Oren, page 3
FRIED CAULIFLOWER FLORETS WITH TAHINI AND GRATED TOMATOES
You’ll find this served in a lot of seafood restaurants in Tel Aviv, as it makes a great side dish for fish. I like to serve this straight away, when it’s hot and freshly cooked. It’s great as part of a mezze spread, as it’s perfect for sharing. Grating the tomatoes maximises their flavour while minimising excess liquid giving a concentrated taste that sits perfectly with the tahini here.
Serves 4
3 large tomatoes
sea salt
1 large cauliflower, separated into small (2–3 cm/¾–1¼ in) florets
500 ml (17 fl oz/generous 2 cups) vegetable oil, for frying
150 g (5½ oz) Classic Tahini or shop-bought
25 g (1 oz) flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
Grate the tomatoes on the coarse side of a cheese grater and transfer to a fine sieve. Strain until there is no liquid in the tomatoes and season to taste with salt.
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a tablespoon of salt. Add the florets and cook for 3–4 minutes, then drain and leave in the colander with the stems facing up until completely dry.
Heat the oil in a deep-frying pan (skillet) to 180°C (360°F). Gently transfer a small batch of the florets into the hot oil and fry for 5–6 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with paper and continue with the rest and sprinkle with salt while hot.
Arrange the fried cauliflower florets on a plate, drizzle with the tahini and scatter with grated tomatoes and the chopped parsley.
CHOPPED ROMAINE LETTUCE WITH RADISHES, SPRING ONION, DILL AND TAHINI
This is a very refreshing salad, with such a great combination of flavours. It can be enjoyed as a starter or a side served with meat or fish, but I’ll gladly eat a bowlful on its own. You only want to use the white crunchy part of the Romaine lettuce here – you don’t need the green outer leaves. Submerging the lettuce in ice-cold water really brings out the crispiness, but do make sure you drain it well in the salad spinner, as nobody wants a soggy salad. Follow every stage of this recipe closely to make this dish sing.
Serves 4
2 large romaine lettuce hearts (only the white part)
4 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced (using the whole length of the onions)
25 g (1 oz) dill, finely chopped
1 large red radish (or any other spicy/sharp radish), cut into thin strips
25 ml (¾ fl oz) extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
sea salt
100 g (3½ oz) Classic Tahini or shop-bought
Separate the romaine lettuce leaves from the stem and place in a bowl with ice-cold water for 15 minutes.
Using a salad spinner, dry out the lettuce, then cut it into thin strips with a sharp knife and place in a mixing bowl. Add the spring onions, dill and radish. Drizzle with the olive oil and lemon juice, season with salt and toss gently.
Spread the tahini on a plate then arrange the salad on top.
CRISPY SARDINES WITH GREEN TAHINI
This green tahini is simple to make, but it’s definitely not subtle. With lots of fresh green herbs, garlic and lemon, it’s pungent and has a real kick. It pairs really well with crunchy fried food, and can stand up to the bold flavours of these crispy sardines. It would also work well with squid.
Tip: make sure your frying oil is up to temperature before adding the fish to get that nice crispy finish.
Serves 4
500 ml (17 fl oz/generous 2 cups) vegetable oil, for frying
6 sardines, gutted and scaled (80 g/2¾ oz each)
lemon wedges, to serve
For the green tahini
50 g (1¾ oz) Classic Tahini or shop-bought
35 ml (1¼ fl oz) cold water
1 garlic clove, finely grated
juice of ½ lemon
2 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro)
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
For the seasoned flour
250 g (9 oz/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
6 g (¼ oz) cornflour (cornstarch)
5 g (¼ oz) sea salt
¼ teaspoon crushed black pepper
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Note
The seasoned flour makes too much for the recipe, but it makes it easier to coat the sardines.
To make the green tahini, combine the tahini and herbs in a bowl. Add the lemon juice and season with salt to taste.
For the seasoned flour, combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
Heat the oil in a saucepan to 180°C (360°F). Dip the sardines in water then transfer to the seasoned flour and coat the fish with flour, pressing the flour on the fish with your hands. The sardines should be completely coated with flour. Gently drop the fish into the hot oil and fry for about 2 minutes until crispy and golden. (Do not overcrowd the pan – fry in batches if necessary.) Fry the sardines for 2 minutes, until golden. Transfer the fried fish to a tray lined with paper towel and sprinkle with sea salt flakes. Serve with the green tahini and lemon wedges.
AGED BEEF ONGLET WITH TAHINI AND ROAST CHILLI HARISSA
This is a great example of letting good ingredients speak for themselves, and the combination of flavours here is delicious. Onglet is quite a rich cut, almost offally in flavour due to its iron content, so it really is best cooked over charcoal, where the smoky coals can enhance its natural flavour. I used to serve it in the restaurant on a big skewer, with lots of tahini and chilli harissa on the side.
Serves 2 as a main; 4 as a starter
350 g (12 oz) aged onglet, cut into 2 cm (¾ in) pieces
sea salt
50 g (1¾ oz) Classic Tahini or shop-bought
For the roast chilli harissa
4 mild red chillies (50 g/1¾ oz)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Preheat a charcoal grill.
Either wooden or metal skewers can be used. If using wooden skewers, start by soaking the wooden skewers overnight in water, to prevent them from burning. Alternatively, use metal skewers, which don’t need to be soaked.
To make the harissa, roast the chillies over an open flame (either gas or barbecue), until blackened all over, then set aside to cool. Peel and discard the skin and finely chop the flesh of the chillies, keeping the seeds. Combine the chillies with the garlic, oil and salt.
Thread the meat onto skewers and season generously with salt. Grill the onglet skewers for about 3 minutes on each side – the onglet is best eaten medium rare.
Serve with tahini and roast chilli harissa.
If you go to a market in Israel, among the jars of different kinds of pickles, you’ll find huge jars of preserved lemons. They’re a key ingredient and are used in everything from sandwiches and salads to marinades. Home cooks use them to bring out the flavours in stuffed vegetables and koftas, or add them to stocks to impart their unique taste. You only need a small amount – if you use too much, the flavour can be overpowering, changing the balance of the whole recipe. Used sparingly, they bring complex structure to a dish, adding an extraordinary depth of flavour.
Note: The longer they sit in the preserving jar, the sweeter they become – a one-month preserved lemon will have a different flavour to one that has been preserved for four or five months. The older ones will be almost like a jam, and you can use the whole thing, but if you’re using a younger preserved lemon, be sure to discard the pulp, as it will be bitter.
PRESERVED LEMONS
You can, of course, buy preserved lemons, but I think they taste much better if you make them yourself. It’s a very simple process – you simply salt the lemons, then layer them in jars with garlic, bay leaves and lemon juice. After that, you need only time and patience – they should be left to ferment for at least two months. I’ve given instructions for sliced preserved lemons, which is quicker than leaving them whole.
Makes 3 litre (34 fl oz/4 cups) jar
200 g (7 oz) rock salt
10 unwaxed lemons, washed and cut into 2 cm (¾ in)-thick slices
10 garlic cloves, bashed
10 bay leaves
250 ml (8½ fl oz/1 cup) lemon juice
Tip the salt onto a flat tray then tap the lemon slices in the salt on each side. Arrange the salted lemon slices in sterilised jars, layering the garlic and bay leaves between the lemon slices. Cover the lemons with the lemon juice and seal the jar, making sure that the lemon slices are covered with juice. Set on a shelf away from direct sunlight and leave to ferment for at least 2 months. Once open, the preserved lemons keep well in the refrigerator for 6 months or more.
FRESH BROAD BEANS WITH SLOW-ROAST TOMATOES AND PRESERVED LEMON
Pure, green, refreshing – delicious. This takes a bit of effort, but the end result is so worth it: the perfect spring dish, celebrating fresh ingredients. The freshness is really key here, so I wouldn’t attempt to make it with frozen broad (fava) beans. And take care not to overcook them: you really want to keep that crunch and freshness. The preserved lemons add an umami and depth to the clean flavours, giving the dish a kick and providing complexity. I like this served warm or at room temperature, not necessarily piping hot.
The quantities here will make more broth than you need for this recipe, but the leftovers make a great base for a soup or any stock-based dish. The broth can be frozen for up to three months.
Serves 4
1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) fresh broad (fava) beans, podded
50 g (1¾ oz) Preserved Lemon, roughly chopped
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
oregano, leaves only, chopped, to garnish
For the vegetable stock
1 white onion, peeled and cut into 2 cm (¾ in) chunks
2 celery stalks, washed and cut into 2 cm (¾ in) chunks
1 large leek, washed and cut into 2 cm (¾ in) chunks
1 medium fennel bulb, washed and cut into 2 cm (¾ in) chunks
2 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon allspice berries
4 litres (135 fl oz/17 cups) water
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
For the slow-roast tomatoes
2 large, ripe tomatoes
4 sprigs of thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
To make the vegetable broth, put the vegetables in a stockpot with the rest of the ingredients. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat so the broth is simmering. Simmer for 1½–2 hours, until you get 250 ml (8½ fl oz) of liquid, then strain.
To make the slow-roast tomatoes, preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F/gas 2). Cut each tomato into six pieces and place in a mixing bowl with the thyme sprigs, a pinch of salt and pepper, and olive oil. Toss gently and place on an oven tray lined with baking parchment. Roast in the oven for about 1½ hours, or until the tomatoes have shrunken by a third, have a deep red colour and are slightly charred.
Prepare a bowl of iced water. Bring a small saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the podded beans and cook for 45 seconds, then transfer to the bowl of iced water. Remove the thick grey skin around the beans by squeezing them with your fingers.
Reheat the vegetable stock, then add the beans, preserved lemon, a couple of tablespoons of oil and warm for 1–2 minutes.
Place in serving bowls, top with the slow-roast tomatoes, oregano leaves and drizzle with some more olive oil.
HOMEMADE GRAVLAX WITH LABNEH AND PRESERVED LEMON
I’ve been making this recipe for 20 years, and it’s a bit of a playful take on the classic flavour combination of smoked salmon, cream cheese and lemon. Here, we use labneh and preserved lemon for richer, rounder flavours, and the cure is floral and fragrant, giving a very different result to your average gravlax. It’s rewarding to make and feels a bit special, so it’s an ideal dish to serve when you have guests. You will need to allow 36–48 hours for curing.
Serves 8–10
1.8 kg (4 lb) side of salmon
100 g (3½ oz) dill, finely chopped, to garnish
200 g (7 oz) Labneh
50 g (1¾ oz) Preserved Lemon, roughly chopped
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
For the cure
250 g (9 oz/1¼ cups) caster (superfine) sugar
250 g (9 oz) coarse sea salt
10 g (¼ oz) green cardamom pods, crushed
15 g (½ oz) fennel seeds
20 g (¾ oz) sweet paprika
Combine all the ingredients for the salmon cure in a mixing bowl until well incorporated. Lay the side of salmon, skin-side down, in a deep tray and cover it with the cure mixture. Cover with cling film (plastic wrap) and place in the refrigerator for 36–48 hours, depending on the thickness of the fish and how dry you want it to be.
Rinse the fish with cold water and pat dry with a clean cloth or kitchen towel. Cover with the chopped dill a couple of hours before serving and cut into 2 mm (1/16 in)-thick slices. Serve with a dollop of labneh, preserved lemon and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Once cured, the gravlax will keep for 2 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
FISH KEBABS WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND TZATZIKI
I’ve been making this recipe for fifteen years, maybe more, and it remains a firm favourite. Whenever we put it on the menu at the restaurant, it sells really fast. Unlike fish cakes, these kebabs contain no egg, flour or breadcrumbs as a binding agent, and people often ask how the mixture holds together. The secret is in the ‘slapping’ process used when mixing, so don’t be tempted to skip this step. We grill the kebabs over charcoal for a lovely smokiness, but they can be made in a frying pan (skillet) or griddle pan. The tzatziki adds a clean element that sits perfectly with the robust flavours of the fish kebabs.
Hake works really well for this dish, but most firm white fish would do. The most important thing is that the fish must be super fresh.
Serves 3
For the fish kebabs
350 g (12 oz) filleted hake, cut into 5 mm (¼ in) dice
130 g (4½ oz) white onion, finely chopped
30 g (1 oz) flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
30 g (1 oz) coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
30 g (1 oz) Preserved Lemon, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon sea salt
10 g (¼ oz) olive oil, plus extra for grilling and drizzling
For the tzatziki
200 g (7 oz) cucumber
2 garlic cloves
250 g (9 oz) Labneh
sea salt
juice of ½ lemon
Combine the diced fish, onion, chopped herbs and preserved lemon in a mixing bowl. Add the spices, preserved lemons, salt and the olive oil. Mix with your hands in a ‘slapping’ movement by grabbing the mixture and slapping it against the inside of the bowl repeatedly until it starts to come together (this will add elasticity to the mixture and give the fish a better texture once cooked). Form into 50 g (1¾ oz) kebabs/cylinders and transfer to the refrigerator to cool for a couple of hours.
Preheat a charcoal grill (or you can use a griddle pan). Rub the kebabs with olive oil and grill for 2–3 minutes on each side or until the kebabs have firmed up and are cooked through.
For the tzatziki, finely chop the cucumbers and squeeze them to lose any excess liquids. Finely grate the garlic, add all the ingredients to the bowl and season with lemon juice and salt if needed.
Serve with a generous dollop of tzatziki and drizzle with olive oil.
GRILLED TAMWORTH PORK CHOP WITH CHARRED GARLIC AND PRESERVED LEMON
This recipe means a lot to me. When I was a child, my dad took me to a fifty-year-old steakhouse in Tel Aviv, where they served their grilled pork chops smothered in crushed raw garlic. The menus at these types of steakhouses have such broad influences; an aubergine (eggplant) salad with Romanian heritage sits alongside hummus that has been made in the same small village just outside of the city for fifty years, and for dessert, you’ll find German Bavarian cream – for me, this is exactly what the food of Tel Aviv is all about.
You need to choose a good-quality, free-range, rare-breed pork for this dish. If you can’t get Tamworth chops, ask your butcher for advice on what to use.
Serves 2
450 g (1 lb) Tamworth pork chop (or other free-range pork chop)
10 g (¼ oz) Preserved Lemon, roughly chopped
sea salt
For the confit garlic
4 whole garlic bulbs
200 ml (7 fl oz/scant 1 cup) olive oil
2 bay leaves
10 g (½ oz) thyme sprigs
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas 3). To make the confit garlic, cut 5 mm (¼ in) from the bottom of the garlic bulbs and lay them on a roasting tray (pan) cut-side down. Pour the olive oil over the garlic, add the bay leaves and thyme, covered the tray with foil, and roast in the oven for 20–25 minutes until the garlic is slightly browned. Remove from the oven, let the garlic cool down, then squeeze the cloves out of their skins and cover with the olive oil and herbs. The garlic will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator in a sealed jar, covered with oil.
