Jerusalem: a city of flavors

BASYA LAYE

Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi share a great deal of biography. Both were born in Jerusalem in 1968, one, Arab, in the east, one Jewish, in the west. They met several years ago after independently relocating to London, England, where both now make their home and are today partners in the respected and beloved Ottolenghi restaurants – and now in two cookbook ventures.

Ottolenghi, well known for his 2010 bestselling cookbook Plenty (a splendid collection of meat-free recipes), previously partnered with Tamimi to co-author Ottolenghi: The Cookbook in 2008. The new book, Jerusalem: A Cookbook (Random House 2012), is a cross-cultural homage to their birthplace, Jerusalem, old and new, with recipes as rich and warm as seems to be the relationship between the two friends and business partners.

The book is an “autobiography” through food. Offering up what they call “a self-indulgent, nostalgic trip into our pasts,” Ottolenghi and Tamimi succeed in transmitting some of Jerusalem’s energy and sensuality, and they capitalize on the gastronomic legacies conjured by the mosaic of peoples that make up that great city.

Here are two recipes for a Chanukah meal, perhaps one beginning with latkes to round out the flavors and add a traditional holiday touch. (Each recipe below contains just an excerpt of the full explanatory note that appears with each in the book.)

NA’AMA’S FATTOUSH
There are plenty of unique variations on the chopped salad but one of the most popular is fattoush, an Arab salad that uses (usually) grilled or fried leftover pita. Other possible additions include peppers, radishes, lettuce, chilies, mint, parsley, cilantro, allspice, cinnamon and sumac. Each cook, each family, each community has their own variation. A small bone of contention is the size of the dice. Some advocate the tiniest of pieces, up to 1/8-inch wide, others like them coarser, up to 3/4-inch wide. The one thing that there is no arguing over is that the key lies in the quality of the vegetables. They must be fresh, ripe and flavorsome, with many hours in the sun behind them.

1 scant cup Greek yogurt, and 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp whole milk, or 1 2/3 cups buttermilk (replacing both yogurt and milk)
2 large, stale Turkish flatbread or naan
3 large tomatoes, cut into 2/3-inch pieces
3 oz radishes, thinly sliced
3 Lebanese or mini cucumbers, peeled and chopped into 2/3-inch pieces
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 oz fresh mint
1 scant oz flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp dried mint
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
2 tbsp cider or white wine vinegar
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sumac or more to taste, to garnish

If using yogurt and milk, start at least three hours and up to a day in advance by placing both in a bowl. Whisk well and leave in a cool place or in the fridge until bubbles form on the surface. What you get is a kind of homemade buttermilk, but less sour.

Tear the bread into bite-size pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Add your fermented yogurt mixture or commercial buttermilk, followed by the rest of the ingredients, mix well, and leave for 10 minutes for all the flavors to combine.

Spoon the fattoush into serving bowls, drizzle with some olive oil, and garnish generously with sumac.

MEJADRA
This ancient dish, popular throughout the Arab world, is also one of our most loved. The fried onion, with its sweet oiliness and slight crunch, is the secret…. The two of us can spend many pointless hours discussing what makes the best comfort food and why, but never seem to reach any kind of serious conclusion. Mejadra, however, is where the dispute ends. When served alongside yogurt with cucumber, or just plain Greek yogurt, the sweetly spiced rice and lentils strewn with soft fried onion is as comforting as it gets in Jerusalem. It is best served warm but is also fine at room temperature.

1 1/4 cups green or brown lentils
4 medium onions (1 1/2 lb before peeling)
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup (approx.) sunflower oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 cup basmati rice
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the lentils in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the lentils have softened but still have a little bite. Drain and set aside.

Peel the onions and slice thinly. Place on a large, flat plate, sprinkle with the flour and one teaspoon salt, and mix well with your hands. Heat the sunflower oil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan placed over high heat. Make sure the oil is hot by throwing in a small piece of onion; it should sizzle vigorously. Reduce the heat to medium-high and carefully (it may spit!) add one-third of the sliced onion. Fry for at least five to seven minutes, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until the onion takes on a nice golden brown color and turns crispy (adjust the temperature so the onion doesn’t fry too quickly and burn). Use the spoon to transfer the onion to a colander lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a little more salt. Do the same with the other two batches of onion; add a little extra oil if needed.

Wipe the saucepan in which you fried the onion clean and put in the cumin and coriander seeds. Place over medium heat and toast the seeds for a minute or two. Add the rice, olive oil, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, half teaspoon salt, and plenty of black pepper. Stir to coat the rice with the oil and then add the cooked lentils and the water. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat, lift off the lid, and quickly cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Seal tightly with the lid and set aside for 10 minutes.

Finally, add half the fried onion to the rice and lentils and stir gently with a fork. Pile the mixture in a shallow serving bowl and top with the rest of the onion.

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