Ariel Rosenthal, Orly Peli-Bronshtein, Dan Alexander

by On the Hummus Route (Retail) (azw4)

  chickpeas and wheat, the population in the region grew, developing from families,

  year-round. Chickpeas are also cheap, and economical – a modest amount can

  into tribes, and eventually, entire societies. The Phoenicians, seafarers from

  feed many. When soaked in water, one pound of dried chickpeas will double in

  the Lebanese coast, sailed with their ships throughout the Mediterranean and

  weight. That same quantity can be ground up, mixed with onions and spices,

  distributed the legume to Greece, Italy, France, Spain, and North Africa, and

  divided into 100 nuggets and deep-fried to become crispy falafel. Alternately,

  from there to the rest of the world. Chickpeas found a place in various cuisines

  a pound of chickpeas can be cooked, puréed, and mixed with tahini and lemon

  around the globe. They entered pantries and kitchens, becoming an essential

  juice to make (at least) five pounds of hummus. If you know these dishes as well

  part of local food cultures, taking on the particular aromas and flavors of each

  as I do, your mouth is probably watering right now. It seems like the craving to

  region. When ground up into flour, they further revealed their culinary qualities:

  eat hummus is embedded deep in our DNA. Perhaps we are addicted because

  Chickpea-flour batter is used for making gondi (Persian chicken dumplings),

  chickpeas really are full of goodness, both for us and for the earth.

  cookies and flatbreads (such as the Italian calcioni and farinata, respectively),

  fritters (like the Italian panelle), pancakes (think French socca), and as a batter for

  Farmers who grow chickpeas proudly tout the plant’s supernatural ability to absorb

  deep frying vegetables (see the Indian pakora). However, none of these chickpea

  nitrogen from the air. This is no trivial matter, since nitrogen is an elusive element

  recipes prepared me for the real surprise of finding chickpea flour in the Golden

  that is vital to our existence – it is essential for the creation of amino acids that

  Triangle, on the border between Burma and Thailand, where chickpea flour is

  make up proteins, which are crucial to sustaining all life forms. Thanks to the

  cooked into a spicy porridge that is then poured into a bowl, cooled, and cut

  work of a nitrogen-fixing bacteria that colonizes the roots, the element is taken

  into cubes called Burmese tofu, which is commonly stir-fried with vegetables

  from the air and converted into a form of nitrogen that the plant can actually

  and chile sauce, and served over rice.

  use. This enriches the soil for the seasonal planting, as well as any future crops

  that will be grown on the same land. Every few years, farmers sow the seeds of

  Finding these ancient recipes alongside so-called contemporary dishes, such as

  chickpeas simply to improve the quality of the soil, prepare it for cultivation,

  meringues or vegan omelets, emphasizes how wonderful and unique the ingredient

  and increase the chances for a larger, more successful crop of any kind.

  is. Despite being ancient, hummus still has a bright future ahead with many

  who have yet to discover its greatness. It is these insights that prompted me to

  Ancient agricultural methods are what created the ideal pairing of hummus

  return to the origins of hummus, dig deeper, find out more about the various

  and pita, which together make a perfect meal. Hummus supplies the protein,

  chickpea dishes as they are prepared in their respective cuisines, and follow the

  while the pita delivers wheat, which contains amino acids. The combination

  path of hummus and falafel through various cities, and ultimately, to the people

  of the two forms a complete protein. Ever since the domestication of these

  who eat and make them.

  plants 11,000 years ago, humans have been able to maintain a healthy and

  nutritious diet that does not rely on hunting and fishing, or on the need to

  To this day, I take great pleasure in revealing the secret for making falafel at

  sacrifice domesticated animals that provide other valuable resources, such as

  home to those who have never tried it. We are so used to cooking chickpeas for

  milk and wool. The chickpea is an ingredient with a long shelf life that can be

  hours before we dare taste them whole, it is a real shocker that the beans do not

  transformed into satisfying, nourishing food fit for almost any circumstance,

  require any cooking before they are fried for falafel. However, it is the starch

  in any weather. Two more interesting facts about the chickpea: Eating hummus

  in the uncooked chickpeas that is responsible for the stickiness of the batter

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  (a texture that disappears once the balls are fried). The crispy texture of freshly

  and fluffy texture. These differences stem from variations in the ratios between

  fried falafel is hard to beat. The basic batter can be flavored with parsley and fresh

  the chickpeas and tahini, as well as the various pounding techniques, and other

  coriander, chopped dill, or dried marjoram. In the springtime, it is tempting

  culinary subtleties.

  to add scallions, green garlic, hyssop, or radish leaves. Cumin and coriander

  seeds are the most common spices used to season the mixture, but sometimes,

  This book was born from my friendship with Ariel, my co-author, and one of

  cardamom or nutmeg are added for a whole other dimension of flavor.

  the best hummus-makers I know, among the very best in Israel, and our mutual

  understanding that hummus is the most perfect, most delicious, most nutritious

  The meeting point of various cultures with raw ingredients, which were introduced

  and healthy food on earth. As such, hummus ought to be known and enjoyed by

  as a result of global activities, is evident in many dishes. A good example of this

  as many people as possible. I believe that the chickpea grain encapsulates within

  is falafel: Anyone who grew up eating ta’amiya, the Egyptian-style falafel balls,

  it an essential culinary truth, and it cannot be a coincidence that everyone who

  is baffled as to how, why, and when chickpeas replaced fava beans as the legume

  tastes falafel and hummus gets caught up in the magic, no matter their origin or

  of choice. Some believe the reason lies in the not-uncommon sensitivity to fava

  background. In this book, you will find many recipes for hummus and falafel,

  beans, but I think the answer is simpler: Falafel made from chickpeas is just that

  each with its own particular flavor and mystique. As Hazan, a falafel stall owner

  much better. This is by no means the only evolution that falafel went through to

  in Nazareth, once told me: “There’s a secret in every falafel ball.”

  become what it is today. In the early years of the State of Israel, the first people

  to make and sell falafel were Yemenite immigrants. They would travel through

  cities rolling carts and selling falafel on street corners. In order to allow customers

  to eat while standing, the fried spheres were served inside a pita pocket stuffed

  Orly Peli-Bronshtein is a culinary expert and chef. She was the chief gastronomic editor

  with plenty of cabbage salad, zhug (a spicy Yemenite relish), and tahini sauce.

  for Israel’s leading magazine Al HaShulchan (Hebrew for “On the Table”).
Orly has released

  Throughout the years, hummus, fries, and pickles were also tucked into the

  a long line of cookbooks in Hebrew, and collaborated as a deputy writer in international

  pita, as well as a wide array of salads. Falafel is sold in a variety of colors and

  publications by Janna Gur, including The Book of New Israeli Food and Fresh Flavors from Israel.

  shapes, and there is even square falafel, the basis for all of which are chickpeas,

  onions, garlic, and hot pepper – pilpel in Hebrew or filfil in Arabic, after which

  the falafel is named.

  Traditionally, Arabs eat hummus for breakfast, but the Jews in Israel fell in love

  with it so completely that they began serving it at every meal too. Addicts will

  admit to enjoying hummus all day, every day. Israeli hummus was born as a

  mass-produced, industrial product back in the 1950s. It was years later that the

  fresh flavor of good Palestinian hummus was rediscovered. By the 1970s, when

  Israelis started to recognize the extraordinary traditional foods in their midst,

  hummus had won the hearts of everyone, including the most respected chefs. It

  was at that time that I, too, rediscovered its charm and enjoyed the never-ending

  quest for the best hummus – a well-known Israeli sport. One would be a fool

  to think that there is no notable difference between one style of hummus and

  another, but the differences are crucial. There is a thick and sweet hummus, one

  that is tart and velvety, and there is hummus that is puréed warm, with a light

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  T H E T A L E O F M U L L A H N A S R E D D I N

  A N D H I S C O A T

  Adapted from a traditional folktale

  Mullah Nasreddin started working in the fields at sunrise. By the time the sun

  began to set he was tired, covered in mud, and hungry from a day of fasting for

  Ramadan. It was time to break the fast with a huge feast at his wealthy neighbor’s

  home, who invited the entire village for a festive dinner that evening.

  Nasreddin did not want to be late, and so he decided to arrive straight from

  the field in his day-worn clothes. When he arrived at the door the wealthy man

  looked him up and down, from his ragged clothes down to his muddy shoes, and

  without a word of welcome, gestured him to come in as he abruptly walked away.

  The tables were laden with all sorts of delicious foods: rice, lentils and chickpeas,

  olives and bread, hummus, falafel, chicken, and lamb. But best of all were the

  desserts: halvah, date rolls, figs, and baklava. Nasreddin joined the hordes of people

  who were dressed in their finest clothing, but all the seats around the table were

  already taken. No one moved over, spoke to Nasreddin, or offered him food. It

  was as if he were not even there. Unable to enjoy the delicacies on his plate, he

  decided to leave after a few bites. He hurried home and changed into his finest

  clothes. When he returned to the feast, the host saw him in his beautiful coat

  and welcomed him with a huge smile, walking him to a seat at the table. The

  other guests called over to Nasreddin to sit with them, and offered him food.

  Nasreddin picked up a falafel ball, carefully placed it in his coat pocket, and

  said: “Eat, coat, eat.” He then fed his coat a handful of chickpeas and other

  dishes, and it was not long before everyone in the room stared at Nasreddin in

  wonder. “Whatever are you doing? Why are you feeding your coat this way?”

  asked the host.

  “When I first came to this feast in my shabby work clothes I was not welcome,”

  Nasreddin replied. “But now that I have changed into this lavish coat, I am

  greeted ever so warmly. It must be the clothes you welcome here at this party,

  not the person. This is why I am feeding my coat.”

  Nasreddin Hodja.

  HIP / Art Resource, NY

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  Jaffa

  Itzik Luzon brings his North African

  roots into his famous Itzik Hagadol

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  restaurant, a Jaffa institution.

  Hummus

  بيبأ لت

  H U M M U S A N D M E – I T ’ S P E R S O N A L · C O O K E D C H I C K P E A S F O R H U M M U S

  C O O K E D C H I C K P E A S F O R S A L A D S A N D S T E W S · H U M M U S H A K O S E M

  H A R I S S A H A K O S E M

  Tel Aviv

  F R I E D E G G P L A N T H A K O S E M · F A L A F E L H A K O S E M

  M O R O C C A N F I S H H A K O S E M · R I C E W I T H C A R A M E L I Z E D O N I O N S H A K O S E M

  P I C K L E D C A R R O T S A N D C A B B A G E

  ביבא לת

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  Tel Aviv

  Hummus

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  Tel Aviv

  Hummus

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  Hummus

  Hard-boiled eggs are a recent fixing

  added to a hearty dish of hummus.

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  Tel Aviv

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  Hummus

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  Hummus

  H U M M U S A N D M E – I T ’ S P E R S O N A L

  Ariel Rosenthal (Hakosem)

  I was born in Israel in 1975, and when I was two months old, my parents separated

  and went their own ways. My father, a restaurateur, was a rolling stone with a

  taste for gourmet food.

  My earliest memories of him revolve around him deciding what he was going

  to eat. On the occasions when he would suddenly reappear into my young life,

  I can vividly remember being thrown into his world of delicious aromas and

  flavors, and the closeness that came from sharing these experiences with him.

  But eventually, he would always disappear again, leaving me nowhere, with an

  emptiness that made its home in the pit of my stomach.

  My mother didn’t know how to cook and didn’t try to learn. Every time my

  father disappeared, nourishing food and the comfort that it brought vanished

  as well. Those early years were marked by these two extremes, polar opposites

  of a childhood that left me tattooed with memories of feeling both physically

  hungry and emotionally starving. I was hungry for a father, for a home, and a

  nourishing plate – any plate – to feed me.

  My idea of home was blurry, as my mother was always taking my brother and

  me on never-ending journeys with no final destination in mind. Aimlessly we

  wandered between rented apartments in Tel Aviv, uninviting straw huts in Sinai,

  inhospitable hostels in Eilat and, for a short time, we even lived with a foster

  family on a kibbutz in northern Israel. When we had exhausted our travel options

  in Israel, she took us to Europe, where we repeated the same pattern.

  Those were unromantic, painfully hard years, with struggle as the fuel that kept

  us in motion. They were hungry years, too, but thanks to the many kind-hearted

  and generous people we met along the way, it was a journey punctuated every now

  and then with a homemade bowl of something delicious, warm and comforting,

  that brought with it the distant notion of a real home.
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  Hummus

  With every plate came the realization of a fantasy: Intimacy, a feeling of

  multi-stage preparation of the hummus itself – including soaking, cooking,

  togetherness; and with every mouthful the buzz of emotional fulfillment. Looking

  and crushing the beans, and getting the seasoning just right.

  back at it, it was these happy moments, these comforting childhood experiences

  that fulfilled all of my spiritual wishes at the time.

  There is love in the science of combining all of these elements, and the continuously

  evolving knowledge of how to create the perfect bite. A bite that should leave

  By the age of 16, I was supporting myself and living on my own. Survival

  you hungry only for one thing: The desire to come back for more.

  instincts, mixed with my fascination with food, led me to find work in restaurants.

  Whether I was working as a waiter, as a bartender, or in the overheated craziness

  The chickpea is my world, an awesome magnet with a pull that only gets stronger

  of the kitchen as a line cook, it didn’t matter – I loved the work. I loved the

  with time. As the years go by and one day follows another (as is said in Arabic,

  team spirit and I loved that these restaurants had a dynamic energy that also

  “awal min awal”), I acknowledge the power of this mighty yet simple raw

  brought a steady supply of the thing I loved most, food. This was an existential

  ingredient. The appeal is clear to see: Chickpeas are natural, affordable, available,

  discovery. Having direct access to good quality food, prepared meticulously, was

  vegan, healthy, and delicious. They can be used to make an endless variety of

  perhaps the greatest prize.

  dishes across all seasons. But of course, the benefits for me go far beyond the

  raw ingredient alone.

  After several years of vocational studies and exploring the many roads of the food

  industry, I decided to open a hummus and falafel place of my own in Tel Aviv.

  If I was asked to describe the chickpea in one word only, that word would

  It was intuition that pulled me there, something I couldn’t explain then. But an