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I just returned from an incredible trip to Israel and have so much to share it's hard to know where to begin! Did you get a chance to see my posts on facebook? You probably got a taste of how excited I was by my travels there. A country filled with history and religion, it's also rich with some of the freshest and most flavorful fruits and vegetables I have ever tasted. Add to that the spice mixtures, pastries, cheeses, nuts, seeds and extraordinary wines and my expectations were shot completely out of the ballpark.
I'll start with the spices. I am all for enhancing high quality ingredients with a good splash of virgin olive oil and kosher, but wow! When the right spices are combined and added, a dish can go from ordinary to extraordinary, turning it into something magical.
The secret to using spice in Israeli cuisine, and in much of the Mediterranean for that matter, is to do so with full intent. Be brave and experiment! Throughout Israel, there were delicious spice blends in the markets and although they may bear the same name, they differ greatly from vendor to vendor, shop to shop, kitchen to kitchen. Za'atar, for example, is a mix of dried herbs like hissop and sesame seeds and used on EVERYTHING...salad, labneh (drained yogurt cheese, did I say YUMMMMMM?) and seeded bread with olive oil. One vendor used hyssop in his za'atar, another added thyme. One used sumac, another added winter savory and no matter which one I tried, they were all incredibly delicious. No wonder that people say "variety is the spice of life"!
Since Spring has just begun, I thought it fitting to share some of my favorite recipes from all around the Mediterranean to help you spice things up this spring season. Have fun and I'll see you in the kitchen!
Here are some of my favorite recent combinations (and the recipes!) that I think you will devour:
Have fun in the kitchen and cheers!
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