Israeli Cooking Class Recipes
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010At the end of January, I attended an Israeli cooking class where all the recipes were vegetarian. I was in veggie heaven! Gathered around the professional kitchen at a local synagogue was a large group of women—- cutting, chatting, laughing, and watching Devorah Selber do her magic. Here is a thumbnail background of Devorah excerpted from the recipe folder:
Devorah was born on a farming community in Israel not far from Beersheba, to two Moroccan, immigrant parents. She is one of 11 siblings, and the first born in Israel. She first came to the United States on an exchange program when she was 27, during which she met her husband. She now lives in Wynnewood (PA) and has two daughters, Danielle (24) and Maya (21). …She is an active member of the (local) community….She spent last winter in Israel with Volunteers for Israel, serving on an army base in the Negev. She loves Israeli dancing and cooking.
MOROCCAN CARROT SALAD
This picture was taken just as the dish was finished. For serving, transfer to an attractive serving bowl.
Ingredients
1 lb carrots
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp cumin
1cup lemon juice
¼ olive oil
¼ cup parsley
2 tsp “Schuk” (a mixture of thinly
chopped hot peppers; may be pur-
chased in a Middle Eastern store)
Directions
1. Boil carrots in water until al dente. Cut carrots into round slices.
2. Mix garlic, cumin, lemon juice, olive oil and “Schuk” and pour over carrots.
3. Garnish with parsley and serve.
My Note: This is a very simple recipe, but it was simply delicious!
QUINOA A LA DEVORAH
Again, this was taken before it was placed in an attractive serving bowl.
Ingredients
1-cup quinoa
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup cranberries
2 cups of water
1 cinnamon stick
Salt to taste
Directions
1. Brown quinoa and walnuts in a skillet .
2. Put quinoa in water and add the cinnamon stick and salt.
3. Cook quinoa until there is no water left.
4. Add the walnuts and cranberries to the quinoa and mix. Serve.
Fatoosh Salad
This is a photo taken before the baked pita bread pieces (“pita croutons”) were added.
This zesty, citrusy salad is an adaptation of a Lebanese recipe. It’s a green delight, with pieces of baked pita right in the salad.
Ingredients
2 pitas, roughly cut into 6ths
3 tomatoes, finely chopped
3 cucumbers, finely chopped
2 tbsp mint,finely chopped
1 hot pepper, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 cup cilantro. finely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of two lemons
salt & pepper to taste
PAM spray
Directions
1. Tear pita into pieces and spray with PAM. Brown in oven or toaster oven on bake until they are crispy.
2. Chop all the vegetables finely and toss with pita.
3. Add salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. Mix well and put in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour before serving so the juices will absorb into the salad and pita. Makes 5 servings.
My note: I did not add in the time to cook and prepare these dishes, because we did them as a class. I think each dish would take about 1/2 hour. Devorah used a a knife and cutting board, a fry pan, and a blender—no fancy hardware!
