Next Stop: Israel

Basically, one can divide Israeli cuisine to two: Ashkenazic and Sephardic.

Ashkenazic relates to Jewish people (immigrants) from east and west Europe and Sephardic relates to Jewish people from middle east countries. The Sephardic food is full of aromatic spices & herbs, spicier and livelier in general than Ashkenazic cooking which is sweeter. Nowadays we have new Israeli cuisine which combines the two with modern cooking. The style of Jewish cooking reflects the many places that Jews have lived throughout the centuries. Jewish cooking shows the influence of Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Spanish, German and Eastern European styles of cooking, some influenced by the unique dietary Jewish laws.

Many of the foods that we think of as Israeli are not unique to Jewish or Israeli culture. Stuffed cabbage, a traditional Jewish dish, is common in Eastern Europe. Blintzes and knishes are familiar to all Germans, not just Jewish ones. Many of the dishes that make up the Israeli cuisine have been brought by immigrants from the countries of their origin. Thus, even though dishes such as couscous, felafel and shishlik are extraordinarily popular throughout the country, none of them can be considered "truly Israel." Couscous, for example, originated in the Maghreb nations of North Africa; the roots of felafel are Egyptian; and shishlik first came from Turkey.

Israel is a small country. It is long and narrow and stretches just under 450 kms from north to south and, on average, is 60 kms from east to west. Israel's cosmopolitan society is reflected by the infinite range of cuisine available in the country. Any style of food from Argentinian to Zairean can be obtained in Israel. Israel is famous for its fresh fruits and vegetables. The Jaffa orange has long been a sweet symbol of the country.

Many restaurants in Israel observe the Kosher (Jewish dietary) laws. When dining Kosher you cannot mix meat and dairy products. However there are many non kosher reasturants where you can found a big saucy white (refer to pig meat) steak. Bacon and eggs too can be obtained in some restaurants. Together with the country's non-jewish citizens - Muslim and Christian Arabs, Bedouin, and Druze this melting pot gives the country its exceptional cuisine flavour.

Information from:

http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/FOOD_IS_ART/israelifood.html

Meal #36 - Israel

How’s this for timing? The weekend before Israeli Independents Day (Yom Ha’atzmaut) our culinary journey brought us to Israel. How’s this for bad timing? Our original destination, Sabra Café, was closed due to the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat) not finishing early enough for the restaurant to be ready for dinner. So instead, we walked five minutes down the road to Wallah – ahh… the joys of Melbourne’s Jewish precinct (known ironically to its locals as the “ghetto”).

Wallah
Falafel and Grill
302 Carlisle St. Balaclava
Open 7 days for lunch and dinner

Israel is melting point of different cuisines due to the many cultures that reside there. This is demonstrated by Wallah’s menu, which although heavily influenced by Sefardi (Arab Jews) flavours, also had dishes based on Ashkenazi (European Jews), Arab, and Modern Western cuisines.

The décor was simple and inoffensive, with the main wall of the dining area being covered in funky insect paintings. Although the main dinning area of Wallah is relatively small, reminiscent of a café, there is a separate back room reserved for larger bookings – unfortunately, as we had not booked ahead, we had to make do with two smaller tables being pushed together. This week’s insatiable Israeli ingestors were, Paul (birthday boy!), Deb, Caroline, Rami, Sai and Nick.

Entrées/Dips:

Hommus – Chickpea, tahina, lemon blend
Tahina – Sesame, lemon, whipped
Matbucha – Spicy tomato make with out special recipe
Middle Eastern Eggplant Salad – Spicy grilled eggplant and capsicum
Pita Bread

Mains:

Falafel Pita Pocket – with hommus, tahina and tabouleh (parsley based salad)
Beef Kebab Pita Pocket – with babaganoush (eggplant dip)
Chicken Schnitzel Platter – Chicken breast with handmade crumbed spice coating
Chilli Chicken Burger – Marinated pieces of chicken served with caramelised onion, lettuce and chilli mayonnaise
Warm Chicken Salad – Spicy chicken breast fillet on a bed of fresh cut salad with a chilli mustard sauce
Wallah Salad – Finely chopped capsicum, onion, lettuce, tomato, olives, cucumber, tahina, served with 4 falafel balls

Sides:

Chips
Majaddarah – Lentil rice
Arisa – Authentic Moroccan recipe, homemade, extra hot chilli paste

Entrée:


The hommus was good, not great (although it is tough to get great hommus outside of Israel and the Middle East); the tahina was surprisingly green, yet tasty; the matbucha was spicy, light, and had a strong hit of coriander; but the best of the dips was the Middle Eastern Eggplant Salad, spicy and filling. The dips were so good that we had to order extra pita bread so that we could make sure that none was wasted.

Mains:


Although the pita pockets were served without the quintessentially Israeli ingredient – hot potato chips – this was quickly rectified by stuffing as many chips (ordered as a side dish) as we could fit into the pita pockets. Magically, what were good Australian pita pockets became great Israeli pita pockets!


Chicken schnitzel is a staple dish for the Ashkenazi, and Wallah’s version was a hit, especially due to the unusual, but rewarding, use of cumin in the crumbed coating. This meal was served with rice and Israeli salad – a traditional salad made from lettuce, onion, tomato and cucumber.


The two salads and the chilli chicken burger were all hits (although the chilli chicken burger was not spicy) and are great examples of the Western influence on modern Israeli cuisine.


Overall:

Wallah offers a great variety of dishes that successfully highlight all the different influences to modern Israeli cuisine. The wait staff are Israeli (this being a popular area for Israeli backpackers to find work) and their accent and attitude helped to give the restaurant a more authentic feel. The meals are well priced, with most dishes under $10, although the larger mains are about $18.