Cafe Liz

Sorbet with arak and cherries (or stone fruit)

I’ve been on somewhat of an arak kick lately. See, I don’t really like arak — I can’t drink it straight, and I despise licorice. But it turns out that I quite like this anise-flavored liquor as a seasoning. Kind of like vanilla extract. I don’t think I’d like to drink vanilla extract straight up, either.

Arak is a local beverage with a storied history, having been made in this region for thousands of years. It’s a close relative of ouzo and pastis. At the base is alcohol made from grapes, fermented until there’s no sugar left, soaked in anise seeds and then filtered. Israel’s most well-known brand is Elit Haarak, made by the Gold family’s Galilee Winery, which first opened shop seven generations ago, in Safed in 1824. A classic, but — what can we do? — not a drink that always had the best reputation. For decades arak was considered a lower-class drink. Elit Haarak was priced at 10 to 15 shekels a bottle as recently as five years ago, and its simply designed, decades-old label didn’t do much to advance its reputation.

But all that began to change over the past decade. Continue reading Sorbet with arak and cherries (or stone fruit) …

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Cherry coconut sorbet with amaretto

This recipe really gives it all away at once — cherry coconut sorbet with amaretto. That’s what’s in it: cherries, coconut and amaretto. Oh, and a bit of sugar. It’s really that simple. I’ve been eying the beautiful cherries at the market for the past several weeks now. They’re not exactly the cheapest fruit, but fortunately the price has been coming down to 20-25 shekels a kilo, and I usually make the splurge. It’s well worth it, because the cherries [...]

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