Starting this week, we've decided to kick off the hunt for Delicious Israel's 2014 Hummus Hotspot award winner. Having opened its doors in 1937, we thought it would be appropriate to kick off our search at the grandfather of Tel Aviv's hummus dives, Shlomo & Doron.
Delicious Israel's Nicole Small visits Tel Aviv's Cafe Xoho to experience the café’s first-ever private dining event in order to introduce a new addition to their menu, Papa G’s Pasta.
Yemenite Lahoh (Lachoch)
One package flour
Pot of Water
½ tbsp fenugreek
1 tbsp yeast
Instructions:
1. Mix ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add water (one cup at a time) in stages and mix until entirely smooth and there are no longer any lumps. Cover mixture with a towel and let rise for approximately one hour (check to see if the mixture has risen, if not, let rise for longer)
2. Heat pan with a tablespoon of oil until very hot. Drain oil and wipe inside of pan with a paper towel.
3. Pour water over the back of the pan (steams the pan and keeps the lahoh from sticking.)
4. Pour ladle full of lahoh mixture into pan. When small bubbles form throughout (like a pancake), remove the lahoh from heat and let cool for 15 minutes.
5. Before ladling next round of the lahoh dough, pour water over the back of the pan again to create steam.
6. Serve with tehini, grated tomato and schug.
Schug (Spicy cilantro spread)
Ingredients:
10 whole jalepeno peppers (depending on your desired level of heat)
One bunch of Cilantro
6 Garlic cloves
Instructions:
1. Place ingredients in a blender and blend until mostly smooth, but small chunks are still visible.
2. Enjoy with lahoh recipe.
Easy peazy - the little ones can help make the lahoh!
Ingredients:
· 6-8 medium size tomatoes cut up into pieces
· ½ white onion finely chopped
· ½ jalapeno pepper deseeded and chopped (can be adjusted based on preference of spice level)
· 1 garlic clove finely chopped
· 1 tsp. salt
· 1 tsp. pepper
· Pinch of sugar
· 5-6 eggs
· ½ cup of bulgarit cheese (or other cheese of your choice)
· 2 tblp. Olive oil
· 1 handful of chopped parsley
1. Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook for a several minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the
tomatoes, pepper, salt, pepper and sugar and stir for several minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 10-15 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
2. Crack the eggs evenly over the sauce and make sure to spread the egg whites either by tilting the pan or distributing with a spoon, making sure now to disturb the yolks. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until the eggs reach your desired consistency.
3. Top with herbs and cheese of your choice!
Shakshuka!!
On a recent spontaneous trip down to Eilat, I used my Facebook for some crowd-sourcing on where to eat in Eilat. It was a quite unimpressive selection and left me wondering, is there anywhere good to eat down on our Red Sea vacation coast or is it a culinary black hole (like the Dead Sea).
Although I did find one place that sounded like the quality level of restaurant I was hoping to find, I learned from the lovely owners Inbar and Lior, that Hamasger 5 would be closed by the time we arrived to Eilat and is not open on Friday nights or Saturday. I hope to make it there on a future trip (if I end up going to Eilat again, which is debatable).
Left with some of the more basic recommendations, we decided to try out La Cuccina - an Eilat institution - for some Italian cooking. The head chef, Tomer, was busy in a heated kitchen as the tourist season in Eilat was well under way and the Italian dining room was fully packed.
As I love to eat many things, in small form, I am always a proponent of Antipasti, which in this case was a great choice. A plate of flavorful vegetables and cheeses, including grilled artichoke, goat cheese ball, mushrooms, and cauliflower, is a simple way to open up the appetite. Wanting to taste the range of what La Cuccina's kitchen offers, we tasted some seafood and pasta dishes, the best of which was the pan seared fillet of sea bream, served with fettuccine, artichoke and mushrooms.
After filling up on some seriously hearty carbs, we had no room left for dessert, though our neighbors tiramisu looked quite good - will save that one for next time!
