All posts tagged: #Galilee

great reviews so far …

Published just over a month ago by Flavoured Books, The Galilean Kitchen is already being well received online, through articles and book reviews in The Jerusalem Post and Hadassah magazine. The focus of each article is on the cultural flavours that ooze out of the kitchens where Ruth Nieman, author of the cookbook, spent a year gleaning how to replicate these Arabic dishes, using authentic spice blends and fresh, seasonal, local produce. “There are no cookbooks in these kitchens” Ruth tells both interviewers, “all the recipes are handed down through the generations and by adding a touch more za’atar, a pinch of baharat or an extra clove of garlic or two, the recipe becomes each cooks own”. Ruth then painstakingly deciphered the ‘handfuls’ into cups, grams or tablespoons and puts pen to paper, allowing the reader to create these delicious Middle Eastern recipes from the Druze, Muslim, Christian and Bedouin communities, in the comfort of their own kitchen. Red Magazine has now published on line Amira’s Cauliflower Sinye from the cookbook as part of ‘Veganuary’ with social media feeds, trending about …

Chicken, Potato & Garlic Soup from The Galilean Kitchen

Warm up this winter with a hearty chicken, potato and garlic soup, from The Galilean Kitchen.     This fragrant soup, laced with medicinal spices and deep flavours of garlic and lemon juice, is a firm favourite from Nawal’s kitchen, where ‘shorba’ the Arabic name for soup is easy to make and deliciously satisfying to eat on a cold day. Nawal’s Shorba (chicken, potato & garlic soup) for basic broth 2 chicken breasts, chopped into large cubes 1 piece of ginger, peeled & sliced 3 –4 bayleaves 1 teaspoon ground cardamom 11/2 litres cold water 1 teaspoon salt for chicken, potato & garlic soup 2 large potatoes, peeled & cubed 6 garlic cloves, minced or crushed 3 lemons, juiced 11/2 tablespoons flour, mixed with 250mls water 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon baharat 1 teaspoon black pepper place the chicken cubes, ginger, bayleaves, cardamom, salt & water in a saucepan & boil for 20-30 minutes to create flavour add the potato cubes, lower the heat & simmer for a further 15 minutes mix the flour & water into a paste …

The Galilean Kitchen … a cookbook with a difference

This time last year, the groves of the Galilee began their annual production of organic olive oil and I started writing this beautiful cookbook, The Galilean Kitchen. It has been a year in the making (involving lots of writing and LOTS of tasting) and it is with great excitement, I am proud to announce, that it is now ready to bring you the best of this lush region’s dishes, full of cultural flavours. A cookbook with a difference, The Galilean Kitchen is full of recipes for family meals, using Middle Eastern staples, vegetables and spices, with each page containing tips and easy to find ingredients to cook these dishes in your own kitchen. It tells the stories of the women who have parted with their family recipes, as well as the regions seasonal produce. First edition copies are now available to order here, and you can look forward to cooking from an untapped cuisine that is waiting to be unleashed into every kitchen and at the same time read about the culinary cultures of the …

The Galilean Kitchen…..a cookbook in the making

Within the rural region of the Galilee, home to a diverse ethnic population, culture and flavours mingle together in the local kitchens where traditional dishes are cooked. Through the eyes and palates of home cooks, The Galilean Kitchen will immerse you in authentic cooking from a social, cultural and culinary perspective, allowing you to re-create the delicious flavours in your own kitchens. Inspired by my love of Middle Eastern food and the beautiful Galilee of Northern Israel, I am writing a book that enters into the untapped area of Druze villages, surrounded by olive and citrus groves and where with local seasonal produce alone, Sinye, Hubeza & F’tir are prepared from recipes that have been passed through the generations. Coupled with the stories of the local home cooks, their heritage and passion for food, The Galilean Kitchen will be a cookbook with a difference and one to look out for, when it reaches the shelves at the end of the year…. As part of the social element of this project, a crowdfunding campaign has been set up to raise funds for producing, publishing …

the green gems of spring….

With Spring in full bloom, the Galilee is a place of beauty with wild flowers cascading through the lush green hills, the smell of the citrus in the air and the white blossoms have fallen to the ground, to make way for the first fruits. May heralds the beginning of the elusive fresh, green almond, a misunderstood nut that is grown in Northern Israel and throughout the Middle East. South of Nazareth in the Lower Galilee is the Arab village of Iksal, famous for their almond groves and the abundant harvests of a special strain of almond called Um al-Fahem. unique not only in it’s size and taste but also for it’s extra soft skin. These almonds are sold as fair trade and known to be amogst the best in Israel. Delicate in both flavour and texture, the young, unripe nuts are picked whilst the outer skin remains light green and furry, well before the hard brown shell of the almond has had the chance to form. Inside the light olive green casing is a smooth, soft, white almond with a subtle, grassy flavour. They …

food culture in the galilee…..

Israel has an eclectic population with diverse cultures; however food is a culture that can be experienced by all. Israel’s northern region is a beautiful mountainous range, separated and known as the upper and lower Galilee. A lush land full of food that has matured from small beginnings into the fruit bearing trees, vines, wild herbs and edible flowers synonymous with the area and grown, foraged and picked by the locals for its freshness, taste and nutritional value. A world apart from the culinary capital of Tel Aviv where highly acclaimed chefs produce gourmet food as works of art on the plate, the food from the north is rustic, homely and cooked straight from the ground. Galileat, the brainchild of an Australian chef, Paul Nirens, who moved to the north of Israel over 30 years ago. Paul trained in one of Israel’s leading culinary schools before managing commercial kitchens in a competitive profession. Whilst selling locally crafted gourmet foods, he found an opportunity in the untapped market of intercultural activities in the Galilee, through food. …