Masterclass with Chef Gil Hovav

#Israeli delicacies by Chef Gil Hovav #Food #Recipes

Hummus

Hummus is as common in Israeli cuisine just as peanut butter is for America. Hummus is usually had with pita bread.

Serves: 25 portions

Ingredients:  400 gms small dry chickpeas,

4 peeled garlic cloves,

½ hot green pepper,

½ cup parsley,

1 cup good raw tahini, 

(tahini is a sesame seed paste. A staple of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Cooking. It is essential ingredient in Hummus)

Juice of 1 lemon,

½ tsp cumin,

1 tbsp. salt

Directions:

• Soak chickpeas for at least 6 hours.
• Drain and wash. Cook in fresh water until soft not mushy (this takes about 3 hours). While cooking, discard any foam on top of the water.
• When soft, take off the stove, let cool and drain but save about 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
• Put garlic, fresh hot pepper and parsley in the food processor, and puree.
• Add chickpeas, and process. Add as much cooking liquid as needed to form a rather smooth paste. Do not over-process.
• Add tahini, lemon juice, cumin and salt and process again.
• Do not refrigerate. Serve at once, topped with olive oil and garnished with hot paprika, cumin and chopped parsley.

Tabbouleh

(Couscous Vegetable salad)

Tabbouleh is a Levantine vegetarian dish or a salad that is made from tomatoes, chopped parsley, mint, bulgur and onion and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. At times, it is made with pomegranate seeds.

Ingredients: 1 bag instant couscous, (couscous is a dish made from granules of wheat flour usually prepared by steaming until they are light and fluffy).

4 tomatoes,

4 cucumbers,

4 scallions,

2 lemons,

6 tbsp. olive oil

3 tbsp. coarse salt,

2 tbsp. ground black pepper,

½ cup pine nuts (lightly toasted),

1 cup pomegranate seeds,

½ cup chopped coriander,

½ cup chopped parsley,

½ cup chopped dill.

Directions:

-Prepare instant couscous.

– Prepare salad from tomatoes, cucumbers and scallions. Dice well.

-Grind the peel of one lemon and squeeze the juice from both. Add to the salad.

– Add the rest of the ingredients (including couscous) and mix well.

– The salad keeps well in the fridge up to 24 hours.

Zehoug

(Hot Yemenite Salsa)

This hot salsa is eaten with everything by Yemenite Jews.

Ingredients:

2 bunches fresh cilantro, (A Spanish word for coriander, also derived from Coriandrum).

15 hot green peppers,

1 bulb garlic,

1 tbsp. ground black pepper,

1 tbsp. ground cardamom,

1 tbsp. ground cumin,

1 tbsp. salt.

 

Directions:

-Peel garlic cloves. Discard stems of green peppers. Put in food processor and make a rough paste.

– Roughly chop cilantro and add to the food processor together with the rest of the ingredients.

– Process until you get a shiny green paste.

– Put in jars and store in the fridge.

It was a wonderful evening, where we tasted all the above made by Gil Hovav. It was simply awesome.