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MANILA, Philippines – Falafel, tahini, hummus, couscous, shakshouka, bourekitas
These are just some of the dishes in the galaxy of Israeli food many Filipinos still have not explored.
Last February 28, Rappler got to taste the best of Israeli gastronomy at an event organized by the Embassy of Israel that welcomed two female Israeli foodies to Manila.
Michal Ansky, a gorgeous blonde with piercing dark eyes, is a famous TV and radio host who serves as judge for “Master Chef Israel.” She previously hosted her own weekly cooking show on the Israeli Food Channel.
Ruthie Rousso, who upon closer inspection is not Winona Ryder, is a food columnist and judge at the Israeli version of “Iron Chef.” She is also a certified chef from the French Culinary Institute (now International Culinary Center) in New York, one of the best cooking schools in the world.
The taste of Israel
Ruthie began Israel Cuisine 101 by telling Rappler how her country’s cuisine is “based on a melting pot of traditions from all over the world.”
“It is very affected by the Mediterranean countries of Europe: the French Riviera, the Italy coast, Greece, Cyprus. But it translates it into Hebrew which is, from my point of view, you take the volume and make it stronger.
“When I go to Italy, Cyprus or France, I eat the same dishes but in Israel they would be much more intense, more flavorful, more colorful.”
The tables of swanky Restaurant 9501 in Quezon City were bedecked with exotic Israeli cuisine, all cooked and prepared by Ruthie and Michal.
The meal began with a creamy, bitter serving of grilled eggplant served on tahini with chili peppers and tomatoes.
Spicy carrot salad was up next with strips of carrot steeped in a tangy, salty, lemon-infused dressing.
Right away, diners got the idea that Israeli gastronomy revolves around vegetables. This is one of the reasons why Israeli food is so palatable.
“Street food in Israel is probably one of the best in the world,” said Ruthie.
“It’s very healthy, it’s based on fresh produce, it’s not fried. It has lots of vegetables, lots of greens, everything is fresh. We have falafel which is fried but you always get a fresh-chopped salad with it.”
Less adventurous Filipinos can try the more familiar Israeli dishes such as shawarma (made of pit-roasted lamb, chicken or beef served with tomato, cucumber, tahini, hummus) and bourekitas.
Bourekitas look like empanadas. They are sweet cheese-filled pastry triangles that are particularly refreshing to munch on after salads.
First on the main course lined up was shawarma salad with strips of beef mixed in with cilantro and thinly sliced red onion.
Filipinos who scarf down calamares will be happy to know that Israelis have their own spicier version: crispy calamari in spicy red sauce. Like our version, Israeli calamari is fried in flour but dipped in a tangier sauce that refreshes the tongue from the oily taste.
Next on the main course was lamb kebab with grilled tomatoes which you ate with an ultra-chewy, pillow-puffy pita.
Dessert was composed of liquid delicacies rather than pastries.
There was a novel-tasting custard topped with pistachios, roasted nuts, coconut and rose water. The creaminess of the custard was pleasantly anchored by the taste and texture of the nuts.
Refreshing yogurt ice cream rounded up the filling meal with the round sweetness of honey and a sprinkling of spices giving a pleasant contrast to the sourness of the yogurt.
Street food haven
Like any country, Israel has also embraced cuisine from generations and generations of immigrants from all over the world.
This gamut of international cuisine in Israel has added color and taste to the Israeli food scene.
“I would look for one of the small restaurants that serve traditional immigrants’ food,” recommended Ruthie.
“For example, there are traditional Moroccan restaurants that serve Jewish-Moroccan food also adapted to Israel. We have lots of Chinese food and sushi places.”
In fact, according to Ruthie, Tel Aviv is the second country in the world, after New York, with the most number of sushi restaurants per capita.
“Just on my street, there are already 6 or 7 restaurants,” laughed Ruthie.
But she cautioned, “They make it really, really bad. I think Japanese would jump out of the roof if they knew how bad they serve it!”
Throughout the night, Ruthie and Michal went from table to table asking everyone how they liked the food. The diners were unanimous in their declarations that the food was “unparalleled.”
The two chefs smiled a lot that night. Nothing tasted better than a mission accomplished. – Rappler.com
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