Ariel Rosenthal, Orly Peli-Bronshtein, Dan Alexander
Page 9
40 minutes, until potatoes are soft.
peppers)
½ green chile pepper, such as serrano, thinly sliced
2. Remove the lemon. Season to taste, adding more
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
harissa if it needs more spice. The sauce should be
2 teaspoons turmeric
seasoned to your taste before you add the fish. If the
1 teaspoon ground cumin
sauce is too reduced, add more water.
1 teaspoon Moroccan paprika or sweet paprika
2 teaspoons salt
3. Place the mullet fillets in the sauce and add the
3 cups (720 milliliters) water
chickpeas. Cover and cook until the fish is cooked
²⁄₃ cup (160 milliliters) corn oil
through but not dry, 5 minutes. Sprinkle the
2 tablespoons store-bought or homemade Harissa
remaining half of the cilantro on top and serve.
(pages 180-1), plus more for tasting
1 lemon, quartered
1 cup cilantro, leaves only, chopped
2 pounds (900 grams) mullet fillets, deboned
and skinned
2 cups (500 grams) Cooked Chickpeas for Salads
and Stews (pages 176-7)
To Serve
Challah bread
Pickled Carrots and Cabbage (page 190)
186
Tel Aviv
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
A 1:1 ratio of golden caramelized onions to rice is the key to this simple yet delectable dish.
Recipe by Ariel Rosenthal
Serves 8
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
When the oil is hot, add the onions and cook,
½ cup (120 milliliters) oil, for frying
stirring occasionally, until dark brown but not
2 pounds (900 grams) onions, chopped (5 to 6
burnt, 35 to 40 minutes.
medium onions)
5 cups (1 kilogram) jasmine rice
2. Add the rice and cook, stirring continuously,
1 tablespoon salt
3 to 4 minutes.
7½ cups (1.8 liters) boiling water
2 cups (500 grams) Cooked Chickpeas for Salads
3. Dissolve the salt in the water and pour it carefully
and Stews (pages 176-7)
over the rice, taking care as it may spatter.
4. Cover and cook until the rice is cooked and the
water has been absorbed, 14 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and stir well. Cover and let rest
for 10 minutes.
6. Top with chickpeas and serve.
188
Hummus
Tel Aviv
Hummus
C H I C K P E A F R Y
P I C K L E D C A R R O T S by Hind Tahboub
A N D C A B B A G E
Recipe by Ariel Rosenthal
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean in fermentum sapien. Etiam vel
condimentum quam. Mauris ornare augue non metus hendrerit volutpat. Integer congue, ipsum non
dictum convallis, quam ligula eleifend dui, vel auctor sapien odio eget ex. Pellentesque porttitor, elit
rhoncus sollicitudin consequat, metus leo porta velit, eu pharetra sapien sapien eu libero
Ingredients (Serves 4)
1. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing
400 g (2 cups) chickpeas,
elit. Aenean in fermentum sapien. Etiam vel
soaked overnight in plenty of water
condimentum quam. Mauris ornare augue non
½ Tsp baking powder
metus hendrerit volutpat. Integer congue, ipsum
3 Tbs olive oil
non dictum convallis, quam ligula eleifend dui, vel
Coarse salt
auctor sapien odio eget ex.
1 tsp of Baharat spice mix (see recipe on page xxx)
2. Pellentesque porttitor, elit rhoncus sollicitudin
consequat, metus leo porta velit, eu pharetra sapien
Tips
sapien eu libero. Praesent malesuada ex et dui
Spread the pre-soaked chickpeas over a straight
ultrices, et ultrices tellus
surface, use a rolling pin to go over, and then soak
then in lukewarm water. You will be astonished at
3. vehicula. Nam ultrices sagittis nisi, nec auctor turpis
how easily their skins shed, leaving the undesired
efficitur non. Integer eleifend condimentum cursus.
coats floating in the water.
Proin ultrices justo in maximus aliquet. Quisque
dapibus, risus ullamcorper semper imperdiet, odio
mauris sodales est.
4. nec rutrum felis turpis eget orci. Integer dui ipsum,
1 medium (3-pound or 1.3-kilogram) green
1. conv
P
allis ut elementum nec, cursus sed nibh. U
lace the cabbage, carrots, celery
t
, and garlic in a
cabbage, halved and coarsely chopped
suscipit augue a nisi eleifend, ut sollicitudin massa
large bowl. Add the salt and mix well. T
ransfer the
1 pound (450 grams) carrots, cut into ¹⁄₄-inch
ultrices. I
v
nteger a venenatis lectus. Nullam vel
egetables to one or two large containers with
(5 millimeter) coins (about 5 medium carrots)
aliquet risus. I
an air
nteger imper
tight lid.
diet rhoncus commodo.
5 to 6 stalks celery, leaves removed, coarsely
Nunc lobortis mauris ante, ut commodo mauris
chopped
2. dapibus ac.
Combine the oil, vinegar, and water, and pour to
6 garlic cloves, crushed
cover the vegetables.
1¼ tablespoons salt
¹⁄₃ cup (80 milliliters) corn oil
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and serve
5 cups (1.25 liters) distilled white vinegar
within 5 days, during which time the vegetables will
3 cups (720 milliliters) water
continue to soften.
190
191
Hummus
193
Tel Aviv
194
Hummus
197
Tel Aviv
Hummus
198
199
Hummus
C H I C K P E A سدقلا
S O F T H E G O D S · M Y C U R I O S I T Y F O R F O O D
T H E S W E E T E S T C H I C K P E A O F A L L K D A A M E H · T E L L M E H O W Y O U E A T
Y O U R H U M M U S , A N D I W I L L T E L L Y O U W H O Y O U A R E
A H U M M U S N A R R A T I V E · C H I C K P E A S F O R T H E F I R S T - B O R N
A R B E S S A L T - A N D - P E P P E R C H I C K P E A S · L A B L A B I S P I C Y C H I C K P E A S
Jerusalem
Q E D R E H K H A L I L I Y E H T H E H E B R O N I T E P O T · L A M B - S T U F F E D F A L A F E L
B A J I A Y E M E N I T E F A L A F E L · R O A S T E D S Q U A S H W I T H T A H I N I Y O G U R T ,
F R I E D C H I C K P E A S , A N D G R E E N C H I L E S A L S A · Q U D S I Y E H H U M M U S
W I T H F U L M E D A M E S A N D C H I C K P E A S · H A M I N S H P O N D R A O V E R N I G H T S H O R T - R I B , P O T A T O , A N D C H I C K P E A C A S S E R O L E
םילשורי
201
Hummus
202
203
Jerusalem
204
Jerusalem
206
Hummus
/> 208
209
East Jerusalem restaurant owner
Hummus
Hassan al-Baghdadi still uses a mortar
and pestle to make his hummus.
“Hummus? It’s God’s!” he says.
211
Ibrahim Abu el-Hawa from a-Tur
on Mount of Olives opens his heart,
home, and hostel to all. He believes
in people and God, not borders
or religions.
Jerusalem
214
215
Jerusalem
Eating hummus, 1935.
216
Photo Elia, Jerusalem
Hummus
C H I C K P E A S O F T H E G O D S
Rare black chickpeas of Aupulia
Black chickpeas, or Venus chickpeas as Pliny called them, were offered to the
Goddess of Love and Beauty, and eaten in festive orgiastic rituals as an aphrodisiac.
Galen, in his book On the Properties of Food Stuffs, lists the empowering properties
attributed specifically to black chickpeas. In ancient times, chickpeas were also
called rams, because of their seed shape, which resembles a ram’s head.
219
Hummus
M Y C U R I O S I T Y F O R F O O D
Sami Tamimi
My curiosity for food and cooking has been with me for as long as I can remember.
I was born in the Muslim quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem to a liberal but
traditional family, and always had dreams and ambitions to escape beyond the
protection of the old city. I felt hemmed in and was hungry to see more.
Following my appetites, though, I spent most my childhood trying to step into
the kitchen – it’s where everything happened! – only to be dragged out again
straight away and told it was no place for a boy. I was told that this was, and for
many still is, women’s territory.
Still, my curiosity and hunger for food never waned, and when I was a teenager,
I knocked on the door of a busy hotel kitchen one summer holiday looking for
a job. I started out as a porter and moved up from there. The minute I stepped
into the busy kitchen hotel with all the chefs prepping food, I felt like I was
back home. I loved it.
The pace remained fast and I was quickly promoted to breakfast chef. I took such
pride in cooking scrambled eggs for hundreds of hungry guests each morning.
I was happy as can be. My curiosity and hunger continued unabated, and I soon
moved to Tel Aviv to learn more. After stints in various cafes and restaurants,
I landed at Lilit, where the vision of Karen Handler-Kremmerman was a huge
influence on the cook I was to become. It was a turning point for me, and made
me realize the sort of food I wanted to cook. Food that was delicious, of course,
but also cooked in a way that shows familiar ingredients in a new and fresh light.
Tel Aviv was great in terms of my career, but it wasn’t until I moved to London
that, as a Palestinian-Arab, I really felt free and equal. London is an amazing city
to cook and eat in: I never get bored and I rarely get told to leave the kitchen.
Sami Tamimi is a Palestinian chef, co-owner of London’s Ottolenghi and Nopi restaurants,
and co-author of the bestselling cookbook Jerusalem.
221
Hummus
T H E S W E E T E S T C H I C K P E A O F A L L
Kdaameh
Kdaameh, also known as chickpea noghl ( lablabi şekeri or mlabas chickpeas), are
the Middle Eastern version of dragées: Sugar-coated roasted chickpeas tinted in
a variety of colors.
These traditional Iranian, Afghan, and Turkish sweets are made by enrobing the
roasted beans in a syrup made from water, sugar, and rose water.
Iraqi and Persian Jews serve kdaameh during celebrations such as engagements,
births, and the inauguration of a new Torah, while Palestinians eat them year-
round, especially during the month of Ramadan.
223
Jerusalem
Hummus
T E L L M E H O W Y O U E A T Y O U R H U M M U S ,
A N D I W I L L T E L L Y O U W H O Y O U A R E
Prof. Liora Gvion
I love freshly made hummus with lots of chickpeas and lemon juice on top,
but I never eat hummus in a hummusiya – a restaurant that specializes in
hummus – unless it is Arab owned, and the hummus is prepared and preferably
served by Arabs. My reasons for avoiding a hummusiya reveal all of the social and
political aspects embedded in the production, commodification, and consumption
of hummus in Israel.
“Hummusologists” i.e., hummus lovers who define themselves as connoisseurs
of hummus, taste-markers, and ongoing searchers for the best hummus, debate
over a “fateful question”: What makes a good hummusiya? Hummus, in many
respects, is like coffee. You either like the coffee in a particular place or you don’t.
We all have our particular way of drinking coffee (or eating hummus), which
can be distasteful to another. Still, it is not the quality of the hummus alone
that makes a good hummusiya.
Hummusologists expect a good hummusiya to be inexpensive. Long-time
hummusologists refer to the days of their military service when, upon leaving
their base and before returning home, they treated themselves to a bowl of freshly
made hummus. For them, while in uniform and sometimes carrying a rifle, their
visit to a hummusiya did not symbolize rulership over a population whose native
dish they were eating. It stood for maturity, masculinity, and a sense of freedom
celebrated by eating out. A good hummusiya, they claim, is capable of turning
one-time consumers into loyal regulars. Becoming a regular entails obligations
such as sharing a table with strangers, eating quickly, and leaving shortly after the
dishes have been cleared and the bill has been paid. Chit-chatting with friends
is to be done elsewhere.
For any self-respecting hummusologist, a good hummusiya must be located within
a short walking distance from the regular’s home or workplace. This prerequisite,
more than any other distinctive feature, prevents me, a resident of Tel Aviv,
224
225
Jerusalem
Hummus
from becoming a regular. For buying hummus from a Jew marks the process by
soup. Their menus were untouched by Arab influence. The Mizrahim neither
which hummus has been detached from its original producers and consumers,
protested nor rejected the incorporation of the new food into their culinary
commodified, and consumed to an extent that its origin has been forgotten.
repertoire, even though they rejected other attempts to position themslves in
Different social groups in Israel developed different likings and different modes
cultural proximity with Arabs.
of consuming hummus, which have changed throughout the years among both
Jews and Arabs. My parents, well-educated professional Ashkenazi Jews, brought
I do not know when hummus became an essential component of the Israeli
hummus to the house as part of their attempts to expose me to other foods of
Independence Day barbecue or picnic. No barbecue or picnic meal is complete
the world. I have always known it as an Arab dish that made its way to Jewish
unless it includes good hummus, preferably bought from
an Arab village passed
homes and restaurants. Yet, I was told, while in Arab restaurants it is served as
on the way to the celebration. The food of those taken as outsiders to the national
a first course, designed in a circular shape with tahini sauce in the middle and
collective or its potential enemies kosherizes the holiday meal of those responsible
shoveled with pita bread, at home it is transformed into a sandwich filling or a
for the Nakba. Its usage for celebratory purposes marks the Jews’ accountability
light dinner served with a salad. My mother used canned hummus to which she
not only for the confiscation of Palestinian land, but also for obliterating a
added spices and lemon juice. It was the only way one could have hummus at
Palestinian culinary culture by monopolizing the food that has come to stand
home. Buying it in Arab villages was not customary. No one really knew when
for Palestinian cuisine.
and how Arabs ate their hummus.
Hummus is not as central to the Palestinian diet as many may think. The Jews’
When I was in junior high school, my classmates exposed me to the ubiquitous
preference for hummus has changed its position from an inexpensive and filling
pita sandwich with hummus, salad, and pickles. Having pita with hummus was
breakfast food, eaten after hours of work in the field, to a marker of Palestinian
considered a real treat. My mother did not approve of eating hummus out of the
culinary culture. This preference has also enabled Palestinian men to make a living
home, but my grandmother, who always thought we ate too little, introduced me
by serving hummus in manners different from the Palestinian way, habituating
to a small and dirty eatery owned by a grumpy man who stuffed our pita with
Israelis to eat it as a first course. What started as a reasonable alternative to jobs
generous amounts of hummus, for which she was happy to pay. To this day I
at the lower ends of the labor market, has resulted in the Palestinians’ unintended
remember the taste and the smell of the warm pita stuffed with fresh hummus
collaboration in the obliteration of their culinary culture.
eaten as soon as Passover was over when the grumpy man, who did not sell
leavened bread during the holiday, resumed his stand behind the counter.