Cafe Liz

Ice limonana — mint lemonade, the drink of the Israeli summer

Limonana is the quintessential drink of the Israeli summer. Simple and ubiquitous, there’s nothing more refreshing than freshly squeezed lemons and ground sprigs of mint, whether served on ice or blended into a smoothie.

In the summer, limonada becomes my social drink of choice — the drink that captures the spirit of the moment, a pleasant afternoon nestled into a chair in a lively streetside cafe. In the winter, I order a cappuccino; in the spring and early summer, I make that iced coffee; and once even milk is too heavy for the oppressive summer heat, I get limonana. Big, green and frothy, and very cold, please. Continue reading Ice limonana — mint lemonade, the drink of the Israeli summer…

Thai papaya salad

It’d been a while since we dared to enter the Carmel Market on a late Friday afternoon. At that hour the shook is packed, so crowded you can barely move. The first sign it was late in the day (as if we needed one) was when I went to my greens guy and asked for a head of lettuce. He gave me four. Four heads of fluffy, curly lettuce. They filled an entire grocery bag. I guess he likes me as much as I like him.

As Eitan wilted in the heat, we cut a quick retreat down a side alley, coincidentally (or not) passing one of the far-east specialty stands. Among the many things that require cooking and the sundry strange gourds was a pile of green papayas — green, crunchy, watery papayas, which get chilled and grated into refreshing, Thai salads. I snatched one. Continue reading Thai papaya salad…

Carmelized fennel root

They say that people either love licorice or hate it, and the licorice battleground happens to fall right through the middle of our household. Since fennel has what I would describe as a licorice flavor, I’ve never been a big fan. But this recipe, which I’m blatantly, um, borrowing from renowned Israeli chef Rafael Cohen, made me love fennel — at least, so long as its caramelized in butter and sugar.

The preparation is quite easy — basically, you’re steaming the fennel, sliced open and lying in a pool of butter and sugar, until its soft, and the underside has turned a caramelized brown. It’s also perfect for spring, because what better way to enjoy the season than to sink your teeth into a juicy green vegetable?

I should probably mention that I found huge, beautiful organic fennel roots at the Tel Aviv Farmer’s Market at the port, which is now being institutionalized with its very own building there. Continue reading Carmelized fennel root…

Thai red curry

In the back of my fridge is a slowly shrinking bag of green mush that I've been guarding jealously. It's the remainders of the half-kilo of handmade green curry paste that we purchased from our favorite restaurant in Chiang Mai, longer ago than I should probably admit (OK, it was a year and a half ago). How could I use it generously when I knew that once it was gone, the only replacement I'd find was something imported in little plastic tubs whose quality and flavor were complete unknowns?

Now, the biggest barrier to making fresh Thai curry in Israel has been lifted -- fresh galangal is here, and I've bought a nice, fat root that should last me a while.

Mind you, there are still other challenges, as there are whenever you try to prepare a foreign cuisine. Beyond the question of whether foreign flavors meet local tastes, there's the whole matter of ingredients -- looking at this list of Thai vegetables, you'll probably notice a whole lot that you'll never find here (well, not yet, at least).

But negatives aside, we now have access to nearly all the main aromatics, the things that set the taste. So I whipped up my very own batch of curry paste, and while they might do it a bit differently in Thailand, it happened to taste quite good. And that's the most important thing. Continue reading Thai red curry...

Chocolate Passover biscotti

These biscotti have a tendency to vanish. Biscotti are twice-baked cookies, once into a loaf, and the second time after being sliced, and until crunchy. Something about the denseness means they don’t lose much — if anything — from being made with matzo meal instead of flour, and thus kosher for Passover.

I got the recipe from my mother, who explained to me that she never bakes the full batch at once, because however much you bake, it immediately disappears. I baked mine before the holiday officially began, and thus kept myself from eating them — no Passover food until it’s Passover.

So first thing after getting home from the seder, I made a beeline for the cookies — yes, after a four-course meal and all. And it’s only been downhill from there.
Continue reading Chocolate Passover biscotti…

Matzo balls in Persian fruit soup

I had a particular Persian meatball dish in mind when I made this — meatballs stewed in a broth of dried fruit. Fruit plays a central role in savory cooking in Persian cuisine. While dried fruit is more commonly associated with another holiday, Tu Bishvat, Passover also happens to fall in the spring, and thus fruit is still appropriate.

In this dish, it gives Ashkenazi matzo balls an unusual twist. The matzo balls provide firm texture in place of meatballs, and the fruit soup — well, it speaks for itself, a mix of sweet and savory thanks to some onions and garlic.

In terms of the fruit you use, you could follow my lead, or improvise. Continue reading Matzo balls in Persian fruit soup…

Cranberry charoset

This is a play on a classic charoset — a Sephardi-style nut/date spread with a decidedly new-world twist. Cranberries are a new-world fruit, so it’s highly unlikely that they started appearing in any traditional Jewish cuisine too many centuries ago. But hey, it’s been 500 years since Columbus sailed the ocean blue and the world is increasingly globalized, so there’s no reason not to give our holiday “mortar” an extra cranberry tang.

Beyond the cranberries, there are the pears and the pecans, which give the charoset a decidedly upscale taste. What better way to deck out the seder table? Continue reading Cranberry charoset…

Passover mushroom croquettes

Pork-obsessed Spanish cuisine is not known for being kosher friendly, but classic croquettes can easily be made not only kosher and vegetarian, but kosher for Passover, to boot.

Croquettes are breaded dumplings filled with a bechamel cream, flavored with any number of things. I learned the technique from my friend Arturo, who threw himself a croquette birthday party with seven different kinds of dumplings — including ham, shrimp, ham and shrimp … and then for the vegetarians, mushroom and spinach. Arturo was nice enough to invite me over during his three (!!) days of preparations, so after watching seven batches of croquette fillings come off the flame, I felt confident enough to give it a go myself. Continue reading Passover mushroom croquettes…

Passover 2010 on Cafe Liz

Passover is rapidly approaching. The stores have already stopped stocking my favorite cookies and chocolates (no baker’s chocolate for Passover? really guys?) You, like us, are preparing for the week of unleavened bread, whether that means planning a seder, or just coming up with things to eat for the week.

I’m not one of those people who feels Passover equals starvation. I love the holiday, and all its food. Hopefully, I have some recipes that can make that process easier and more enjoyable. I’ll be posting new recipes over the next two weeks, but until then, you can check out my Passover-specific recipes from last year:

• Sweet bimuelos, a Turkish staple that aroused a surprising amount of interest as expressed by the commenters from around the world
• Mina de espinaka, a Sephardic spinach-cheese pie
• My mother’s charoset recipe, in traditional Sephardi Mediterranean style
• Matzo ball soup with Middle Eastern spices

Plus, my posts from the rest of the year are categorized based on those that suit Passover: Everything free of chametz (grains) appears in my Sephardi Passover recipes list, while everything free of chametz and kitniyot (legumes) appears in my Ashkenazi Passover recipes. (Let me know if I’ve mislabled anything …)

Have a happy Passover, from Cafe Liz. Let the cooking begin.

Blood orange jam

Blood oranges aren’t so common, although I’m not sure why not. They have a relatively discreet exterior — only a hint of a blush that tells you that no, this is not a normal orange; inside lies a shockingly red jewel of a fruit.

This year, I’ve found only one person selling blood oranges at the Carmel Market — the guy near the bottom of the shook, who also sells steamed corn and fruit juices. Coincidentally, he’s across from the one person at the shook who had limes several months ago.

What is it with the scarcity of interesting citrus this year? In any case, I decided to preserve some blood oranges for posterity, or at the very least for the next few months. Because what would make a marmalade more beautiful than ruddy sunset hues? Continue reading Blood orange jam…