No-bake biscuit cakes (also known as ice box cakes) are the epitome of Israeli “baking” — though there’s no actual baking involved. Instead, petit beurre (also known as tea biscuits) are softened in milk and layered in a baking dish with a creamy filling that’s typically made with whipped cream, gvina levana (a soft cheeseContinue reading “Ice Box Cake with Lemon Ricotta Filling”
Keren Agam’s Greek-inspired pashtida with zucchini and feta has a wonderful twist – a sesame seed topping that makes every bite crispy.
Hillel Gardi’s easy recipe for a zucchini pashtida comes from his late beloved grandmother. Serve it with goat milk labneh, sumac and hyssop.
For Shavuot, we asked five chefs and food writers to share a family or personal recipe for pashtida and the story behind it.
In this recipe from chef Tomer Tal, yesterday’s bread is transformed into a pashtida that’s tender on the inside and crispy on the outside
Recipe by Yael Dabby for Puff Pastry Quiche with Swiss Chard & Cheese. The crispy base of puff pastry, makes the preparation much easier.
Adeena Sussman’s wonderfully delicious cheese & roasted vegetable pashtida recipe also cleverly uses up leftover challah from Shabbat.
This recipe from Shawn Peled borrows a bit from Basque-style cheesecake and is wonderfully creamy and rich.
This recipe from Levana Lowenstein for simpler borekitas with eggplant or with cheese for Shabbat breakfast or Shavuot.
This recipe from Elyssa Heller, borrows from cacio e pepe, a classic Roman dish made with lots of freshly ground black pepper
The recipe details a seven-layer pastry made of oven-dried or lightly fried flatbreads separated by a cheese filling flavored with mint and coriander seeds.
Inspired by a visit to his father’s village, chef and artist Elazar Tamano created this recipe for an Ethiopian honey tart.
This recipe for pumpkin steak atop yellow split peas, from chef Elazar Tamano, is a contemporary play on two Ethiopian classics.
Alon Hadar’s recipe for a stuffed bread filled with cheese that honors the tradition of eating dairy-laden dishes on Shavuot. The kadeh “was the queen on the table,” says Alon, served alongside a rich yogurt sauce called zijik that’s made with fresh purslane. This recipe, which adds spinach to the filling, is Alon’s riff on the kadeh his grandmother made.
Ziona Cohen’s recipe for bourekas stuffed with feta, rich yogurt, and potatoes for Shabbat.
Pasta with lentils and beans, loaded with fresh cilantro and dill, and tossed with goat’s milk yogurt. Toped off with kashk, a fermented and dried yogurt that’s formed into a ball and grated like parmesan, which sourced from Tehran or Arab grocers in Israel.
In the spring, tables in Safed and Tiberias are set with calsones — pronounced caltzones — ravioli-like pockets stuffed with locally-made sheep’s milk cheese called tzfatit.
The pastry is a welcome addition to weekend brunch spreads and Shavuot tables alike.
The pastry is a welcome addition to weekend brunch spreads and Shavuot tables alike.
In Israel, this salad is a culinary icon made popular by Habasta, a restaurant tucked into Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market. Nicknamed the “Lali salad” the recipe originated with chef, food writer, and TV personality Hila Alpert.
Julia Silverberg Nemeth’s mother mother never shared with her that she was Jewish — and a Holocaust survivor. Her recipes, like this one, left clues.
Chilled fruit soups originate in Eastern Europe and they were especially popular in Israel during the austerity era. This is a modern take.
“Our dessert is a classic Bavarian cream paired with a chocolate and black coffee sauce instead of the classic chocolate sauce”
Chef Anat Neta-Kepten’s take on Bavarian cream is less sweet than traditional ones and lighter. She serves it with blood oranges and praline.
Chef Gal Dotan of B12 restaurant in Tel Aviv adds caramel sauce for richness and meringue for crunch to his take on Bavarian cream.
Ranam Barhom, the chef at Reshta Restaurant, adds cardamom and anise to this Bavarian cream recipe and swaps chocolate sauce for carob.
Broitman’s interpretation of Bavarian cream includes local honey from Porat Farm in Ein Yahav and Pini Gorelik’s citron liqueur.
Chef Ido Feiner and pastry chef Dana Malkes of Roberta Vinci add flavors from the restaurant’s backyard to this Bavarian cream recipe.
These savory pastries are part of an elaborate Iraqi Purim spread. Pair them with tea and date-filled cookies called b’ab’e b’tamer.
This elevated bishbash salad is a colorful dish for winter that celebrates the season’s finest: cured olives, oranges, greens, and sumac.
Having been a rare ingredient, Mastic has been substituted with cornstarch. However, it adds a unique aroma and so is worth tracking down and sourcing for this recipe.
Kashta, the filling for these savory triangles, is a homemade version of ricotta cheese commonly used in pastries and desserts in Palestinian and other regional kitchens.
Israel’s late first lady Nechama Rivlin learned this classic Sephardic recipe from the family of her husband, Israel’s 10th president, Reuven Rivlin.
Written down over decades, Nechama Rivlin’s collection of recipes has over 50 cheesecake recipes. This one’s best made a day before serving.
Coarsely chopped and liberally dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, this salad was a favorite of Israel’s late first lady Nechama Rivlin.
Lemon meringue pie, with its finely balanced sweet-sour flavor and creamy custard filling, was one of Nechama Rivlin’s favorite desserts.
Seasonal fruit baked with a crunchy crumb topping is the perfect dessert — particularly for new bakers and those short on time.
You can use this as a spread on toast or as a condiment alongside a meat dish or blue cheese, or alternatively in a marinade for baked white fish.
Sweet and sour, this curd is perfect as a tart filling. The recipe is easily adaptable to other varieties of citrus.
Chef Erez Komarovsky reinvents the yekke potato salad, using freshly-made mayonnaise, mustard, and fresh hyssop leaves in place of dill.
In this new interpretation of the beloved tabbouleh salad from Muzna Bishara, the bulgur is replaced with local freekeh.
White bean masabacha, a regular feature of new Israeli cooking, is a captivating combination of Middle Eastern technique and Balkan flavors.
Nechama Rivlin’s vegetarian (and kosher) adaptation of the classic French quiche Lorraine is a favorite of President Reuven Rivlin.
Chef Erez Komarovsky shakes off the dust from the buckwheat and prepares a dish inspired by the local and regional mujadara.
