shain

For future reference, I link up a thread where I'm making things with the pita oven that I mentioned, including pita breads.

Thanks @cakewalk! As you are about to see, this was not this day bake. Israel's independance day had become a traditional day for grilling meat. As a vegetarian I'm not really into this @joesan Thanks, the recipe is very simple and forgiving, take your favorite pizza dough recipe, or a storebought one. Shape it as you would pizzas, albeit smaller - those should be personal, not sliced. Poke with a skewer to prevent puffing, drizzle some olive oil and spread it evenly. Sprinkle zaatar spice mix (dry zaatar herb, sumac, sesame), salt. Bake in the hottest your oven can get. As for investment, it costed 200nis (55$), so not really big investment For today, I got to the real test for the oven - baking pitas. The style of pita best like in israel is tender and fluffy, a tad sweet and slightly elastic. I believe that this style originated in Egypt or Yemen, but I'm not really sure. I based on my experience with making pizzas, and assumed the hydration is similar. I used 62% (that's 185g of water for 300g of flour). Also yeast, salt and a little sugar. Some kneading and a cold overnight rise in the fridge. This morning I took the dough out and shaped into 6 balls. I left them to proof for about 3 hours. I gently flattened the balls (1cm thick) and loaded them to the oven, which was preheated for a few minutes. I closed the oven and let them puff, which they quickly did. After about a minute, they were fully baked, even a little too dark on one side. I baked the second batch a little shorter, still too long, I think due to the oven getting even hotter. I placed the breads in a closed container to rest and steam, so that they will stay soft. I'm very pleased with the result, the crumb is elastic and gelatinized, to "crust" is soft and tender, but the darker side of the over-baked batch is just a little chewier than I'd like. They also separated nicely and mostly evenly (often, even in commercial pitas, one side will be very thin). The best part of a good pita is the interior. I served them while still hot, with freshly made hummus, and good olive oil. I'm eager to try baking more stuff, especially pizzas and ciabattas. I also want to try some cooking (i.e. not baking).

So I finally got myself a "pita oven" - it's in quotes because it's not really an oven, it's an electric oven made using two high powered electric heating elements - one at the bottom and one on top, it has no temperature or power control - only plugged in or not.. The oven itself is built of aluminium and opens on an hinge. A large aluminium plate is placed between the elements. I mentioned this kind of oven over a thread discussing pita, saying that I expect it to be a good tool for baking soft, fluffy pitas: https://forums.egullet.org/topic/93355-perfect-khoubz-pita-bread-getting-a-good-puff/?comment=2059217 So for a first run, I "burnt" some eggplants. This is something I usually do over a fire or gas grill, since my oven is not hot enough to char the eggplant skin without drying it too much. The pita oven was definitely hot enough. The eggplants were eaten with tahini and cumin, and I could barley tell the difference from fire roasted. For the next attempt, I made manoush bread, with olive oil and zaatar. Again I was happy with the results, the oven heats up very fast and the dough puffs out nicely, develops a good char, but remains tender thanks to the short bake time. The first one got slightly burnt on the bottom, they cooked in about 90 seconds each, so I had to make sure and check them often. They did stick a little to the peel when I tried to load them. I took a note to use more flour next time, or better yet, semolina. Served with labneh cheese. Labaneh and zaatar were made for each other. The charred flavor makes it even better.

Cappelletti - filled blended with peas, mint, pecorino romano, pepper, nutmeg, a touch of honey. Sauced with butter and lemon zest. More peas, grated pecorino, sesame seeds, pepper. Freshly made ricotta.

Cauliflower, fried onion, garlic, anise seeds, sesame, fennel seeds, tahini, parsley, chili.

Indonesian dinner (I always feel uneasy when claiming to make food from a culture that I'm so far from really knowing in depth). Nasi Kuning - rice with fresh turmeric and coconut. Topped with extra stir fried turmeric. (A probably bastardized) Sambal Goreng - Green beans in sambal with plenty of chilies, garlic, ginger and some tamarindi. Some grated coconut. Tempeh, shallow fired with potato starch coating (agedashi tofu style). The tempeh is on the side to stay crisp, but mixed with the sambal while eating. I don't know I so rarely eat tempeh, it's really nice (although expensive. I kind of want to try and make some).

Chocolate, espresso and caramel fondant cakes.

Chickpea, black beans & mushroom "burgers" with smoked cheese. Homemade milk-challah buns. Pickles, tomato mayonnaise.

Last day of passover. Matzo brei.

Matzo casserole with leeks and scallions, kashkaval cheese, sirene cheese. Pan fried salmon with crisp skin, oranges, a touch of dill (weird plating, haha). Poppy bud, because why not.

Brunch (I will probably never be able to wake up early enough to cook a real breakfast ): Green "shakshuka" (it can't be a shakshuka if the sauce is not tomato based). Onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, pureed spinach, a little cream, roasted sweet potatoes, nutmeg, soft eggs, sumac, cumin and a touch of zaatar.

After recent discussion in a thread about the herb butnaj, I've decided to have soma fava beans with it. I also added mint, cumin, paprika, lemon and olive oil. Also some garlicky pearled barley.

They are very similar. I'd look for a very soft feta, not crumbly but just breakable, it should be almost spreadable. Flavor wise, look for something milky and not briney, best if it has some aged cheese flavor. It should not be too salty. As for the salad as a whole, don't skimp on the mint, and serve at room temperature (I think that peas gets strange texture when cold).

I'm a little late with posting, but Passover eve was a few days ago and we had a small Seder with the family. I wasn't hosting, but those are my contributions. Apologies for the bad images, which were mostly taken while preparing or taking leftovers Fresh peas with sirene cheese, mint, olive oil, pepper. Beetroots with spiced yogurt (anise, fennel seeds, chili, cumin), mint and oregano, lemon and olive oil. Matzo "lasagna" (the matzo were soaked in water), filled with browned mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted eggplants, chickpeas, bechamel, bharat (with plenty of cinnamon and cumin). The topmost matzo sheet was brushed with butter so it ended up nice and crisp. Cake made with coconut flakes, shaved chocolate, chopped toasted walnuts and a little red wine. Saoked with coffee so it's vey moist and made complete with coffee flavored whipped cream. It's one of my favorite cake to make and eat. There was also chicken dishes and sides, some lovely salads, gefilte fish homemade chazeret, and a couple more desserts.

Homemade pappardelle with small chickpeas in charred roasted peppers sauce (no tomato), garlic, EVOO, sharp Pecorino Romano, black pepper.

I like the flavor profile that results from mild quark style cheese, sour cream, and at least for me, vanilla is a must. I also like ricotta, often with citrus, but I don't consider it cheese cake flavor.

Hammin eggs are very popular in Israel, most often served as part of hammin or tchoulent, with jacnun, and sometimes with hummus, more often with hummus-ful. They are very liked and appreciated due to the long cooking time. Some will boil eggs with a tea bag in order to color them without a long cooking time, but this does not effect the taste or the inner color. Personally, I'm not a fan, but I don't really like regular hard boiled eggs either.

I'll just make it clear that the fava mentioned is the dried kind (as in a ful medames), completed with lemon juice and olive oil. Although I'm sure it will be delicious with the green kind as well.

In Israel, people of Iraqi origin will usually use butnaj/butnuj to refer to Micromeria fruticosa (Zota Levvana in Hebrew). However, I will not be surprised if in Iraq it refers to a different plant. It is used to flavor cooked fava beans, kebabs (mint is more common now, but I believe it was the original spice in Iraqi kebabs). It is often paired with cumin. Like mint, it makes tasty tea, especially with strong black tea.

Sour cream and cornmeal biscuits with plenty of rosemary and a little parmesan. Served with a salad, cheeses, olives, and scrambled eggs.

I had leftover (uncooked) rice noodles from yesterday's dinner. I mixed them with some extremely hot sambal olek I had made moths ago (and was left in the freezer), I believe it contained dried and fresh chillies, garlic and tamarind. I then added coconut milk and flakes, some tahini and plenty of scallions. It was really good, I already want to make it again Maybe with thicker noodles, and toasted cashews.

A quick dinner today. Thin rice noodles, chickpeas, coconut milk, turmeric, a hint of cumin, fenugreek and anise, plenty of chili. Coriander and some more fresh chilies on top. I seem to be on a coconut kick lately. Definitely not a complaint on my side.

Yesterday's raisin loaf became a large pile of french toasts, flavored with coconut milk & flakes (along with regular milk), cinnamon, dark brown sugar, vanilla and some rum. Don't forget a large pinch of salt.

@gfweb Not really, they are all very long, this one is just a little crooked. Sometimes there are also a few Y shaped berries. They just began to ripen and I have to fight the ants, because they are fond of them, and tend to find the ripe fruits first. The worst is if one happen to miss an ant on the berrie before taking a bite