HUNGRY GERALD

Pancakes, specially flanked by bacon and gilded with maple syrup, comprise a sumptuous breakfast. But, savory ground turkey, seafood, vegetable pancakes (or fritters) are great for dinner (Or “supper” as they call evening dining on Prince Edward Island). BSK makes wondrous pancakes from ground turkey, zucchini, scallions and Middle East spices bound together with a beaten egg. HG complements them with a garlicky sour cream/yogurt sauce heady with zaatar, cumin, sumac and coriander. (You can find the recipe for the pancake/fritters and sauce in “Jerusalem”, a Yotam Ottolenghi cookbook.) BSK used daughter-in-law Maiko Sakamoto’s recipe for the Korean seafood pancakes BSK made last night. BSK mixed flour, egg, baking powder, canola oil, shredded cabbage, chopped scallions. Added thinly sliced local sea scallops to the batter. Fried the pancakes to a glistening crisp. HG made Japanese “Bulldog” sauce: Ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, mirin, sugar. BSK steamed a batch of local asparagus. Drank Canadian pinot grigio. The pancake recipe can be altered by using sliced onion instead of cabbage and shrimp, lobster or crabmeat for the seafood element. HG’s preference is to add a bunch of shucked oysters to the batter. In HG/BSK’s continual homage to cross cultural dining, dessert was authentic Middle Eastern pistachio Halvah, imported from Lebanon and sold at PEI’s Atlantic Super Stores.

Surprise. Israeii cuisine is hot. The trend started with Yotam Ottolenghi and his London restaurants.–Ottolenghi’s in Spitlafields, islington, Notting Hill and Nopi in Soho. All very successful. In addition, he has spread the word about Israeli cuisine with a number of very good cookbooks (Jerusalem by Ottollenghi and Sami Tamimi is HG/BSK’s fave). In the United States, Michael Solomonov’s Philaelphia restaurant, Zahav, got raves from the critics and is always packed with happy foodies. (Solomonov’s cookbook is Zahav-A World Of Israeli Cooking). There are three casual Israeli restaurants in New York and HG predicts there will be more. SJ reported from a recent trip to Berlin that Israeli restaurants are the trendiest eateries in that city. Last night, BSK looked in the refrigerator and found eggplant and Greek yogurt on the shelves and ground lamb in the freezer. Pignolia nuts and Israei couscous in the pantry. All the makings for stuffed eggplant with lamb and pine nuts accompanied by Israeli couscous (recipe from “Jerusalem”). Even though HG/BSK’s wondrous pal and neighbor, Karen K., was a dinner guest, the group did not dance a spirited Hora after dinner.

Yes, that’s been the strident order of Moms for generations. Rebellious little HG bypassed vegetables (except for hidden treasures — little mounds of buttery mashed potatoes enclosing spinach). These days, because of BSK’s wizardry, HG is a vegetable lover. Here are some BSK specialties: Haricot verts cooked to the nice midpoint between Paris bistro soggy and health addict raw. Snow pea pods stir fried with ginger and garlic. Fried chopped zucchini and peppers plus corn kernels (best accompaniment for Adobo dusted pan fried pork chops). Thanksgiving-style roast brussels sprouts with chestnuts. This is just a sampling. BSK outdid herself last week with two surprising vegetable dishes. BSK followed Sam Sifton’s New York Times recipe for rotisserie-style Greek chicken (BSK showered the crispy chicken slices with feta cheese, kalamata olives and chopped parsley). The surprise was in the salad which augmented the chicken. Inspired by the Ottolenghi cookbook, “Jerusalem,” BSK roasted olive oil gilded cauliflower nuggets. Mixed them with chopped celery, pomegranate seeds and walnuts. Dressed them with a mix of olive oil, lemon juice, cinnamon and maple syrup (that’s right, maple syrup). A wow. This was followed by a dessert of nut brownies slicked with peanut butter icing prepared by dinner guest Karen K., neighbor, movie producer and New Mexico Dessert Queen. BSK’s next triumph was based on brussels sprouts. (BSK long ago banished HG’s antipathy toward “fairy cabbages”). BSK sautéed quartered sprouts in olive oil with garlic and thin shallot slices. Added chicken stock and cooked until the sprouts were barely tender. Tossed in some almost done penne. Continued cooking a few more minutes. When done, BSK added a goodly amount of parmesan, shredded sage leaves and a generous half pound of crisply fried thick cut preservative free bacon. A shower of Aleppo pepper. The result: A supreme pasta dish.

This week HG has been eating in Jerusalem (culinarily speaking). Thankfully, HG doesn’t have to be in Jerusalem, because no matter how holy Jerusalem is supposed to be (HG, a non-believer, finds this notion spurious) HG has always identified it as a city with a long history of super bloody violence. Read “Jerusalem: The Biography” by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Wade through 3,000 years of slaughter, madness and fanaticism (much in the name of “faith.”). However, there are two guys who have surmounted the nuttiness of Jerusalem (sensibly, they live in London). The two native Jerusalemites are Yotam Ottllenghi (an Israeli) and Sami Tamimi (an Arab). Business partners, former lovers and proprietors of a number of very successful London restaurants, Yotam and Sami have written a cookbook entitled “Jerusalem.” Illustrated with evocative photographs, the book is a treasure house of savory, enticing recipes. This week, much to the delight of HG/BSK and Gorgeous Granddaughter Sofia, dinner has been pure Jerusalem. First night was “Sweet and Sour Fish.”. Cod was fried lightly and then covered with onions, peppers, tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, olive oil, curry powder and a host of other spices. Heated until cod was cooked through. Served at room temperature. Perfect as an appetizer or main.dish. Next night was “Lamb meatballs with Fava Beans and Lemon.” The cookbook describes these meatballs as “Fresh, sharp and very, very tasty.” Accurate description. BSK served them with couscous which soaked up the lush sauce. Next night: “Turkey & Zucchini Burgers with Green Onion and Cumin.” HG made a sauce of Greek yogurt, sour cream, Aleppo pepper, sea salt, much garlic, olive oil, sumac and zaatar. A blast of taste. So, does the Yotam-Sami partnership and their focus on the magnificent Israeli-Arab food of the city they were raised in hold out hope for amity in Jerusalem? HG’s answer, sadly, is “No.”

Shakshuka. Love the sound of the word and love the taste of the dish. The origin is Tunisian. It is a popular breakfast or lunch dish in Israel. HG/BSK dined on it last night (with gusto). Canny BSK made enough sauce so the dish could be revisited for breakfast (once more consumed with gusto). The recipe comes from Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi (book was a Christmas gift from Gifted Daughter Lesley R.). Shakshuka is made by creating a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, tomato paste, garlic, olive oil, cumin and plenty of harissa (the fiery Middle Eastern condiment). Egg yolks are poached in the thick sauce and some poached eggs (yolks and whites) are added upon serving. Served with zaatar (Middle Eastern spice mixture) dusted Greek yogurt and warm pita. The combination of the runny egg yolks and creamy yogurt in the spicy sauce is a revelation. Every last drop is wiped up with pita. Jerusalem is filled with great recipes. Besides shakshuka, HG/BSK have tried sweet and sour fish and turkey/zucchini burgers with green onion and cumin. Taste explosions. There’s a great human story behind the partnership of Ottolenghi (an Israeli Jew) and Tamimi (a Palestinian Arab). The New Yorker Magazine did a profile of them last year. The men met in London and have created five restaurants and a delicatessen in that city. All are roaring successes. There’s a moral in this somewhere.