Cafe Liz
Kosher vegetarian recipes from my kitchen in Tel Aviv
Tangy tomato okra soup
August 21, 2009 at 1:00 pm | Tags: okra, parsley, parve, soup, tomato, vegan
If you’re like me, and you don’t see 33-degree Celsius weather as a reason not to indulge in a hot bowl of soup, this recipe is for you. It’s simple, and it doesn’t have too many seasonings. It doesn’t need to — summer’s fresh bounty adds flavor enough.
One thing this soup is not is gummy. One of the excuses people have for not liking okra is the viscous sap. Fortunately, that can be done away with by frying the okra. The okra is fully cooked in olive oil before it is added to the soup, which leaves only the okra flavor, and none of that gumbo-type texture. Continue reading Tangy tomato okra soup…
Mango-basil frozen yogurt
August 16, 2009 at 1:00 pm | Tags: basil, dairy, dessert, frozen yogurt, ice cream, mango
I have a slight mango obsession. I’ve been stockpiling them. Every week I go to the market, I feel an urge to buy more — regardless of how many are left in our fridge. I must have had about 20 at some point last week. I’m just so excited that they’re both in season and affordable.
So, I’ve been forced (oh, the pain) to find creative ways to go through them. A mango a day keeps the doctor away, no?
Fortunately, mangoes are very amenable to being used in ice cream — strong in flavor, not too watery. The buttermilk base here creates a wonderful texture — thick and creamy (and low fat!), and soft even after a week in the freezer, the holy grail of homemade ice creams that shy away from heavy creams and egg yolks.
Believe it or not, the fresh basil adds a great kick of flavor, as it does for many fruit-based desserts. Kind of like what I imagine licorice would taste like if licorice actually, like, tasted good (sorry, licorice lovers). Continue reading Mango-basil frozen yogurt…
Super-fresh hummus
August 5, 2009 at 1:00 am | Tags: beans, chickpea, Israeli, parve, tahini, vegan
My friend Kazue is visiting from Japan, and her favorite food here just happens to be hummus. So I whipped up a batch or three. Hummus is quite possibly one of the simplest things to make, full of rich, creamy flavor — so long as you use fresh chickpeas. That canned stuff with the weird metallic aftertaste just isn’t as good.
This requires a bit of advance planning, and a lot of passive cooking time. The chickpeas soak overnight, and then cook slowly on the stove. But don’t worry, you don’t have to watch them too closely. And then you’re pretty much done — just drain the water, and whir the beans with some olive oil, tahini and salt. You’ll have the richest hummus you’ve ever tasted, on par with any of the hummus restaurants around here.
And if you want that sour, slightly rancid taste that characterizes hummus purchased at the supermarket, in absurdly small containers? Don’t worry, just leave it in the fridge for a week or two. Continue reading Super-fresh hummus…
Melon lemon-geranium sorbet
August 2, 2009 at 1:00 am | Tags: coconut, herbs, ice cream, lemon geranium, melon, parve, sorbet, vegan
As you may have noticed, I’ve been making a lot of ice cream and chilled drinks lately, and not too much of what I’d call “real food.” That’s because the last thing I want to do right now is stand over a hot stove (or worse, turn on the oven). The weather is so hot that I’m feeling rather well cooked as it is.
Indeed, (wo)man cannot survive on ice cream and watermelon alone, but we’ll worry about that another day, because this melon lemon-geranium sorbet is wonderfully light and refreshing. Continue reading Melon lemon-geranium sorbet…
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