The Shabbat Table is the latest CJN column from noted chef and food blogger Norene Gilletz. Click here for last week’s recipes

Good Shabbos, Shabbat Shalom! This Shabbat, why not bring a taste of Israel to your Shabbat table?

I just received the Winter 2016 issue of Jamie Geller’s Joy of Kosher magazine in the mail and was totally blown away by the incredible food tour of Israel featured in this special issue.

Jamie Geller, founder and CEO of the Kosher Media Network, writes: “Living in Israel is a dream, a blessing. I feel that with such intensity that I just want to share it with the world…it has to be seen and smelled and tasted to be believed.”

Editor-in-chief Shifra Klein and her husband, Shlomo, the company’s COO, took up Jamie’s challenge. The Kleins toured and ate their way across Israel in the span of one week. The Purim edition features some of their favourite classics like salatim, pital, falafel, shawarma, Yerushalmi (Jerusalem) kugel and more.

Shifra kindly shared some wonderful dishes from the Israel edition of Joy of Kosher for you and your family to enjoy for Shabbat…or anytime! You’ll feel as if you’ve traveled across the world – without leaving your kitchen.

Everyone loves meatballs – Shifra suggested that you try these unusual Israeli-style meatballs simmered in tahini.

For Shabbos lunch, why not experiment and try a new twist on cholent – make hamin! There are different ways to prepare hamin— European Ashkenazi Jews add kishke, while the Sephardic Jews of Moroccan, Yemenite, Iraqi, and Iranian descent add spices, beans, barley, and wheat.

Shifra writes: “Yerushalmi kugel, the authentic version, is one of those recipes that you need to have witnessed or practiced a few times to perfect, and I was determined to figure out the perfect method to making it at home.“

Lucky for Shifra, she didn’t have to search far. Her father-in-law grew up in the Meah She’arim neighbourhood of Jerusalem and his mother was an expert at making Yerushalmi kugel. Her husband, Shlomo, has fond memories of his Zayde Klein bringing it home, neatly and lovingly wrapped from that week’s Kiddush, for his wife, Bubbe Klein, to taste.

On their visit to Israel, they visited Aunt Gita, an expert cook and balabusta, who inherited her cooking knowledge and know-how from her mother, Bubbe Klein.

“Aunt Gita shared that the secret is in caramelizing the sugar to the exact precise point – not too little, not too much. Another secret is in the pot. The cheaper the aluminum pot, the better. Bubbe Klein gave most of hers away to local caterers who begged for her pots, as they apparently hold the secret to the perfect Yerushalmi kugel. My cousin, Chanie Schapiro, was lucky enough to get one of the famous aluminum pots and she shared the inherited recipe and technique she learned. Bitayavon!“

THE REAL DEAL: YERUSHALMI KUGEL

16 ounces extra-fine noodles

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

5 large eggs

3 Tbsp additional sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

1. Cook noodles according to package directions.

2. Pour sugar in pot and top with oil, without mixing.

3. Heat on medium-high heat and allow to heat up until it reaches an amber brown colour and is bubbly.

4. Working very quickly, pour caramelized mixture over noodles. Mixing vigorously, add eggs, the additional 3 tbsp sugar, salt, and pepper.

5. Pour kugel mixture into aluminum pot or 9 x13 baking pan.

6. Bake in a 350-degree oven for thirty minutes.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

ISRAELI SALAD

Adapted from Meal Lean Yumm/Healthy Helpings by Norene Gilletz (Whitecap)

1 head romaine or iceberg lettuce

4 green onions

1 medium onion

2 green peppers

1 red pepper

1 English cucumber or 6 mini cucumbers, trimmed (peel, if desired)

8 firm ripe tomatoes (preferably Israeli)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (juice from 1 large lemon)

1 tsp salt (or to taste)

Freshly ground pepper

1. Wash and dry vegetables well. Dice them neatly into 1/2-inch pieces and combine in a large bowl.

2. Sprinkle with olive oil and lemon juice. Add seasonings; mix again. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Yield: 8 servings. Salad tastes best eaten the same day it is made, but leftovers will keep for a day in the refrigerator. Drain off excess liquid in the bottom of the bowl before serving.

Mediterranean Vegetable Salad: Add 1/2 cup sliced black olives, 1/2 cup sliced red radishes and 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro.

Norene Gilletz is the leading author of kosher cookbooks in Canada. She is the author of eleven cookbooks and divides her time between work as a food writer, food manufacturer, consultant, spokesperson, cooking instructor, lecturer, and cookbook editor.

Norene lives in Toronto, Canada and her motto is “Food that’s good for you should taste good!” For more information, visit her website or email her at [email protected].