Food

Discover Two Ways
to Get High Fiber and Great Taste.

Fast Food
Israeli Style

ETHEL HOFMAN FOOD EDITOR

F

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Where Keeping Kosher Is A Delicious Tradition:m

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BAGEL DELI & PRODUCE CO.

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SMOKED SABLE NOSH

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TAILS ..... $ 2.49LB.

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Kitchens • Bathrooms • Basements and Decks

06

Jeff Collier

525-3733

ast food is an American
phenomenon. Right?
Wrong! The historical
reality is that the first
fast-food stands originated
nearly 6,000 years ago in the
Middle East. Vendors set up
stalls in the market places of
ancient cities where foods eat-
en out of hand were sold to mer-
chants in
flowin g
robes and
servants
laden with
baskets and
memorized
shopping
lists.
The mood
was proba-
bly little dif-
ferent from
today when
folks grab a
bite to carry
them
through the
work day
and brow-
sers stroll
through
farmer's
markets to peruse the wares.
Middle Eastern "street"
foods, hot and aromatic with lo-
cal spices, are as popular now
as then. In modern Israeli
towns and villages, you'll find
substantial pick-up meals
served in tiny store-front cafes
and sidewalk stands.
Pita bread, those wonderful
chewy pocket breads, are
stuffed with whatever exotic
condiments you wish and pick-
les, zhoug (spice mixture) and
tahini (sesame sauce) are dol-
loped on with abandon. Hot
bagels strung on wooden racks
are sold along with a paper cone
of za'atar (another spicy mix-
ture) on request.
Falafel — those mouthwa-
tering chickpea patties — are
to Israel what the hamburger
is to America, the national food.
They're sold everywhere —
even central bus stations. You'll
never forget your first, a strik-
ing contrast of textures as you
bite through the warm crisp
crust into a spicy, coarse-
grained, chickpea filling.
These are the Arab vendors
specialty. The best I ever ate
was in an outdoor cafe adjacent
to a gas station on the way to
Haifa.
In Israel, don't be put off by
gas station dining. Some of the
best food is prepared in these
"diners."

Where city eating is noisy
and oily, and so addictive, away
from the metropolitan areas,
gas station eateries are often
courtyards or alcoves magnifi-
cently tiled in bright colors,
clean (restrooms acceptably so)
and the food exceptionally good.
Instead of three meals a day,
American-style, in this land of
milk and
honey, we
stop and
snack at
these con-
temporary
oases to our
heart's con-
tent — and
good health.
Dishes cen-
ter around
legumes,
olive oil,
fresh fruits
and vegeta-
bles, fish,
fresh baked
pita.
All nutri-
tionally cor-
rect foods,
tantalizing-
ly prepared and impossible to
resist.
Leisure doesn't mesh with
the Israeli lifestyle. In fact,
whether they're at home or on
the run, most Israelis would
rather eat their food in pita in-
stead of a plate, standing rather
than sitting, and conversation
consists of good-natured yelling.
But they cook with relish and
make each snack or meal a live-
ly social event.
Don't give up on the simple
pleasures because "there's no
time." Do as the young Israelis
do. Call a few friends over. Then
choose a couple recipes, assem-
ble ingredients, chopping board
and knives — and let 'em loose
in the kitchen. Chopping and
tasting is a sure icebreaker. And
a few bottles dry Reisling or
Pinot Blanc from Israel to sip
on won't hurt, besides marry-
ing well with any of the dishes
below.
Start off with a batch of fala-
fel — but think ahead and soak
the chickpeas overnight. These
fried chickpea patties are
stuffed into pita bread with sal-
ad and tahini or heaped on a
platter, and devoured still
warm. Cheap,tasty and nutri-
tious.
Traditionally, filo sheets are
used for Spinach Mushroom
Bourekas, but prepared puff

ISRAELI STYLE page108