Israeli Food is Not Just Ottolenghi

The Ottolenghi Deli made its mark on Notting Hill in 2002 and within five years there were three full-blown jam-packed restaurants. The chain’s success isn’t just down to its owner’s creativity but its Israeli food. If you’re looking to explore that cuisine further or you want a more authentic Israeli experience without the hefty price tag, take a look at these traditional mouth-watering dishes.

Shakshuka

You might have missed shakshuka if you’ve been living under a rock the last few years but London’s brunches have been invaded by this simple dish with maximum flavour and multiple origins.

Middle Eastern food usually features the same dish done in slightly different styles, with each country fighting for creative credit. Though shakshuka began life in North Africa it was brought to Israel by Tunisian and Libyan Jews in the 1950s and has been a staple ever since.

Shakshuka involves cooking onion, peppers, tomatoes, herbs and spices in a skillet before cracking eggs on top and baking it in the oven. Many London brunch places liven this up with chorizo, which adds a delightful spicy heat but the pork won’t be popular with Israelis.

The Good Egg in Stoke Newington wins our shakshuka vote. It comes with a delicious preserved lemon yoghurt, and the optional additions of either halloumi or mergez lamb sausage are a must.

Bourekas

In Bosnia Herzegovina it’s coiled up meat-stuffed burek, Armenia’s is triangular byorek which is often laced with anise alcohol and Greece’s version is best known as spanakopita.

Israeli bourekas are made from layers of either puff or filo pastry and come with a variety of fillings. These include cheese, mashed potato, aubergine, mashed chickpeas, mushroom, and spinach. They do have meat versions but in Israel these are more likely to be home-made. Unlike other variations, bourekas are usually covered in seeds – the type indicates the kind of filling.

Bourekas aren’t for the weight-conscious. They’re loaded with salty cheese, carby potatoes and margarine-soaked pastry. It’s what makes them so delicious. Avoid eating to excess (a definite challenge) and grab this “must-eat” at Carmelli Bakery in Golders Green or sit in for Honey & Co’s burnt potato boureka breakfast in Warren Street.

Shawarma

Shawarma made the strangest of surges in 2012 when it was featured in the post-credit scene of the action movie The Avengers. Thor, Iron Man and the other superheroes celebrate saving the world by sitting around munching on shawarmas, sending fans off to google this oddly-titled, little-known dish.

Shawarma is an Israeli fast food much like a British kebab. Spit-roasted chicken, beef or lamb is shaved into a wrap with assorted fillings. This can include salad, tabbouleh, hummus, yoghurt and spices. The result is a mouthwatering medley that allows you to claim devouring kebabs is “cultural”.

Berber & Q has a vegetarian approach: its delicious mezze includes cauliflower shawarma with tahini and rose. You can team the cauli kebab with delicious smoked aubergine. If you’re missing the meat it also has a hand-pulled lamb shawarma. Be sure to head to Haggerston for a treat fit for a superhero.

Bagels

No Israeli food list would be complete without the humble bagel. The solid rubbery supermarket versions don’t come close to the freshly-baked bread rings and anyone insisting on buying a rainbow one should reconsider – the dyes dry it out and do the brilliant bagel a disservice.

The best places for loaded bagels on the cheap are Finsbury Park’s Happening Bagel Bakery – which offers an array of Israeli baked goods – and the infamous yellow-signed Brick Lane Beigel Shop (left). There are actually two bagel shops next door to each other and the debate over which is best is fierce. The yellow is a century older than the white but it sells bacon – a plus for non-Jews but hardly traditional. Choose your side and stick to it.

All three will stuff your bagel with whatever tickles your palate and the resulting mouthwatering marathon will leave you longing for a second round and a second stomach.

Malabi

For dessert look no further than malabi, a creamy pudding made from milk or almond milk thickened with rice or corn flour and flavoured with rose water. The popularity of this simple street food caught the eye of upscale restaurants, which now offer the dish with a host of additions and toppings.

We love Soho’s The Palomar’s version which comes with raspberry coulis, coconut meringue pistachio crunch, fresh raspberries & kataifi – a baklava-like shredded filo pastry soaked in flavoured sugar syrup. It’s just the right side of rebellious.

by Jo Davey

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