Tastes of the Mediterranean

[Almass]

Marlena: Are you saying that Claudia Roden stated that Falafel is an Israeli dish?

[marlena spieler]

Marlena: Are you saying that Claudia Roden stated that Falafel is an Israeli dish?

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lets see if i can remember the exact wording? she did not say that felafel is an israeli dish per se, [because of course we all know that it is an ancient dish, one of the most ancient dishes around, and that is part of its great, i think deep, appeal]. i might have to hunt up my saveur article....anyhow when i posed the question: would you say that felafel is an israeli dish, she said, and i'm trying to be specific and exact here: "well, not the felafel, but the way it is served [in israel]: with the salads and sauces, in a pita".

if anyone has the article i believe i have the exact wording there. and i'll check my computer to see if my files go back that far....my office and note keeping isn't as good as it could be.

Marlena

ps: okay, found it, and here is how i wrote it up:

"How, I mused, did this ancient Arab dish of ground chickpea croquettes become Israels national dish?

Israeli-born food writer Oded Schwartz says "Felafel can be traced back to Pharoahs Egypt, and probably much earlier. In the millennia since, it has been eaten throughout the Middle East".

Claudia Roden, the author of The Book of Jewish Food, concurs. She grew up in Cairo, eating this forerunner of felafel, ta'amia, and adds that "It is the way these bean croquettes have come to be served in Israel, stuffed into pita with a variety of sauces (such as tahina, houmous, mango, Yemenite hot sauce, and so forth) that makes felafel particularily Israeli".

note: not sure if i was clear that this is my words and sentiment, not taken from my interview with Claudia: "because of course we all know that it is an ancient dish, one of the most ancient dishes around, and that is part of its great, i think deep, appeal."

Edited August 4, 2005 by marlena spieler (log)

[Almass]

OK, all is good, nothing to see here, move along the platform...