Product Description

In this stunning new work that is at once a coffee-table book to browse and a complete cookbook, Janna Gur brings us the sumptuous color, variety, and history of today’s Israeli cuisine, beautifully illustrated by Eilon Paz, a photographer who is intimate with the local scene.

In Gur’s captivating introduction, she describes Israeli food as a product of diverse cultures: the Jews of the Diaspora, settling in a homeland that was new to them, brought their far-flung cuisines to the table even as they looked to their Arab neighbors for additional ingredients and ideas. The delicious, easy-to-follow recipes represent all of these influences, and include some creative interpretations of classics by celebrated Israeli chefs: Beetroot and Pomegranate Salad, Fish Falafel in Spicy Harissa Mayonnaise, Homemade Shawarma, Chreime–North African Hot Fish Stew, Roasted Chicken Drumsticks in Carob Syrup. With favorite recipes for the Sabbath (Sweet Challah Traditional Chopped Liver, Chocolate and Halva Coffeecake) and for holidays (Balkan Potato and Leek Pancakes, Flourless Chocolate and Pistachio Cake), this book offers a unique culinary experience for every occasion. All of this is enriched by Paz’s gorgeous and vibrantly colored photographs and by short narratives about significant aspects of Israel’s diverse cuisine, such as the generous and unique Israeli breakfast (which grew out of the needs of Kibbutz life), locally produced cheeses that now rival those of Europe, and a dramatic renaissance of wine culture in this ancient land.

“In less than thirty years,” Janna Gur writes, “Israeli society has graduated… to a true gastronomic haven.” Here she gives us a book that does full, delectable justice to the significance of Israeli food today–Mediterranean at its heart, richly spiced, and imbued with cross-cultural flavors.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24468 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-26
• Released on: 2008-08-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Gur, founder and chief editor of Israel's leading food and wine magazine, Al Hashulchan Gastronomic Monthly, offers an enticing look at the evolution of Israeli cuisine. Part cookbook, part history, this collection with full-color photographs throughout paints a tantalizing and vivid portrait of the nation's culinary heritage and present-day gastronomy. Recipes include classics such as Falafel, Challah, Classic Jewish Chicken Soup, and Traditional Chopped Liver, as well as the less-familiar Figs Stuffed with Bulgur and Cranberry Salad, Citrus Semolina Cake, and Mina del Pesach (Passover Matzo Pie). Recipes are easy-to-follow and are grouped under salads, the street and the market, simple pleasures, grill, Shabbat and holidays. Detailed sections on the Israeli breakfast, olive oil, coffee, cheese and wine complement the recipes and give context to the important role these play in the Israeli diet. Additional information on open air markets, fishing in Israel and Israeli Shabbat add to the book's appeal. A section on special ingredients identifies the unusual, although most are easily obtained and will be at least somewhat familiar to most cooks. Beautiful and comprehensive, this book will become an immediate favorite with anyone with even a passing interest in Israeli cuisine. Full color photos. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“It’s a real joy to discover that a great and vibrant gastronomic culture has emerged in Israel out of the varied legacies from the old Diaspora communities. The Book of New Israeli Food is splendid, engagingly written, with delicious recipes and stunning photographs. Stories, features, and background information give a fascinating insight into life in Israel, the enthusiasm of home cooks, the creativity of chefs, and the passionate endeavors of bakers, winemakers, and olive oil and cheese producers.”
–Claudia Roden, author of The New Book of Middle Eastern Food

“Finally, a book about Israeli food that is modern in its approach and comprehensive in its scope… [With] beautiful photography, an attractive format, plenty of useful recipes, and some food stories to boot, [it] is a perfect gift… Warmly recommended.”
–Israel Aharoni, Yedioth Ahronoth

“Filled with delicious recipes, Janna Gur’s gorgeous new book puts Israel on the culinary map–exactly where it deserves to be.”
–Bonnie Stern, author of Bonnie Stern’s Essentials of Home Cooking

About the Author
Janna Gur was born and raised in the former Soviet Union and immigrated to Israel in 1974. She is the founder and chief editor of the leading Israeli food and wine magazine. She lives in Tel Aviv, on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.

Eilon Paz is a freelance photographer who specializes in travel, editorial, and commercial photography.

Other contributors to this volume are Rami Hann, a translator and writer with extensive experience in cooking and food journalism; Adam Montefiore, who wrote the Wine and Olive Oil chapters and contributes to the Oxford Wine Companion, Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book, and The Wine Route of Israel; Orly Pely-Bronshtein, a chef and veteran food journalist and the author of best-selling volumes such as the Kitchen Helper series; and Ruth Oliver, a chef and pastry chef who teaches in the best cooking schools in Israel and is the author of More Chocolate, among other cookbooks.

Customer Reviews

Gorgeous and smart too!
Israeli food writer Gur's oversize cookbook, with sumptuous photos by Eilon Paz, is as rewarding to page through as to cook from. Gur, the founder of Israel's leading food magazine, sets the scene, placing recipes and ingredients in context with Israeli life and culinary history, which encompasses influences from a worldwide diaspora. Scattered the world over, Jews absorbed local cuisines and adapted them to Jewish law and custom.

The two major divisions in Israeli cooking are the European Ashkenazi (Chopped Liver - Gur offers four versions, Gefilte Fish, Potato Pancakes), and the Middle Eastern and Balkan Sephardic (Bourekas, stuffed vegetables, Kubbe), but Israeli foods also include dishes from North Africa, Iraq, Syria, India and more.

Gur charts the evolution of Israeli cooking through its short history - naturally influenced by local foods and Arab cuisine - and illustrates techniques common in modern Israeli cooking, like flame roasting eggplants, which are then featured in 11 dishes, and choosing and using the versatile ground sesame sauce, tahini.

Gur also includes engaging stories on basics in Israeli culinary life - breakfast, olive oil, bread, cheese and more - and a short chapter describing some of the more prevalent special ingredients and spices.

The book is divided into five main chapters: Salads etc., The street and The Market, Simple Pleasures, Grill, Shabbat and Holidays. The heady flavor of lemon rises from salads like Fennel and Pistachio, Eggplant Carpaccio, or sumptuous Fatoush, a bread salad with garden-ripe tomatoes.

In addition to basic Falafel, Gur offers a fish version with spicy Harissa Mayonnaise. Other street foods include Shawarma, a shaved meat sandwich with hummus or tahini sauce, Shakshuka, with eggs gently poached in tomato sauce, and phyllo or puff pastry Bourekas stuffed with spinach or eggplant and cheese.

Simple Pleasures include breads, stuffed vegetables, rice dishes (Persian Green Rice, Rice with Crispy Noodles), couscous, soups like Creamy Jerusalem Artichoke and Kubbe Hamousta, a lemony broth with bulgar and beef dumplings, and fish dishes like Trout Casserole and Fish Ceviche with Eggplant Cream.

Grilled dishes include a variety of chicken wings in spices like za'atar and sumac, lamb kebabs and Cornish hens. Many of the familiar traditional dishes, like Challah, Chicken Soup (both European and Middle Eastern) and Cholent are found in the Shabbat and holiday dishes include for Gefilte Fish, Lamb and Quince Casserole, Honey Cake, Latkes, Passover Matzo Pie and Labane (yogurt cheese).

Lively, colorful, steeped in history, tradition and the modern melting pot, Gur's book is also well organized, with clear directions and an understanding of the home cook's approach.

Yummy photos for yummy recipes
This is a large 9" X 12", 304-page cookbook with stunning color photographs and a variety of kosher recipes from Israel.

I'm someone who doesn't enjoy the hassles of traveling, however, cookbooks from far and near are something I do enjoy. Perhaps it satisfies my latent sense of adventure without the need to leave home. I live near a large city and have access to a variety of exotic ingredients, but I found many of the recipes in The Book of New Israeli Food required very little extra purchases to complete.

I love to make desserts so, of course, my first pick was the "Citrus Semolina Cake" on page 208. Semolina flour-more familiarly used in pasta, fresh orange juice, ground coconut and a small amount of sugar listed in the recipe sounded like the perfect choice. It actually turned out just like the glossy color photo. A picture may be worth a thousand words but with recipes it's the taste. Mild citrus flavor enhanced the cake, which was lighter than a pound cake but heavier than a typical one made with cake flour.

The Book of New Israeli Food not only contains recipes for desserts, but salads, yummy breads and hearty entrées. A bit of history of the area and the customs, which made these recipes popular in this region, accompanies the color photos. There is a section called "special ingredients" that gives added information about those less familiar spices, etc.

This would make a beautiful addition to most home cookbook collections. Then you too can enjoy a bit of Israel without leaving home. I give The Book of New Israeli Food 5 stars.

Armchair Interviews agrees

untried but true
i just bought this beautiful book and spent an hour looking through it carefully and marking pages of recipes i want to try. unlike most cookbooks, this one has many recipes that are simple yet enticing -- i will really try many. too often one looks through a cookbook, is attracted to the photos, but chooses not to really get down and actually make one of recipes. this is NOT one of those cookbooks. i am married to a tunisian, and many of these recipes are authentic even to that culture. i will update this posting when i have chosen and cooked something from the many i have marked to try.