little sugar, then baked into a golden cake that is moist and slightly crumbly, somewhere between cornbread and cheesecake. Eat it warm with a spoonful of sour cream or jam. Traditional soft white cheeses are sometimes set with animal rennet; choose a cheese labelled vegetarian if that matters to you. The common mistake is using fine polenta that hasn't soaked, which leaves the cake gritty. Chef's tip: let the batter stand for 15 minutes before baking so the cornmeal softens.

60 minIsraeliBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tu BiShvat dried fruit and nut cake

Tu BiShvat, the New Year of the Trees, falls in late winter, and in Israel it is celebrated with plates of dried fruit and nuts, the fruits of the land, and with cakes made from them. This loaf is almost all fruit: chopped dates, figs, apricots and raisins with walnuts, held together by just enough egg and flour, so every slice shows a mosaic of colour. Serve it thinly sliced with tea. The common mistake is cutting it hot, when it crumbles; it slices neatly once completely cold. Chef's tip: toss the chopped fruit in the flour first, which keeps it from sinking and clumping.

80 minIsraeliBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PepitadaToasted melon seed milk

Greek and Turkish Jews end the Yom Kippur fast with a glass of pepitada, a pale, gentle 'milk' made from melon seeds that were saved, washed and dried through the summer. The seeds are toasted, ground, soaked overnight in water wrapped in muslin, then squeezed to give a mild, nutty drink sweetened with a little sugar and scented with rose or orange-blossom water. It is soothing on an empty stomach after a day without food or water. The common mistake is toasting the seeds too dark, which makes the drink bitter. Chef's tip: start the night before; the long soak is what draws out the creamy flavour.

750 minIsraeliDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TereréIced yerba mate

In Asunción the hottest part of the day stops for tereré: a horn or cup packed with yerba mate, topped up again and again with ice water infused with crushed herbs, and passed round the group through a metal straw. It was recognised by UNESCO as part of Paraguay's cultural heritage, and the herbs (yuyos) change with the season and the drinker's mood. Yerba mate contains caffeine, so it isn't one for small children. The common mistake is pouring water straight into loose yerba, which then clogs the straw; tilt the yerba to one side first. Chef's tip: for tereré ruso, swap the water for cold orange or grapefruit juice.

10 minParaguayanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cocido quemadoBurnt sugar mate drink

Cocido is how Paraguay starts the day: in Asunción, in the villages of Guairá and Itapúa, and in school kitchens, a pot of burnt yerba is brewed and poured into cups with chipa, the cheesy cassava bread, or with a hard galleta. The old way is to drop a glowing piece of charcoal into a pot with yerba and sugar and stir until the sugar burns. On a home stove you caramelise them together in a dry pan instead, which is safer and gives the same smoky, toffee-like taste. The drink is clear amber-brown, with roasted, slightly bitter mate notes over burnt-sugar sweetness; with milk added it becomes cocido con leche, creamy and coffee-coloured. Yerba mate contains caffeine, so treat it like a cup of coffee. The common mistake is letting the sugar go black: it turns acrid and bitter. Pull it off the heat when the caramel is deep amber and the yerba smells toasted, not burnt. It is ready when the liquid is a clear dark amber and tastes of toffee and smoke. Chef's tip: the water will spit fiercely when it hits the hot caramel, so pour it in from the side, at arm's length.

14 minParaguayanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Postre MassiniCustard sponge with burnt sugar top

Montevideo's birthday cake of choice since the early twentieth century, the Massini is two thin layers of sponge sandwiching a thick filling of whipped cream folded with egg-yolk custard, crowned with a thin glassy crust of torched yolk and sugar. Bakeries across Uruguay sell it on Sundays. Traditional versions sometimes add a sweet fortified wine to the custard; this one is alcohol-free. The custard is cooked to a safe 71 °C. The common mistake is assembling with warm custard, which melts the cream into a puddle. Chef's tip: if you don't have a blowtorch, put the sugared top under a very hot grill for a minute and watch it closely.

80 minParaguayanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tahini cookies

Every Israeli bakery and grandmother's biscuit tin has ugiyot tahini, little domed cookies that crumble and melt on the tongue with a deep, toasty sesame flavour. They are baked for Shabbat coffee, for guests dropping by in Haifa or Jerusalem, and as an easy dairy-free sweet to follow a meat meal. This version uses oil rather than butter, so it is vegan. The mistake is baking until they turn golden all over; they firm up as they cool and should leave the oven pale with just-coloured bases. Chef's tip: stir the tahini jar thoroughly first, since the oil separates and a dry spoonful from the bottom makes sandy, dry cookies.

25 minIsraeliBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SchmaltzRendered chicken fat with crackling

Before vegetable oil reached the shtetl, rendered chicken fat was the cooking fat of every Ashkenazi kitchen that kept meat and dairy apart, and in Bnei Brak and Jerusalem's Geula many grandmothers still keep a jar of it in the fridge for roast potatoes, chopped liver and matzo balls. Skin and fat trimmed from chickens are melted slowly with a little water until the fat runs clear and gold, then onion is added so the fat takes on a sweet, savoury depth. The crisp scraps left behind, gribenes, are salted and nibbled like crackling or scattered over mashed potato. The usual mistake is turning the heat up to hurry it: the skin browns before the fat has melted out and the schmaltz tastes scorched. Chef's tip: ask a kosher butcher for skin and fat trimmings, or save them in a bag in the freezer each time you joint a chicken until you have enough.

70 minIsraeliBasicsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Flourless chocolate cake

In Israel this dense chocolate cake is the dessert of the Passover seder in countless homes, from Tel Aviv flats to kibbutz dining halls, because it needs no flour and only rises on whisked eggs. Dark chocolate, eggs, ground almonds and a little butter bake into a cake with a thin, crackled top and a deep, fudgy middle, rich enough to serve in slim slices with berries or whipped cream. Made with oil instead of butter, it can follow a meat meal. The common mistake is overbaking: take it out while the centre still wobbles slightly, as it sets as it cools. Chef's tip: fold the whites into the chocolate in three goes, the first one roughly, to loosen it, then the rest gently to keep the air.

60 minIsraeliBakingGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Coconut macaroons

Coconut macaroons are the Passover biscuit in Israel: every supermarket stacks them high before the holiday, but homemade ones from a Haifa or Jerusalem kitchen are far better, crisp and golden on the outside and moist and chewy inside. They need just desiccated coconut, egg whites, sugar and vanilla, with no flour or leavening, so they suit the Passover rules and are naturally gluten free and dairy free. Dip the bases in dark chocolate if you like. The common mistake is baking them on a hot tray straight from a previous batch, which burns the bases before the tops colour. Chef's tip: let the mixture rest for 15 minutes so the coconut soaks up the whites and the mounds hold their shape.

40 minIsraeliBakingGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BoulouAnise and raisin loaf

After the long Yom Kippur fast, Moroccan families in Beersheba and Dimona break it gently with tea and slices of boulou, a sweet, cake-like bread scented with anise and studded with raisins and walnuts. It keeps well for days, so many cooks bake it before the holiday and it lasts through Sukkot with coffee. The crumb is tight and tender, closer to a sweet brioche than to challah, with a shiny sesame top. People often under-bake it because the crust browns fast; check with a skewer, not by colour. Chef's tip: toast the anise seeds in a dry pan for a minute before adding them, which deepens the liquorice note without making it sharp.

70 minIsraeliBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

GazozFruit syrup soda

Before bottled soft drinks, the kiosks along Rothschild Boulevard and in Florentin sold gazoz: a squirt of fruit syrup topped up with fizzy water from a tap. Tel Aviv cafés have revived it as a glass crammed with fresh and lightly fermented fruit, flowers and herbs, so it is pretty, tart and only gently sweet. Make it on hot afternoons, for children's birthdays or as an alcohol-free welcome drink. The mistake is pouring the soda too early, so it goes flat before you drink it. Chef's tip: macerate the fruit in syrup for at least 30 minutes, ideally overnight in the fridge, so it bleeds colour into the glass.

10 minIsraeliDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gefilte fishPoached fish dumplings

Poached fish dumplings start the Shabbat and Passover meal in many Ashkenazi homes across Israel, and families still argue about whether they should be sweet, Polish-style, or peppery like the Lithuanian version. Minced carp, pike or whiting is beaten with onion, egg and matzo meal, shaped into ovals and simmered in a broth made from the fish bones and vegetables, which sets into a light jelly when chilled. Each piece is served cold with a coin of carrot on top and a spoonful of sharp beetroot horseradish. The commonest mistake is boiling the broth hard, which makes the dumplings tough and breaks them up; it should barely tremble. Chef's tip: wet your hands with cold water before shaping each dumpling so the soft mixture does not stick.

120 minIsraeliFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

HamantaschenFilled triangle cookies

In Israel these are called oznei Haman, 'Haman's ears', and in the weeks before Purim every bakery from Tel Aviv to Be'er Sheva fills its windows with them, while families bake trays at home to pack into mishloach manot gift baskets. A short, lightly orange-scented dough is folded into a three-cornered pocket around a filling of poppy seeds cooked with milk and honey, or a quick date paste. They should be crisp at the edges and tender in the middle. The common mistake is rolling the dough too thin or overfilling, which makes the corners spring open in the oven. Chef's tip: chill the shaped cookies for 15 minutes before baking so the corners keep their sharp pinch.

55 minIsraeliBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KichelCrisp bow-tie egg cookies

At kiddush in Ashkenazi synagogues, from Bnei Brak to the old shuls of Haifa, plates of kichel sit beside pickled herring and a small glass of something, and children quietly fill their pockets. The dough is barely sweet, rich in eggs, rolled out on sugar and twisted into bow-ties that puff up hollow and shatter when you bite them. They are good with tea, or with salty herring the traditional way. The common mistake is underbaking: they must dry right through and turn golden, or they go soft and chewy within a day. Chef's tip: roll the dough directly onto a layer of sugar so the crystals press in and caramelise underneath.

45 minIsraeliBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LekachHoney cake

Every Ashkenazi family in Israel seems to have its own lekach, and in the days before Rosh Hashanah the smell of honey and spice drifts out of kitchens all over Kfar Saba and Jerusalem. It is a dark loaf of honey, brown sugar, strong coffee, cinnamon and cloves, made with oil so it stays dairy free for the festive meat meal. It tastes even better after two days wrapped, when the crumb turns sticky and deep. Slice it thinly and eat it with tea, wishing for a sweet new year. The common mistake is an oven that is too hot: honey burns quickly, so the outside darkens before the middle sets. Chef's tip: bake low and slow, and tent with foil once the top is mahogany.

75 minIsraeliBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LimonanaFrozen mint lemonade

The name joins limon and nana, lemon and mint, and this slushy green lemonade is what beach cafés from Herzliya to Eilat hand over the counter on blazing summer days. Lemon juice, sugar syrup, a big handful of mint and ice are blended until smooth and frosty, so the drink is sour, sweet and cooling at once. It is alcohol-free and children love it. The mistake is blending the mint so long that it turns bitter and brownish; a short, hard blitz keeps it bright. Chef's tip: make the syrup ahead and chill it, then use plenty of ice so the drink stays thick rather than watery.

13 minIsraeliDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MandelbrotTwice-baked almond cookies

Mandelbrot, 'almond bread' in Yiddish, is the biscuit jar staple in Ashkenazi grandmothers' kitchens from Ramat Gan to Netanya, set out with tea after Shabbat lunch and packed for long journeys because it keeps for weeks. Unlike Italian biscotti it is made with oil, so it is tender and crumbly rather than rock-hard, and this version is flavoured with orange zest and dusted with cinnamon sugar. Dip it in hot tea or coffee. Because there is no butter, it can follow a meat meal. The usual mistake is slicing the logs straight out of the oven, which crumbles them; let them cool for 15 minutes first. Chef's tip: use a serrated knife and one firm downward saw, rather than pressing, for clean slices.

70 minIsraeliBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MasgoufRoast carp with tamarind

On the banks of the Tigris, Baghdad's fish restaurants once stood carp upright on stakes round a wood fire, and Iraqi Jews brought the memory of masgouf to Israel, where it is grilled at family gatherings in Or Yehuda and at fish restaurants near Lake Kinneret. A whole carp is split along the back and opened flat, brushed with tamarind, turmeric and oil, then roasted under a fierce heat until the skin chars and the flesh flakes in big, smoky pieces. It is served on flatbread with sliced onion, tomato and amba. The usual problem is overcooking from the start; roast the flesh side first and finish briefly skin side. Chef's tip: if carp is not available, a butterflied sea bass or two large trout work very well.

55 minIsraeliFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PetelRaspberry cordial

A jug of petel on the table means summer in Israel: generations of kids have grown up drinking the bright red raspberry cordial in kindergarten, at kibbutz pools and at Shabbat lunches. The bottled kind is mostly colouring and flavouring; this homemade version simmers real raspberries with sugar and lemon into a fruity, tangy syrup you dilute with cold still or sparkling water. It keeps in the fridge for two weeks, or freezes in ice-cube trays. The common mistake is pressing the fruit hard through the sieve, which makes the syrup cloudy and pippy. Chef's tip: dilute one part syrup to five or six parts water, then adjust; it is meant to be light, not sticky.

30 minIsraeliDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

RodanchasPumpkin pastry roses

Rodanchas are the Rosh Hashanah pastries of Sephardic families from Turkey and Rhodes, baked in Jerusalem and Bat Yam because pumpkin, kalabasa, is one of the new-year blessings. A thin oil dough is spread with sweet spiced pumpkin and rolled into coils that open like roses in the oven. They are crisp at the edges and soft and jammy inside, eaten with coffee after the festive meal or for breakfast. The mistake is a watery filling, which soaks the dough and stops the roses holding their shape. Chef's tip: roast the pumpkin rather than boiling it, then cook the purée in a pan until it is thick enough for a spoon to leave a trail.

90 minIsraeliBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChallahBraided egg bread

On Friday afternoons the bakeries of Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market and every Jewish neighbourhood from Brooklyn to Golders Green fill with plaited, shiny challah for the Shabbat table, where two loaves sit under an embroidered cloth until the blessing. The dough is enriched with eggs, oil and a little honey, so the crumb is soft, faintly sweet and pulls apart in feathery strands, and the crust bakes deep mahogany. Leftovers make wonderful French toast. Chef's tip: brush the egg glaze twice, once before rising and once just before baking, for the deep, lacquered shine.

180 minIsraeliBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chocolate babkaChocolate swirl loaf

Babka grew from the sweet yeasted breads of Polish and Ukrainian Jewish kitchens, and Tel Aviv and New York bakeries turned it into today's showpiece: a rich, buttery dough rolled around dark chocolate, cut open lengthways and twisted so the layers show, then soaked in syrup as it leaves the oven. Israelis buy it for Shabbat afternoon coffee, and a slice keeps its gooey layers for days. It takes time but little skill: an overnight chill makes the soft dough easy to roll. Chef's tip: chill the dough overnight; cold, firm dough rolls thin and twists cleanly instead of smearing the chocolate.

240 minIsraeliBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

RugelachCream cheese cinnamon crescents

Rugelach came from the Jewish bakeries of Eastern Europe, and today they are piled high on trays in Jerusalem's Machane Yehuda market and in every New York deli bakery, eaten with coffee on Friday or packed for a Hanukkah visit. The American-style dough made with cream cheese and butter bakes up tender and flaky, and each wedge is rolled up around a filling of brown sugar, cinnamon, chopped walnuts and raisins into a small crescent. Chef's tip: chop the walnuts and raisins finely; big pieces tear the thin dough as you roll it.

90 minIsraeliBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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