Michal Gabay, Shani Gabay’s mother's Spicy Fish Recipe

 “A Place at the Table” is a commemorative project that documents the favorite dishes of those lost on October 7 with the help of their families.    

On Fridays, Michal Gabay would always prepare the spicy fish that her daughter Shani Gabay loved so much. “Every week she asked me to burn her mouth and put as many hot peppers in the pot as possible,” Michal recalls longingly. “She would say that the heat whetted her appetite.” And, on the weekends, when Shani stayed at home in central Israel, she would prepare the dish for herself and her friends. She never missed it, says Michal.

Thanks to this dish, Shani decided to stay for Friday dinner with her family on October 6, and only after the meal did she set off for the Nova festival near Kibbutz Re’im, where she worked at the party. That dinner was the last time her family saw her. 

For 47 days, they didn’t know what had happened to Shani. Her father searched for her at the party grounds in Re’im for a week, hoping to find any clue of her whereabouts. In their hearts, Shani’s family hoped she was kidnapped and wished for her safe return. Nearly six weeks later, they learned of her fate when her necklace, shaped like a half-moon, was found. Shani was killed on the morning of October 7 and accidentally buried with another young woman. RPGs fired by Hamas terrorists at the ambulance where she was being treated for gunshot wounds had killed her. Shani’s funeral coincided with her grandfather’s yahrzeit (death anniversary) and, on what should have been her 26th birthday, her family concluded the Shiva mourning period.

Shani was born and raised in Yokne’am, a city 30 minutes from Haifa. Loved ones describe her as always surrounded by good friends, making everyone feel that they were important to her. At age 5, she nearly lost her sight due to a cyst in her eye, but recovered and embraced life. She traveled solo around the world for months, from India to Costa Rica, often surfing on her travels. A passionate singer, she auditioned for the “Rising Star” reality show and graduated with honors in law. She often had her beloved pitbull dog, Alpha, by her side.

Michal recalls that food was always her daughter’s true passion. Shani enjoyed both simple, everyday dishes like schnitzel, ptitim, and bourekas, as well as meals at high-end restaurants. She even served as a cook during her military service and loved preparing meals for her friends. “She liked to experiment with new dishes, flavors, and seasonings, and always asked me to try to reinvent myself in the kitchen,” Michal shares. “But with the spicy fish, she insisted on keeping it exactly the same every week, just with an extra kick of spice if possible,” she chuckles.

Today is the first time Michal has made this dish since October 6. “Honestly,” she says, “I stopped cooking altogether after that. Food just reminds me of her too much.” 

Did you make this recipe? Share a photo of it with the hashtag #a_place_at_the_table to honor the memory of the late Shani Gabay.