Happy Chanukah from Micky

Micky made us homemade doughnuts for Chanukah... the dough itself wasn't too difficult but figuring out the temperature of the oil proved to be an obstacle of it's own. In the end they came out beautifully and I may have eaten one too many. Some were filled with Crème Patisserie and others just dusted with homemade icing sugar... my favourite!

French Toast

French Toast isn't the most difficult of dishes to make, but my goodness does Micky make good French Toast! It started off one weekend when I first arrived and kind of became our thing we do on Saturday mornings. The usual mixture of eggs and milk is used with the addition of some cinnamon and his secret ingredient - cottage cheese. I am not sure whether its the cottage that is mixed into the mixture or the fact that it's made with love... or both... but I have never had anything as delicious as these soft, melt-in-your-mouth with a slight cheese blintzer taste, pieces of French Toast that make me want to eat more than I should. I do add a little more cinnamon and sugar, but not before eating one piece plain. I don't think my hips will, but I will most certainly miss this!

Israeli Tea

Israelis don't drink tea like us South Africans. Milk? You've got to be kidding. Made with tea leaves like Louisa (Lemon Verbena), Mint, Za'atar and Camomile in beautiful glass teapots, it is generally served in tiny little glasses where you are just able to hold the edge as not to burn your fingers. Delicious and quenching, Ill be taking this home with me.

Happy Chanukah from Roladin

Chanukah. Back home in Cape Town it's a time to get out the Chanukia and buy the little colourful candles to light every night. Here in Israel it's pretty much the same thing except for one BIG difference. Sufganiot. In English that's doughnuts. I would say in all shapes but that's not necessarily true. All sizes and with what feels like a thousand different fillings and toppings however is most certainly the case. Micky had gone out to the Roladin bakery and come home with 6 different doughnuts, none of which were remotely familiar to me. I had a caramel (Dulce de leche) filled doughnut and the boys had Chalva and Orea. The ones pictured here involved squeezing additional liguids (chocolate and rose water) into the centre of these 'shot' chocolate, nougat and Malabi doughnuts. If you have a sweet tooth, these are definitely something to try. I however must admit that I love a plain or apricot jam filled doughnut and don't really need to experiment with every other filling under the sun. The Dulce one though, I did enjoy. Happy Chanukah, and Chag Sameach : )

Olivery Pizza

Walking along Ibn Gvirol in North Tel Aviv, we came across Olivery, an adorable Sicilian Bistro. I had heard about it after joining a group where someone had asked the question of where to get good pizza in the Tel Aviv area. We happened to discover this little beauty during lunch time and got to enjoy their lunchtime special which included one of their scrumptious salads and delicious lemonade. The salad above included beef carpaccio on a thin slice of toast covered with rocket leaves, red onion, sliced radish, pesto and a drizzle of olive oil. The salad below was the same thinly sliced homemade toast covered in sun dried tomato paste, rocket leaves, red onion, torn mozzarella balls, sun dried tomatoes and a dressing. Both of these were mouthwateringly delicious!

 

When it came to the pizza, I was more than happy to share! I am not a fan of thick bases and these weren't as thin as I like, but definitely rank at the top of my list when it comes to pizza in Israel. We had the mushroom pizza (tomato base, porcini, champignon and portobello mushrooms with mozzarella and truffle oil) as well as the onion pizza (red onions caramelised in balsamic vinegar, caramelised shallots, green onions and fresh mozzarella). I do look forward to going back... my mouth waters at the thought of it : )

Lemon and Garlic Fish

 

Although this is Nicoles' lemon and garlic fish, I have to refer to it as Carlos' fish as he just loves it and apparently requests it every week. It is mouth wateringly delicious and so soft and tender. The lemon flavour was lovely and the "tons" of garlic in it can only be good for you.

Coriander, tomato, chili red pepper, rosemary and a lot of garlic are layered in an oven proof dish. Your choice of fish (we used salmon) is placed on top and covered with additional coriander, paprika and a sprinkle of chicken stock. A dressing of lemon, olive oil, rosemary and 4 cloves of garlic is poured over the fish. Cover with tinfoil and bake for half an hour at 180°C.

Moroccan Style Fish

 

Some of my best memories of Israel are visiting our good old family friends down south on Kibbutz Bror Chayil. From the moment I see them at the train station my heart is filled with warmth and I just feel welcome and at home. Nicole is like the sister my mom never had and having known her since I was 6 she is like family. The one dish, memories of Shabbat dinners back home in Cape Town that always comes to mind and one that my mom will still salivate about to this day, is Nicoles Moroccan Fish. Hot and spicy in the best way possible, you cannot not have the accompaniment of fresh Challah to dip, dunk and wipe in the delicious red sauce that is this beautiful Moroccan dish.

Coriander, garlic, chili pepper, sweet pepper, water and turmeric are layered in a pan. Your choice of fish (we had white fish and salmon) are placed on top and covered with additional coriander and garlic. This is then cooked for about half an hour with the lid on.

After the half hour, a mixture of 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons sweet paprika and a little cumin are added (pour over the fish) and you continue to slow cook.