Cooking With Joy: Israeli Appetizers

As promised I am continuing on with the Israeli recipes. This time I made it a meal by combining some very yummy recipes. Eggplant Caviar, Lemon Lovers Chummus and Falafel Poppers.

When we went to Israel this past winter, I fell in love with eggplant all over again. At every meal that I saw it, I would pile it high on my plate or add it to my schwarma, falafel, you name it. You know that fried brown eggplant yumminess? Just thinking about it makes me hungry.

We don’t bring eggplant into the house all that much because Hubs and the kids aren’t such big fans. So I wasn’t expecting this dish to go over so well. Hubs was pleasantly surprised. I guess it’s the Italian eggplant that is used in this recipe that makes the difference. It has a much milder flavor- dare I say better flavor. This recipe gave me a chance to work on my non existent knife skills- I wanted it to look pretty, even if it was just for us.

Then I made the Chummus. Hubs is a HUGE chummus guy. When he was in Yeshiva in Israel before we got married, he would buy a kilo (2.2 lbs) of chummus and a few pitot, and that would last him a good two days- yes you read correctly 2 days! We usually have a 32oz one in the house and it takes on average a week for us to finish (Hubs is no longer surviving on Yeshiva food). Our five year old has come to expect it at shabbos meals and gets upset if he cant make his turkey and chummus sandwich on shabbos day.

As expected the Chummus went over crazy well with my fam. Both kids and hubs devoured it even before we made our falafel sandwiches. I put some aside to bring to my extended family for shabbos and everyone loved it!

I don’t usually fry things (Chanukahs latkes don’t count), so I am not very aware of the rules of frying. After this rule was explained to me by Hubs, it actually is common sense. MAKE SURE YOUR PAN IS DRY BEFORE ADDING THE OIL. As the oil was heating up it started bubbling and crackling, then giant geysers of oil/water popped up from the pan, it was very dangerous. Anyway….. First batch went into the oil and immediately burnt, second batch came out just right and by the third batch the oil was cold and the falafel took a while to cook.

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Eggplant Caviar page 40
DRESS IT UP Eggplant Caviar Crostini

Lemon Lover’s Hummus page 42
DRESS IT UP Tricolor Hummus Trifles

Falafel Poppers with Lemon Sesame Schug page 46
DRESS IT DOWN Falafel Sandwiches

We enjoyed a really tasty Israeli style lunch, all from scratch which made it taste even better!