Israel: Recipes and Cuisine

Israel Wailing Wall
Image by bachmont

Jewish culinary traditions often date back to Biblical times. Yet while Jews as a people have endured for over 3000 years, the modern state of Israel is relatively young. That coupled with the instability of the Palestinian conflict, have made it difficult for a truly national Israeli cuisine to develop. Nevertheless, a steady influx of Jewish immigrants from around the world has made for an exotic mix of flavors on the Israeli table and in the street.

Israeli Jewish Cuisine: A Background

Ancient Diet

One of the most famous stories of Jews and food goes back to their very origin as a people with the Hebrew Exodus from Egypt. The ragtag tribes wandered for years in the desert, surviving only on the miracle of manna from heaven. Once the Jews left the desert and settled in Canaan, they adopted the typical Mediterranean diet of the time. Wheat, rice and lentils were eaten as porridge or ground and made into simple breads. Onions, leeks and garlic were eaten raw or used to flavor stews. Chickpeas and fava beans were stewed or pounded to form ancient versions of hummus and ful mudammas. Then as now, olives and olive oil were widely used. The consumption of meat and poultry was reserved largely for religious feast days. Beast and fowl were most often roasted on a spit or boiled. A variety of herbs and spices such as parsley, mint and cumin supplemented the diet and flavored food. Dates, figs and pomegranates sweetened the palate.

Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws

Jewish kashrut dietary laws developed during these early times. Food prepared according to these rules is called kosher, or “proper”. Jews are prohibited from eating pork, so lamb, mutton and beef are the preferred meats. The consumption of blood is also forbidden, so meats must be “koshered”, a process of salting and curing, in order to remove all traces of blood. Meat and dairy are never mixed in the same dish or even, according to some interpretations, in the same meal. Orthodox homes maintain two separate sets of utensils, one for meat and one for dairy. With regard to seafood, it is forbidden to eat anything without scales. That means no shrimp, shellfish, squid or octopus. There are varying degrees of adherence to kashrut laws in modern Israel. While one finds strict fidelity among the Orthodox population, it is not uncommon to see only partial or no observation among secular Jews.

The Diaspora

Starting in the 6th century B.C.E., the Jews suffered through a series of conquering overlords. For five hundred years they were ruled in turn by Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans. The Jews had a tendency to revolt against their Roman overlords, and by 70 A.D., Rome was fed up with the rabble in Judea. Imperial legions destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, and much of the population was enslaved. When the revolts continued, Emperor Septimius Severus expelled the Jews from Jerusalem. In 134 A.D. the Jews scattered to the four winds, and the Diaspora had begun.

Over the next two thousand years, Jews migrated throughout the Mediterranean and into Europe, Iraq, Iran and as far east as India. The Middle Ages were largely a time of poverty, discrimination and ghettos, especially for European Jews. Jews in the Arab world fared somewhat better and generally got along well with their Muslim cousins. During this long period, Jewish populations around the world adopted and adapted to the culinary styles of their new home countries and regions.

Modern Jewish and Israeli Cuisine

By the late 19th century, the new movement of Zionism, urging a return to Israel, began to take hold within the European Jewish community. The idea took on greater urgency with continuing pogroms in Russia, the Dreyfus Affair in France, and finally genocide under the Nazis. The new state of Israel was founded in 1948 in the aftermath of WWII and the Holocaust. Jews from all over the world began to return to their ancient homeland.

Most modern Israelis trace their diasporal history either to Northern and Eastern Europe (the Ashkenazim) or to Spain, North Africa and the Middle East (the Sephardim). The Ashkenazim bring a tradition of foods most familiar to American and European Jews. Gefilte fish, cholent, kishke, knaidlach, latkes, matjes herring, borscht, pirogen, and kasha all grace the Ashkenazi table. These dishes, while typically Jewish, are not as as popular in Israel itself. Cold weather dishes tend to weigh one down in the hot Mediterranean sun.

Most Sephardic dishes, on the other hand, are ideally suited to Israel’s climate. Couscous and chakchouka are both popular and originated with Jewish populations from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Immigrants from the Balkans, Romania and Greece brought with them ciorba, mititei and moussaka. Turkish influence is seen in the popularity of such sweets as baklava, kadaifi and halvah.

In recent years an ancient population of Jews from Ethiopia emigrated en masse to Israel and brought with them intensely flavored dishes like doro wat . There are small numbers of Jews from India who cook highly spiced curry dishes following kashrut rules. Yemenite Jews are famous for their malawah fried bread and spicy hilbeh sauce.

Non-Jews make up about one quarter of Israel’s population, and the largest group of these is Arab Israelis, both Muslim and Christian, This growing population lends its own culinary traditions to the mix that is Israeli cuisine. Falafel, shawarma, hummus, shishlik and tabouleh are all extremely popular with Jew and Arab alike. Zaatar, a spice mix of thyme, sumac and sesame seeds flavors meats, vegetables and fish.

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Typical Jewish Dishes

A list of typical Israeli dishes and foods. Use it to help you plan a Israeli or Jewish-style meal, party or festival.

Appetizers

  • Burekas (Savory filo pastry pies)
  • Chopped Chicken Livers
  • Forshmak (Baked herring)
  • Hummus bi Tahini (Chickpea and sesame dip)

Soups and Stews

  • Batata bel Lamoun (Potato soup)
  • Borscht (Beet Soup)
  • Chicken Soup
  • Ciorbă (Picante vegetable stew)
  • Gundi (Chickpea and chicken dumplings)
  • Matzo Ball Soup (Chicken broth with matzo dumplings)

Salads

  • Bazargan (Cracked wheat salad)
  • Israeli Salad (Tomato, cucumber and onion salad)
  • Tabouleh (Bulgur and parsley salad)

Sandwiches

  • Sabich (Eggplant and egg sandwich on pita)
  • Shawarma (Spiced meat sandwich)

Noodles, Pasta and Dumplings

  • Couscous (North African pasta)
  • Farfel (Small egg noodles)
  • Gundi (Chickpea and chicken dumplings)
  • Knaidlach (Matzo dumplings)
  • Kreplach (Jewish wontons)
  • Kugel (Baked noodle pudding)
  • Pirogen (Stuffed dumplings)

Poultry

  • Chicken Paprikash (Chicken paprikash)
  • Doro Wat (Chicken stewed in red pepper paste)
  • Roast Chicken with Matzo Stuffing

Meats

  • Albóndigas (Sweet and sour meatballs)
  • Beef Rouladen (Stuffed beef rolls)
  • Braised Beef Brisket
  • Cholent (Slow-cooked beef and bean stew)
  • Holishkes (Stuffed cabbage rolls)
  • Kishka (Beef and matzo sausage)
  • Lahm Lhalou (Lamb stewed with prunes)
  • Moussaka (Ground lamb and eggplant casserole)
  • Pastrami (Brined and spiced beef brishet)
  • Shawarma (Marinated and grilled meat)
  • Shishlik (Grilled meat skewers)

Fish and Seafood

  • Gefilte Fish (Simmered ground fish balls)
  • Gevetch de Peshte (Fish and vegetable stew)
  • Lox (Cured and smoked salmon)
  • Matjes Herring (Pickled fish)

Vegetables and Beans

  • Carciofi alla Guidea (Deep-fried artichokes)
  • Chakchouka (Eggs with peppers and tomatoes)
  • Falafel (Fried chickpea patties)
  • Karpas (Vegetables dipped in saltwater or vinegar)
  • Latkes (Potato pancakes)
  • Tzimmes (Sweet baked carrots)

Breads and Grains

  • Bagels (Boiled and baked ring-shaped bread)
  • Bialy (Savory filled roll)
  • Challah (Braided Sabbath bread)
  • Jachnun (Pan-baked bread)
  • Kasha (Buckwheat groats)
  • Kasha Varnishkes (Buckwheat groats with pasta)
  • Knishes (Pastries with savory fillings)
  • Malawah (Yemenite fried bread)
  • Mămăligă (Cornmeal mush)
  • Matzo (Unleaved Passover bread)
  • Pita (Pocket bread)

Sauces and Condiments

  • Amba (Mango condiment)
  • Epl Tsimes (Applesauce)
  • Hilbeh (Spicy fenugreek-coriander condiment)
  • Schmaltz (Rendered chicken fat)
  • Taratour (Sesame sauce)
  • Zattar (Sumac spice blend)

Pickles and Preserves

  • Sladko (Sweet fruit or vegetable preserves)

Desserts

  • Babka (Fruit-filled yeast cake)
  • Charoset (Sweet Passover fruit paste)
  • Chremzlach (Stuffed fritters)
  • Epl Tsimes (Applesauce)
  • Halva (Sesame sweet)
  • Hamantaschen (Pastry triangles with jam filling)
  • Kichlach (Puffed egg cookies)
  • Macaroons (Passover coconut cookie)
  • Malabi (Almond pudding)
  • Mandelbrot (Biscotti-like cookie)
  • Nunt (Honey nougat)
  • Rugelach (Pastry roll with raisins)
  • Sufganiyah (Filled donut)
  • Strudel (Fruit-filled pastry roll)
  • Teiglach (Pastry ties soaked in honey)

Beverages

  • Egg Cream (Chocolate milk soda)

Breakfast

  • Blintzes (Cheese-stuffed crepes)
  • Chakchouka (Eggs with peppers and tomatoes)
  • Matzo Brei (Fried flatbread and eggs)

Israeli Jewish Recipes

Try these recipes from Israel.

Shawarma 
(Middle Eastern spiced meat sandwich)

Sweet and Sour Brisket 
(Israeli Jewish braised brisket)

Charoset 
(Jewish, Israeli walnut, apple and wine Passover sweet)

Hamantaschen 
(Israeli Jewish filled tricorner Purim pastries)

Chopped Chicken Livers 
(Jewish liver paté spread)

Chakchouka 
(North African eggs poached in a pepper ragout)

Falafel 
(Middle Eastern fried chickpea patties)

Sufganiyot 
(Israeli Jewish filled donuts)

Lokshen Kugel 
(Israeli Jewish sweet noodle pudding)

Israeli Salad 
(Israeli, Jewish tomato and cucumber salad)

Carrot Tzimmes 
(Israeli, Jewish carrots braised with honey)

Gundi 
(Israeli Jewish chickpea and chicken dumplings)

Tarator 
(Middle Eastern sesame-lemon sauce)

Tabouli 
(Middle Eastern bulgur and parsley salad)

Holishkes 
(Israeli, Jewish stuffed cabbage rolls)

Apple Fritters 
(Jewish batter-fried apple rings)

Beid Hamine 
(Egyptian slow-cooked eggs)

Challah 
(Israeli Jewish braided Sabbath bread)

Epl Tsimes 
(Israeli, Jewish apple sauce)

Lekach 
(Israeli Jewish honey cake)

Pita 
(Mediterranean pocket bread)

Hummus bi Tahina 
(Middle Eastern chickpea and sesame dip)

Knaidlach 
(Israeli, Jewish matzo balls in broth)

Latkes 
(Israeli Jewish potato pancakes)

Kasha Varnishkes 
(Israeli, Jewish buckwheat groats with bowtie pasta)

Braised Short Ribs 
(Jewish beef ribs simmered in red wine)

Matzo Brei 
(Israeli, Jewish fried flatbread and eggs)

Pirogen, or Piroshke 
(Israeli Jewish stuffed dumplings)



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