Israeli Recipes

Israeli cooking is a meeting of kitchens. Jewish communities arrived from Yemen, Iraq, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Ethiopia and many other places, each bringing its own dishes, and they now share the same markets as local Arab cooks. The Mediterranean supplies olive oil, tomatoes, citrus and fresh herbs, while tahini, chickpeas, eggplant, eggs and cheeses such as labneh run through everyday meals. Food often arrives as many small salads at once, eaten with warm bread. Breakfast is large and cold, built on chopped vegetables, eggs and cheese. Friday night and Saturday follow Sabbath rules, so stews such as hamin cook overnight and challah sits on the table. Festivals have their own foods: sufganiyot and latkes at Hanukkah, matzo at Passover, honey cake at the new year. Kosher rules keep meat and dairy apart, so many menus split into a meaty side and a milky side.

Staple ingredients

• tahini
• chickpeas
• eggplant
• tomatoes and cucumbers
• eggs
• olive oil
• za'atar and sumac
• fresh herbs

• Breakfast 2
• Appetizers 1
• Soups 2
• Salads 1
• Main Dishes 4
• Side Dishes 2
• Breads 2
• Desserts 2
• Snacks 3
• Sauces, Dips and Condiments 1

Breakfast

• Shakshuka (Eggs Poached in Spiced Tomato and Pepper Sauce)IL45 minEasy
• Jachnun (Overnight Slow-Baked Rolled Pastry)IL11 h 40 minMedium

Appetizers

• Hummus (Creamy Israeli-Style Chickpea and Tahini Dip)IL1 h 20 minMedium

Soups

• Matzo Ball Soup (Chicken Soup with Fluffy Matzo Dumplings)IL2 h 30 minMedium
• Kubbeh Soup (Beef-Stuffed Semolina Dumplings in Beet Broth)IL1 h 55 minChallenging

Salads

• Israeli Salad (Finely Chopped Cucumber and Tomato Salad)IL15 minEasy

Main Dishes

• Chicken Schnitzel (Israeli-Style Crispy Breaded Chicken)IL40 minEasy
• Chicken Shawarma (Oven-Roasted Spiced Chicken in Pita)IL1 h 10 minEasy
• Chraime (Spicy Fish in Tomato and Pepper Sauce)IL1 hMedium
• Hamin (Slow-Cooked Shabbat Beef and Bean Stew)IL11 h 30 minEasy

Side Dishes

• Latkes (Crispy Hanukkah Potato Pancakes)IL50 minEasy
• Ptitim (Toasted Israeli Pearl Couscous with Tomato and Peas)IL35 minEasy

Breads

• Challah (Braided Sabbath Bread)IL1 h 15 minMedium
• Malawach (Flaky Layered Pan-Fried Flatbread)IL1 h 20 minMedium

Desserts

• Sufganiyot (Hanukkah Jelly Doughnuts)IL1 h 5 minMedium
• Malabi (Israeli Rosewater Milk Pudding with Syrup)IL25 minEasy

Snacks

• Falafel (Crispy Chickpea Fritters in Pita)IL50 minMedium
• Bourekas (Flaky Feta and Cheese Pastry Triangles)IL55 minEasy
• Sabich (Fried Eggplant, Egg and Tahini Pita)IL1 hEasy

Sauces, Dips and Condiments

• Zhug (Fresh Green Hot Pepper and Cilantro Sauce)IL15 minEasy