This recipe is part of Asif’s Open Kitchen Project initiative, where cooks who were evacuated during the war are invited to a home in Tel Aviv to cook a dish that they miss from their own home. Would you like to participate? Register here.
Ever since Lizi Ezra, 58, was evacuated from Sderot in October due to the war, she has had few opportunities to cook. While the hotel in Tel Aviv where she and her family are staying lets evacuees use the kitchen in the mornings, Lizi’s work in the hotel’s makeshift kindergarten leaves her with little time to cook.
Her three children, ages 24 to 30, have grown weary of the hotel’s food. “They long for the comfort of home-cooked meals and crave a hearty family dinner,” she explains. “I assured them that I’ll happily cook for them, provided I have a kitchen.”
Today, Lizi has joined Avishag Zachi in her home in Tel Aviv as part of Asif’s Open Kitchen Project. As Lizi busies herself with the pots, she expresses her gratitude to her host for generously allowing her into her home and kitchen. Meanwhile, the host’s four young children eagerly observe the kitchen activities, with the eldest even donning an apron and eagerly assisting Lizi with tasks like cleaning and cutting vegetables.
Every Friday back home, Lizi makes Moroccan fish and a meat dish like a beef shoulder roast or stuffed artichoke. For Friday’s sandwiches, she’d make homemade rolls stuffed with schnitzel, warm hummus that she prepares herself, and fried eggplant. However, her children’s favorite dish is her veal sweetbread stew, a recipe passed down from her mother.
“Sweetbreads are traditionally reserved for holidays; it’s a rather pricey ingredient,” she explains. “Typically, it’s prepared only for Rosh Hashanah and Passover. However, since my kids adore it, I end up making it twice as often each year.” She serves the sweetbread stew with white rice and roasted vegetables to balance out its rich and fatty flavor.
1 tomato, diced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper,thinly sliced
1 shifka (or other pickled hot) pepper, chopped
6-7 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
2 tablespoons paprika
½ teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1½ cups boiling water
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
500 grams (1.1 lb) veal sweetbreads, cleaned (you can also use frozen sweetbreads)
- Line the bottom of a wide pot with the tomato slices.
- Add the sliced peppers, garlic, ½ bunch chopped cilantro, paprika, chili flakes, turmeric and ground white pepper.
- Pour the boiling water on top and cook for 5-7 minutes over high heat, until the vegetables lightly soften.
- Add the oil and mix well. Lightly season with salt (exercise caution with the amount of salt added, as sweetbreads tend to have a natural saltiness) and cook, uncovered, over low-medium heat for 30 minutes.
- Add the sweetbreads and cook over medium-low heat for 40 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, gently press the sweetbreads into the sauce, ensuring they are fully submerged.
- Sprinkle the remaining chopped cilantro on top, cover and cook for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally. Check the stew every 30 minutes; the sweetbreads should change color and become tender in texture. Serve alongside steamed white rice and roasted vegetables.
