Dan's Papers - April 3, 2009 -

At a recent luncheon, promoted by the James Beard Foundation, at Barbounia, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Manhattan, Asaf Shariv, consul general of Israel in New York, Susan Ungaro, president of the James Beard Foundation, author Janna Gur and media and food journalists were there to celebrate Gur’s new cookbook, The Book of New Israeli Food, a compilation of Middle Eastern dishes.

Efraim Naon, the talented chef of Barbounia, afforded the guests some of the bold foods of the Middle East based on the new foods of Israel inspired by Gur’s book. Meze, appetizing starters, consisted of eggplant in tahini, falafel, fennel salad with lemon and pistachio, lachmahajun (lamb pie) and zucchini cakes. Choice entrées were Moroccan spiced halibut with fresh garbanzo beans, grouper kebabs and shakshuka, an egg-based vegetarian dish with garlic and tomatoes. The scrumptious dessert tasting of creamy puddings topped with saffron caramel, rose water and berries and/or passion fruit, and a warm shredded phyllo and sweet goat cheese pie were indeed extraordinary.

With family and friends gathering to celebrate Passover at sundown for the first and second night Seders on April 7 and 8, ancestral foods of deep rooted heritage will be served to achieve direct connection through the order of the Seder. With my family of Sephardic heritage, I, too, look forward to preparing several of our traditional and flavorful dishes. Yet I’m inspired to prepare recipes with the new tastes of Israel.

1. Trim the fronds from the fennel bulbs and cut the bulb in half vertically. Cut out and discard the core at the base then cut each half in half. Place fennel halves flat side down and with a sharp chef’s knife slice through the layers as thinly as possible. Soak in ice water for 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towel.

2. Transfer to a bowl with the lemon segments. Sprinkle with salt and set aside to rest for 15 minutes.

3. Toss the fennel and lemon segments with the olive oil, hot pepper and honey. Toss to mix. Sprinkle with pistachio nuts and serve.

* Slice off a piece of skin from the end of each lemon and spear the slice with a fork at the opposite end. Carefully slice the skin away from the flesh then cut out each segment from between the membrane into a bowl. Hand squeeze the juice from the membrane into the bowl. Continue with second lemon and use segments as above.

Malabi is a creamy pudding that hails from Turkey. Basically, malabi is neutral in taste, so Gur suggests using your imagination choosing various toppings, garnishes and syrups to make this snow-white dessert enticingly aromatic.

Yields 12 servings in 1/2 cup goblets

1. In a bowl, whisk one cup milk with the corn starch and rose water until corn starch dissolves completely.

2. Place remaining milk in saucepan with the whipping cream and sugar and bring to a simmer. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch mixture and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.

3. Remove from heat and pour into serving dishes or into a large round-bottomed bowl. Allow to cool and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight. If using goblets, drizzle each pudding with syrup and/or any of the above toppings

Note: You may also serve the pudding in several shot glasses – each one with a different topping. Great idea!

Above recipes printed and adapted from Janna Gur’s The Book of New Israeli Food, Pantheon and Schocken Books, 2009.