Cafe Liz

Did you know garlic has a season? Well, you do if you frequent the country’s markets, where massive stalks of purple-green garlic are out in all their glory. ‘Tis the season for garlic, the time to stock up for an entire year. China is the world’s largest garlic producer, with 77% of global production, and you can get Chinese garlic year round. The heads are small and white, invariably the same size, and come in neat stacks of four inside [...]

It’s not really an artichoke, but we call it that anyway — Jerusalem artichoke, or sunchoke, is a root vegetable that happens to have an artichoke-like taste. It doesn’t have any real connection to Jerusalem, either, for that matter; it’s actually native to the United States. Despite its deceptively being a foreigner, Jerusalem artichoke is quite common in markets here. As a tubor, it’s easier to prepare than artichoke, in my opinion — just skin it and cook, as opposed [...]

This soft eggplant dish has a tangy taste from the pomegranate and balsamic vinegar, while red onions add a bit of jewel-like color. You could toss some pomegranate seeds on top as well when they're in season. On a slightly related note, look at this weird eggplant we saw at the Carmel market:

Now is the season to pick grape leaves. Not that I have access to a grapevine; but plenty of other people do, it seems. One of them apparently dumped a pile of fresh leaves next to the scales at some stall buried deep in the Carmel market this past weekend. Now, stuffed grape leaves take a lot of time to prepare, and I didn’t really think I’d have that much time this week, but what can I say? I was [...]

This is a very simple roasted pepper recipe I learned while I was living in Madrid, from my landlady/host Sra. Pilar in her high-ceilinged apartment in the upscale neighborhood of Salamanca. That was quite possibly the most I’ve ever paid to rent a room, but I guess it was worth it, since I’m still making her recipes nearly a decade later. Red peppers are an amazing thing. Roast them in the oven, and they come out as a dish, nothing [...]

On the advice of friends, we are now the proud owners of eight massive heads of garlic, stems still attached. Apparently this is garlic season, so now is the time to stock up for the year. There are several reasons to do so, our friends told us — the garlic that we usually buy, which comes neatly packed in little plastic nets, is grown in China and processed with chemicals. Now, I couldn’t confirm that, but it turns out that [...]

This recipe is inspired by the ali oli potato tapas they serve in Spain. I made this potato salad to bring to a party, and the real reason I chose this dish is that it’s completely homemade (and looks it), but takes only 10-15 minutes to make. I used about 1 kilo of potatoes (unpeeled), 1/2 cup mayonnaise (would have used more, but I ran out), 3 fat garlic cloves, a splash of white wine vinegar (say, a teaspoon or [...]