Israel is indeed a land of milk and honey … and cheese, olives, pomegranates, oranges and so on.
Practically self-sufficient in food production and a world leader in cutting-edge agricultural techniques, Israel is a bountiful country where you can be a gourmet or a gourmand.
Whether you prefer home cooking or restaurant meals, Israel is ready for you, offering a cornucopia of gustatory delights.
This was not always the case.
In the early, austere days of Israeli statehood, rationing was in force and a really good meal was hard to come by. But happily, this era is long gone, judging at least by Janna Gur’s The Book of Israeli Food: A Culinary Journey (Random House).
In this fat, comprehensive, handsomely illustrated coffee-table book, Gur, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, covers it all.
She writes about Ashkenazi and Sephardi dishes, from borscht and chopped liver to stuffed vegetables and bourekas.
She surveys the contemporary restaurant scene, observing that dining out hasbecome all the rage.
She visits aromatic open air markets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, where the freshest produce and the finest fish and meats are available.
She delivers odes on the hearty Israeli breakfast and the equally famous Israeli salad.
And if that is not enough, Gur sings the praises of Israeli soul food like hummus, falafel, shawarma and shakshuka.
In passing, she offers tips on the many uses of eggplant, immortalizes the Israeli grill and pays homage to Israel’s excellent line of breads, rolls, cheeses and olive oils.
And if this has whetted your appetite, read on.
The Book of Israeli Food, a fine blend of text and photographs, is chock full of mouth-watering recipes for dishes running the gamut from roasted eggplants with red peppers and good old-fashioned chicken soup to “magical” honey cake and North African hot fish stew.
In other words, this book schmecks of the best of Israel.
