Category: Lunch

Jerusalem Hummus In Jars

I’ve got to hand this one to a favorite person and a favorite cookbook: Naomi Nachman, and “Zahav“, respectively. Naomi is a foodie friend who’s not quite at my stage in life. She just married off her first child and her youngest is about the age of my oldest. Naomi might be older but she’s got more energy than my five kids put together! She’s always the life of the party and her foodie calendar puts me to shame. She just wrapped her first cookbook, Perfect for Pesach, which I was lucky enough to get some sneak peeks behind the scenes (and test some of the amazing recipes!). She runs a Pesach catering business, a “Chopped” themed party service, writes for various publications and even has her own radio show, Table for Two on the Nachum Segal Network. I love Naomi’s positive energy and I’m proud to call her a friend.

Recently, Naomi managed to squeeze in a trip to Israel amid her crazy hectic schedule, and she brought me back some Hawaj from the shuk. I’d never tried hawaj before, but I knew that there were two types of the Yemenite spice blend – one for soup and one for coffee. The spice was so potent (everything from the shuk always is!) that my whole kitchen smelled of it, even through the Ziploc bag! I wanted to make the most of the spice so I thought about how I could use it to really let it shine. And it hit me – hummus basar!

I had never made meat hummus before, or any REAL hummus from scratch and I was excited to try! I went to the holy grail of Israeli cookbooks, “Zahav” to find the perfect recipe and of course Michael Solomonov’s did not disappoint. What I love so much about Zahav is that every recipe is approachable, and unlike some of the other cookbooks on Middle Eastern cuisine, Zahav is the least bit pretentious. The hummus I made from the book was by the far the best one I had ever tasted and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to store-bought. It is just a whole ‘nother ballgame.

What I learned from Solomonov is that hummus is so much more about the quality of the tahini than it is about the chickpeas. I always thought of hummus as a chickpea spread, but no. It’s a silky-smooth-sesame chickpea spread that will knock your socks off. You start by preparing silky smooth tahini that involves a brilliant garlic hack that I won’t share (buy the cookbook to find out what it is!). Then you take that tahini perfection and add loads of it to butter-soft chickpeas. Oh. My. God. is it good.

Zahav’s hummus recipe is a two step process, but I’ve simplified it here into one. I would definitely encourage you to try the original recipe at least once, but this makes a pretty good substitute. And please do me a favor and don’t put the amazingly pungent and flavorful hawaj-spiced beef over store-bought hummus because that’s like serving homemade shortcakes with canned whipped cream. Just no. And if  you’re feeling up to the task, try Zahav’s pita recipe and bake ’em up in mini to go along with these Jerusalem hummus jars. There’s really nothing quite like homemade pita to go along with homemade hummus.  I’ve made the recipe a few times already and it is super simple and incredibly delicious!

If this post hasn’t already compelled you to buy the cookbook, here’s an excerpt of a review I wrote after I got it:

“Michael brings the beauty of Israeli culture and cuisine to the forefront without the bells and whistles. He lets the food stand on it’s own, humble and beautiful, with clear, easy to fllow recipes that dont require millions of ingredients. And he’s not cheffy about it either….This guy isn’t cooking Israeli food because it’s trendy, he’s just doing what he loves and it comes through on every page. Even though he himself is not kosher….he acknowledges that the rules of kosher define the boundaries of Israeli cuisine and keeps all the recipe in the book (and in his restaurant) free of shellfish, pork and mixing milk and meat. In a culture that thinks that you have to be “treif” to be cool (especially so if you are Jewish), this man has my total respect). ”

Of course this Hummus Basar was made in jars in the spirit of Purim, but feel free to make this recipe and serve Israeli style, in a big bowl with lots of fresh pita for dipping! You can also make the hawaj beef and serve it over rice, it makes for a delicious side dish!

Jerusalem Hummus in Jars

Hummus

1 cup dried chickpeas
2 tsp baking soda, divided
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1 cup good quality tahini paste (stir thoroughly before using, as oil and solids tend to separate)
3/4 cup ice water

Add the chickpeas and 1 tsp baking soda to a large bowl and cover with a few inches of water. Soak overnight.

Drain the chickpeas and rinse. Add chickpeas and remaining teaspoon of baking soda to a pot and cover with a few inches of water. Bring to a boil and skim any scum that rises to the surface of the water. Reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for one hour, until soft and tender. Drain well.

Add the garlic, lemon juice, salt, cumin and tahini to the bowl of a food processor with the S blade attached. Puree the mixture, and while the machine is running, pour the ice water through the feeding tube. Blend until the mixture is very smooth.

Add the drained chickpeas and continue to blend until creamy. Adjust seasoning,, adding more salt, cumin or lemon, if desired.

Hawaj Spiced Beef

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 tsp hawaj for soup
kosher salt, to taste
1/4 cup pine nuts
handful of fresh parsley, chopped
pita chips or homemade pita, for serving

Heat olive oil in a skillet and add the onions. Saute until translucent. Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue to saute until all the moisture from the mushrooms evaporates and they begin to brown. Add the hawaj and stir until incorporated and the mixture is fragrant. Add the beef and salt and cook until crumbly and no longer pink.

Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat, or in the oven at 375 degrees, until browned.

To assemble the jars, fill a piping bag with hummus and fill about 1/3 of the jar. Top with beef, pine nuts and parsley. Alternatively, you may spread the hummus out in a large bowl and top with spiced beef, pine nuts and parsley.

NOTE: Hawaj is a yemenite spice blend. There are two types of hawaj – for soup and for coffee. Make sure to use only hawaj for soup. You can make your own with this recipe.

VARIATION: If you don’t have hawaj for soup, you may use shawarma spice, Jerusalem spice, or baharat.

YIELD: 8-10 8oz. jars. (I used these jars)

Related Recipes:

chestnut hummus with herbed pita chips
roasted garlic hummus with everything pita chips
chicken shawarma
farro grain bowl with Jerusalem pargiot
sweet tahini dip

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Avocado Toast with Cheesy Scrambled Eggs

I used to hate scrambled eggs. And I mean hate. When my husband would cook them in the morning, I literally had to leave the house because the smell was too much for me. Runny eggs were my thing, especially in shakshuka, or sunny-side-up with a side of hash browns. Until, that is,  I learned to cook them.

Rubbery scrambled eggs are enough to turn you off for a very long time. But when you learn to keep those curds moist and creamy – not only will you want to eat them – you’ll also find that they don’t actually smell. Smelly eggs are a byproduct of eggs that are overdone. I learned that when I took over the egg cookery (and am reminded of it whenever I sleep in and my husband takes over!)

There’s something else that got me onto scrambled eggs, and that’s cheese! A small handful of mozzarella keeps the eggs super moist and adds a delicious gooey cheesiness that is pure breakfast glory. This has truly become my favorite breakfast.

My husband and I are also converted sourdough snobs, so spreading those creamy curds over some hearty toast with a dose of buttery avocado just can’t get any better. Of course I don’t eat these every day, because lets face it, I don’t eat breakfast every day. But I’d eat this if I did! I know this breakfast looks kinda fancy and intimidating here, but that’s just thanks to my good styling ;) , these toasts only take a couple of minutes to put together.

If you’re feeling up to taking your egg game to the next level, here’s the best advice I can give you: make you sure you use a nonstick skillet and a silicone spatula. If you want to get those deliciously moist and creamy curds, you’ve got to be able to sweep the eggs across the pan, and for that, you need the slippery nonstick surface.

I hope you give these a try! Let me know how it goes!

Avocado Toast with Cheesy Scrambled Eggs

2 slices sourdough bread
1 avocado
fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 eggs
handful of shredded mozzarella cheese
splash of whole milk or cream
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
pat of butter or cooking spray
fresh arugula, sauteed spinach or kale, or greens of choice
sriracha, for garnish
black sesame seeds, for garnish

Method:

Toast bread, if desired.

Mash the avocado with a fork and season, to taste, with lemon and salt. Spread the mashed avocado over the toast.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a splash of milk, salt and pepper. Add shredded cheese.

Heat a skillet over low-medium heat and add the butter or cooking spray. Pour in the eggs, and after giving it a few seconds to set, begin moving it around with a rubber spatula. Keep moving the eggs over the heat until they start to form curds, 1-2 minutes. Remove the eggs from the heat when they are still wet, as the heat of the pan will finish cooking them.

Divide the eggs between the toasts and top with sriracha and sesame seeds. Serve with greens of choice.

Related Recipes:

scrambled hard boiled eggs
Purim deviled eggs
poached egg and avocado toast

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Mexishuka (Mexican Quinoa Shakshuka)

If a food could be my spirit animal, that food would be shakshuka. It’s versatile. Colorful. Sweet. Spicy. Photogenic. And oh. so. delicious. Don’t we all just want to be like shakshuka?

Well I’ll tell you what. We all want to at least be like a decently cooked one. I was reminiscing about my seminary days in Israel recently, and I was telling my Shabbat guests about the foods they used to serve us. This dish of rubbery eggs cooked in tomato sauce came back to me, and I finally realized, so many years later, that that was my first shakshuka experience. And what a bad one it was!

I don’t know why our Israeli chef couldn’t make a decent pot of the stuff. Maybe it’s because he was making it on a larger scale. Or maybe he was afraid of giving us salmonella. But those eggs…man where they rubbery. I think it was everyone’s least favorite lunch. Whenever shakshuka was served, we’d fill our bowls with Israeli soup croutons and eat them like cereal and milk, with just a splash of soup. It’s no wonder I put on 15 pounds that year!

Fast forward many years (I won’t date myself!) and I was eating at some Israeli restaurant. I went for the shuka and I was hooked. I forgot all about my rubbery egg days and the rest is history! I’ve been putting my own twists on the classic Israeli dish ever since.

I’m not so sure the Israelis would back me up on my varied interpretations of shakshuka, they’re purists when it comes to their food. They like their hummus straight up with tahini, their falafel without the fanfare, and their lemonana with strictly lemon and mint. Of course I go and trash up all their traditions with things like chestnut hummus, falafel latkes and strawberry limonana but that’s just my thang.

I’ve done the shakshuka thing in so many different variations. I cooked it up with a matbucha base, always make my quick and easy marinara base, I even stuffed it into a portobello, and tried a lightened up version with spaghetti squash. There was also the chickpea one, the zoodle one, and that beet and goat cheese one that Amy guest posted after my baby was born. So yes, I’ve rode that shakshuka train to breakfast glory and back! But THIS. This is next-level shakshuka. This is the best. freakin. shakshuka. I. have. ever. eaten.

When I started cooking this dish, I was pleasantly surprised to see how easily adaptable the Israeli flavors were to Mexican cuisine, where cumin and chili peppers play a pivotal role. I threw in some chili powder, jalapenos and black beans, but the real star is the quinoa. It makes this dish so hearty, you don’t even need to eat it with pita (oh yes I said it. No pita. Please don’t come after me Israeli food police).

I was putting the finishing touches on this dish when my husband surprised me by coming home in between meetings. I was so happy I had what to feed him, and he just kept coming back for more because it’s just. that. good. We polished off this skillet in no time and I’m already dreaming about making it again.

As for the bygone shakshuka of my past, I’m happy to say I have mastered the art of the perfect runny-egg shakshuka. May those rubbery eggs rest in peace.

In the meantime, I’m already dreaming up another shakshuka variation. I’m thinking something picante with eggplant. What do you say?

Have you ever put a fun spin on shakshuka? What’s you favorite version? Share it with me in the comments below!

Have an eggscellent day!

Mexishuka (Mexican Quinoa Shakshuka)

1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1/2 large red pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, seeds and veins removed, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 heaping tbsp tomato paste
1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup vegetable stock
salt and pepper, to taste
5 eggs
1/2 cup feta cheese
handful of cilantro

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the onion, peppers and garlic. Saute until the onion is golden and tender. Add the cumin, smoked paprika and chili powder and cook until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and continue to saute for a minute or so. Add the canned tomatoes with their juices, the black beans and the quinoa and stir to combine. Add the vegetable stock, salt and pepper and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat, cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes, until the quinoa is cooked through. Using a spoon, create five wells in the sauce and carefully fill them with eggs. Cover the pan and cook over medium heat until the whites have set but the yolks are still runny, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle crumbled feta over the eggs and garnish with cilantro.


Related Recipes:

quick and easy shakshuka
portobello shakshuka
spaghetti squash shakshuka
garbanzo bean shakshuka
zoodle shakshuka
beet, kale and goat cheese shakshuka

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How to Build a Fish Board

Food boards are all the rage right now and I’ve been drooling all over them! You can find cheese boards that spread out for miles, charcuterie boards at restaurants and smoked fish boards at cafes.

I recently set up a charcuterie board for my husband’s birthday, and cheese boards are a regular appetizer at my Chanukah and Shavuot meals, so this year, I decided to do something a little different.

Thanks to the Jewish food trend, old world favorites are making a comeback, along with herring, smoked fish and of course, bagels.  I was inspired by some of the foodie posts I’ve seen, noshing at the newly opened Russ & Daughters at The Jewish Museum, as well as Lox at The Museum of Jewish Heritage. Who knew smoked fish would ever be in fashion?!

I’ve also been reading The Gefilte Manifesto by Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alern of The Gefilteria, who’s well-researched book highlights the history and process of so many old world Jewish foods. Their book is a mix of both classic recipes and modern interpretations, many of which I had never even heard of (Kvass, anyone?). The book is a real eye opener into Jewish food history and I highly recommend it!

Speaking of the trend towards Jewish food, I have to mention that, while it’s amazing to see all these books and restaurants popularizing Jewish foods, it’s painful to see that the “kosher” concept is all but ignored. Over the past several months, I was invited to two separate events which featured the history of Kosher food – one of which was a book talk and tasting discussing the journey of kosher food through the modern food system, and yet, ironically, the food served was not actually kosher. Another such event payed homage to Jewish culture and cuisine and yet was not either kosher. I get it, believe me, not everyone who is Jewish keeps kosher. But if an organization or a museum is putting together an event that is specifically about the history of KOSHER food, how can they serve food that is NONkosher??

This is something that bothers me to my core. And not because if I go to these events, I won’t have what to eat. It’s because the very act of serving nonkosher food dismisses one of the basic principles of Jewish food. As Michael Solomov, the Israeli chef, writes in his cookbook, Zahav, “Plenty of Israelis eat treyf these days….But at Zahav, and in this book, we choose to honor the spirit of a few fundamental rules of kosher cooking…..The reason is simple: Kosher rules help define the boundaries of Israeli cuisine.”

Now I’m not judging anyone who doesn’t keep kosher. To each his own. But as we celebrate Chanukah, I’m reminded of the Hellenists, who stripped themselves of their Jewishness to become like their cultured Greek neighbors and friends. Jewish food is more than just a cultural thing. Kosher is part of it’s history and tradition. Dismissing the kosher aspect is both disrespectful and historically inaccurate. The very reason that many traditional Jewish foods exist today, is due to the need that our ancestors had to follow the kosher guidelines. I would love to see that acknowledged in the world of Jewish cuisine.

So, now that I finally got that off my chest, lets get back to the food, shall we? Nothing makes me think of old world Jewish food more than smoked fish. (Herring too, but I won’t go near that stuff!). In honor of Chanukah, I decided to share my take on an endless fish spread with some gourmet toppings. I hope it inspires you to put out a board of your own.

Happy Chanukah!

How to Build a Fish Board

assorted smoked fish
assorted gravlax
fish jerky
fish pate and/or caviar
sourdough, bagels and/or crackers
fresh dill
green and black olives
capers
pickles or cornichons
savory chutney or jam
pickled onions (recipe follows)
dijon and whole grain mustard
good quality olive oil
sliced cucumbers
tomatoes
finishing salt

Method:

Start by picking a focal point. I used the largest piece of smoked salmon. Place it on a cutting board. Add an assortment of ingredients around the salmon, spreading out in sections. You can repeat the same items more than once on another side of the board. Use an assortment of small bowls and jars to place your condiments and smaller toppings.

Quick Pickled Onions

1 small red onion, sliced into thin half rings
1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt

Bring the vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a boil. Remove from the heat. Add onions and set aside to cool.


Products featured in this board:

Portlock smoked pink salmon (the large fish on the board in the center)
Ruby Bay smoked salmon in sriracha, lemon pepper and pastrami
Ruby Bay hot smoked keta salmon
Blue Hill Bay herb smoked salmon
Ruby Bay teriyaki salmon jerky
Milas oloves in chili oregano, basil garlic, chili garlic and lemon rosemary
Lucini Itali lemon flavored olive oil
Brooklyn Brine Pickles in spicy maple bourbon
Kozlowski Farms jalapeno jam
Eden stone ground brown mustard
Altius black sea salt
Baked in Brooklyn honey mustard breadsticks
Absolutely gluten free crackers


This post was sponsored by Crafted Kosher. Visit craftedkosher.com for a large selection of gourmet kosher products. Follow Crafted Kosher on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

Related Recipes:

fish tacos + 8 International menus
how to build a fried fish sandwich
gefilte fish, 3 ways
homemade fish sticks

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Please NOTE: This post contains affiliate links which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through the links above goes to help support the BIB blog!

Farro Grain Bowl

Life with five kids has thrown me for a loop. They always say #3 is hard, maybe #4 too. But #5? I’m ex.hau.sted. Baby girl is still 3 months old, so I know we’re still in that needy (ie. nursing every 3 hours) stage, but man, it’s tough! I still won’t give up blogging though, because after five years of creating and sharing, it’s become so much a part of me. You guys, are part of the family.

Thank G-d for some stored posts that never made it to blog like this farro grain bowl. I don’t know why it’s been sitting in my archived photos for so long because dang is it beautiful. And oh so tasty! I’m all about grain bowls right now. Ok I’m all about any food really (breastfeeding!!), but there’s something about being able to throw in a little of this and a little of that to create something so satisfying.

I’m a huge fan of grain bowls because there are endless options, and it’s basically just an excuse to throw a bunch of leftovers into a big dish and call it fancy! I’ve started to make them for lunch a lot, using whatever leftovers I have in the fridge. I can usually find some quinoa (I like to cook it up in the beginning of the week so I can add it to salads, yogurt and mains) or leftover rice and I pretty much always have some cooked chicken on hand. There’s also plenty of veggies to choose from, plus some hard boiled eggs, cheese, and roasted beets. So basically I’ve got my grain bowls made, I have to just make ’em!

So, how do you build a grain bowl? Well, you can try and stick to a specific cuisine (like this Middle Eastern inspired bowl) or you can keep things simple. Just follow this basic outline:

How to Build a Grain Bowl:

Grains (rice, farro, quinoa, couscous, barley, wheat berries, millet)
Raw or Cooked Veggies (carrots, mushrooms, cucumbers, beets, peppers, zucchini)
Raw or Sauteed Greens (spinach, arugula, kale, radicchio, cabbage)
Protein (tofu, edamame, chickpeas, surimi, chicken, poached egg, cheese)
Dressing (pesto, miso, tahini, salsa, peanut sauce, soy sauce)
Garnish (seaweed, avocado, nuts, pickled veggies, scallions, fresh herbs)

I probably would have added some sauteed beet greens to this bowl, if I had had them, but the flavors were amazing and went together really well. The chewy farro, sweet beets, smoky chicken, crispy chickpeas and crunchy pomegranate seeds really complemented each other – both in texture and flavor. Of course the tahini didn’t hurt either, and the pomegranate molasses just put it over the top.

Thinking about making your own grain bowl? Here are some other fun combinations!

// cauliflower rice + fajita spiced peppers + black beans + avocado + salsa dressing + fresh lime
// quinoa + roasted squash + sauteed kale + feta + pumpkin seeds + almond butter dressing
// couscous + roasted eggplant + tomato + red cabbage + hard boiled egg + harissa dressing
// sushi rice + carrots + cucumber + sushi grade tuna + edamame + fried egg + sriracha + soy sauce

Have you ever made a grain bowl, or seen one you like? Share the combo with me in the comments below! I love to get inspired with new combinations!

Farro Grain Bowls

1 cup farro
spice-grilled chicken (recipe follows)
2 medium purple beets
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt, to taste
fresh parsley, for garnish
tahini (recipe follows)
pomegranate molasses

Method:

To make the farro, rinse well and place in a saucepan with enough water to cover the grains. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Drain.

While the farro is cooking, wrap each beet individually in foil (do not peel) and roast at 400 degrees until fork-tender, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the beets to cool (do not remove the foil). Once cooled, unwrap the beets and use your hands to remove the peel, it will slide off. Cut the beets into small pieces.

While the beets are cooking, toss the chickpeas with cumin, olive oil and salt and roast it in the oven alongside the beets, shaking the pan every 15 minutes or so. Roast until crispy, about 45 minutes.

To serve, divide the farro between four bowls. Slice grilled chicken and add to each bowl. Add beets, pomegranate seeds and chickpeas among the bowls and drizzle each bowl with tahini and pomegranate molasses. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Spice Grilled Chicken

4 dark meat chicken cutlets (pargiot)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Jerusalem grill or shawarma spice (store-bought or make your own)
kosher salt, to taste (if spice mix does not have salt added)

Place the chicken in a Ziploc bag with olive oil and spices and mix until well-coated. Marinate for 30 minutes (or overnight). Grill for about 6-8 minutes per side, until cooked through. Alternatively, broil the chicken under high heat for 6-8 minutes per side, depending on thickness.

Tahini

1/2 cup tahini paste (stir thoroughly before using, as oil and solids tend to separate)
1/2 cup water
1-2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/8 tsp cumin
kosher salt, to taste

In a bowl, mix the tahini, water, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, cumin and salt. Whisk until emulsified.


Related Recipes:

chicken shawarma
grilled chicken shawarma salad
za’atar roasted chickpeas

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