Cafe Liz

Eggplants stuffed with herbs and rice

Here in the Levant we like to stuff things. It’s a habit picked up by all the places that used to be part of the Ottoman empire and its neighbors. Because rice is never so good as when it’s cooked packed inside a vegetable, and picks up its flavors and aroma during cooking.

Since stuffing isn’t limited only to peppers, which are born hollow and ready to be stuffed, there are special tools to help with the job. Previously I used a paring knife, but inspired by Sarah and Miriam’s posts on Nazareth, I picked up a special hollowing tool, for seven shekels (Photo after the jump). I got it from a little store on Jaffa’s Jerusalem boulevard, where the shopkeeper showed me an Egyptian pound someone had passed off as 10-shekel coin earlier that day — both have a bronze disc surrounded by a silver border, except the pound has a picture of a pharaoh and is worth, um, about 1/20th of a 10-shekel coin. Continue reading Eggplants stuffed with herbs and rice…

Melon lemon-geranium sorbet

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…

Sprouted lentils in olive oil and herbs

The combination of sprouted lentils and herb-infused oil produces a dish with a rich, nutty taste. I was inspired by a very similar dish we had at a brunch in Zichron Yaakov. Continue reading Sprouted lentils in olive oil and herbs…

White cheese with capers and herbs

We are blessed by a wealth of fresh, young cheeses as well as healthy herbs, so I threw all of the above together, along with my home-pickled capers, to make a quick salad.

I happen to have Thai basil and pineapple sage growing quite robustly on my patio. These herbs have different flavors than their more standard counterparts (basil and sage), which you’re more likely to find around here, but any combination of fresh herbs that suits your fancy would be quite good in this dish.

The cheeses — a 50-50 mix of diced mozzarella balls and tsfatit — are from my favorite cheese stand at the Carmel market, which gets them from the Sharon dairy. They’re at their peak for all of two days after purchase, but so good that you won’t want to leave them any longer than that. Continue reading White cheese with capers and herbs…

Refreshing drinks for summer

It’s officially hot. Hot as in I don’t want to do anything that involves moving, all I want to do is sit in front of the fan. Fortunately, a light, refreshing summer drink can do much to make the heat more tolerable. Especially if that drink is prepped, sitting in the fridge, just waiting for you to drink it.

I currently have three such drinks in the fridge. All are easy to prepare, and best chilled — meaning you make them, and then drink them over the next week. So long as you don’t add sugar, this is also quite a healthful way to quench your thirst. Continue reading Refreshing drinks for summer…

Asparagus with sesame oil and herbs

I was looking for a fresh way to prepare a springtime bunch of asparagus I picked up at the market — something light that would let the flavor of the asparagus dominate. This simple salad incorporates fresh herbs, another great springtime ingredient. I used a few leaves of sage and zaatar, which I have growing on my patio, but if you don’t have any zaatar, you could substitute oregano or thyme. I don’t recommend using dried spices, since that would change the spirit of the dish. Continue reading Asparagus with sesame oil and herbs…

Spring frittata with purple cauliflower and green beans

I’m not entirely sure this merits a recipe, but it certainly merits a photo. So I might as well explain how I made it.

We’ve been buying purple vegetables since we discovered them at the Friday farmer’s market in the Tel Aviv port. They definitely liven up any meal. And yes, it seems the color of the cauliflower bled slightly onto the egg. Continue reading Spring frittata with purple cauliflower and green beans…

Pad thai

When I discovered the Thai House’s recipe for pad thai, I felt like I was discovering the dish anew — with a sauce of only soy sauce and sugar, this recipe was amazingly simple, produced way better results than any other pad thai I had ever made in the past, and tasted great. In fact, the pad thai I was making at home was so good that I didn’t even bother to order the dish on my first few days in Thailand — after all, I knew how pad thai was supposed to taste, so I might as well try other things, right?

So I was all the more surprised once I finally got around to trying the Thai version of “Thai stir-fry” to discover just how different it was from what I made at home. In retrospect, it makes perfect sense that Israeli pad thai is made from ingredients available locally, while the Thai version has a base of fish and oyster sauce, and often contains garlic chives, bean sprouts, different kinds of Thai tofu, shallots (I’d put shallots in everything, too, if I could get them for 50 agorot a kilo), Thai garlic (sweeter than the garlic we use in the West), tamarind, lime juice, palm sugar and shrimp.

OK, so maybe this version isn’t authentic, but it brings rave reviews and recipe requests whenever I make it, and it quickly became one of my (and my friends’) staples. Plus, you can expand on the basic concept to add some more “Thai” ingredients, if you can find them. Continue reading Pad thai…

What to do with zuta levana, a.k.a. white savory

I'm off to the United States for the rest of the month, so what better time to write about an herb that grows primarily in the Galilee? Continue reading What to do with zuta levana, a.k.a. white savory...

Pappardelle with pumpkin seed oil and herbs

Since I think my coconut pumpkin soup recipe inspired at least one person to go out and buy pumpkin seed oil (hi mom!), I figured I’d offer a few more suggestions for how to use it. Continue reading Pappardelle with pumpkin seed oil and herbs…