My culinary memory begins at the state place and behind the walls of Jerusalem and the alleys of Lod.
At my house, I constantly remember hands rolling.
Stuffed grape leaves was a dish that starred in our family on both sides, and made me fall in love with the delicate art of cooking, which for me symbolized a shared family experience that everyone gathers to do together.
I learned about seasonality and ingredients, and watched how everyone waits all year for the crops in the yard to cook.
And what a celebration it was.
My father's grandmother and grandfather immigrated to Israel from Istanbul directly to Yemin Moshe, today a Mishkent Shananim neighborhood, where Zionists began to flourish in the land.
They grew vines in the house garden, from which they also made liqueur from the fruit and various foods from the leaves.
The stars of their kitchen were the stuffing they made from the leaves, each filled with meat or rice and raisins that were cooked and rolled with art and skill.
Dozens of small "cigars" in a huge pot were cooked on a wick for several hours in the yard of the house, and enveloped the neighborhood with the addictive smell.
On my mother's side, who grew up in Lod after immigrating from Izmir in Turkey, Turkish-Spanish food was a significant part of the neighborhood cuisine.
The stuffing there was a variety of vegetables such as peppers, onions, tomatoes and zucchini which were a significant component of the weekly meals.
But even with them, everyone would wait for the spring season, when the fresh vines grew delicate and addictive vine leaves with their unique sourness and sweetness.
Those beautiful fresh vine leaves were stuffed and rolled with meat and a little rice and cooked in a sour sauce.
The memory of this simple dish, which required craftsmanship and skill, always ushered in the season of spring and the holidays that came with it.
I will never forget the summer vacations when we went to Grandma's, and together we rolled, filled and separated beans and peeled artichokes, while in the background we heard exciting stories about Turkey, the family culture and immigrating to Israel.
For the past four years, when I change the menu every season at "Beit Kandinoff", the food culture in my home is an integral part of my inspiration.
In the last spring menu, I incorporated a dish stuffed with vine leaves into the menu and connected it to Jaffa.
Itai Kushmaro, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
In addition, we established a vegetable garden next to the restaurant, where we grow seasonal crops that are used in our menu, which is connected to the seasonality of the raw materials.
Every morning the kitchen staff and I go out to the garden to see what grows, to pick and cook from what we have grown ourselves.
It's great fun that affects the menu and us and brings me back to my grandfather's house.
The day will come when vine leaves will also grow there.
I really like the local fish in our country, and the proximity to the port of Jaffa always brings us amazing and fresh produce.
To this must be added the connection with the Turkish-Spanish culture that creates wonderful dishes.
So, for example, I took a local fish, a beautiful and super fresh white sea bass, and combined it with herbs that give a wonderful taste and smell, with a few spices that will emphasize the raw materials and give a platform to the vine leaves
The sweet-sour and freshness of the filling.
All this sits on a tomato and saffron cream that is rich in flavor, but not overpowering.
Along with the dish, the thick yogurt creates a balanced emulsion with everything.
A dish that is a little memories of home and a little me.
Tomato saffron lemon cream
Ingredients:
2 white onions, cut into medium cubes
1 watered pepper without seeds, cut into medium cubes
1 hot green pepper without seeds, cut into medium cubes
1 fennel, cut into medium cubes
1 peeled carrot, cut into medium cubes
2 sliced garlic cloves
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 kg Ripe maggi tomatoes without sting, cut into quarters
4-7 stalks of saffron
2 squeezed lemons
Salt to taste
Method of preparation:
put everything (except the tomatoes, saffron and lemon juice) into a cold pot and steam over medium heat.
After the vegetables are roasted, add the tomatoes and saffron, raise the temperature to a boil, then cook on low heat for about 20 minutes.
Finally add the lemon juice.
Grind everything in a food processor and pass through a fine sieve.
Balance flavors with sugar and salt.
Vine or chard leaves stuffed with chopped moser fish
Ingredients:
2/1 kg sea bass fillet without skin and spines (you can ask the fishmonger), finely chopped on the knife
1 small purple onion grated
2/1 green hot pepper without seeds, cut into small cubes
2/1 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 grated garlic clove
2 tablespoons olive oil grated
from a whole lemon
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
5-10 drops Tabasco (recommended)
Fresh vine leaves in season, or vine leaves in salt water washed well and steeped approx. 12 minutes in boiling water (chard leaves can also be used).
Method of preparation:
put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well to a uniform paste.
Adjust seasoning.
After we have decided the leaves, dry them well and fill the leaves in the shape of a thin cigar or an envelope (it is important to fasten so that the filling does not come out).
Preparation of the dish: roast the vine leaves on medium heat in a wide pan with a little olive oil.
It is important to note that the stuffed animals get seared and cooked and that the leaves do not burn.
Heat the tomato cream.
Serving: place the cream in the center and top it with the fillings.
It is recommended to add a little goat yogurt to the stuffed side.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
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