Stories, photos, and recipes from Israel’s culinary scene—a fusion of flavors from around the world. After years of travels elsewhere, photographer Steven Rothfeld visited Israel for the first time, spending several months exploring the small country’s vibrant food scene. The locals guided him from one great restaurant to another, and to growers and producers of fine foods as well. This book is a delicious compilation of stories and reflections, recipes, and stunning photographs of Israel’s food culture today. From north to south, Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, chefs and food growers have branched out from a vast array of cultural influences and historic traditions to create fresh, contemporary fusions and flavors. Rothfeld’s friend Nancy Silverton, a winner of the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef Award, contributes ten dishes inspired by the delicious fusion styles that have become a hallmark of the Israeli culinary community. “Learn about the cultural traditions underlying dishes like spiced lamb kabobs grilled on cinnamon sticks, beet puree with tahini and date syrup, a kumquat marmalade Rothfeld first tasted at an inn in the Golan Heights, and inventive variations on Israeli staples like cauliflower and eggplant.”—St. Helena Star

This book explores the relationship between the food culture of Israel and the creation of its national identity. It is an effort to research what the mundane, everyday behaviours such as cooking and feeding ourselves and others, can tell us about the places we were born and the cultural practices of a nation. With the aim of developing a better understanding of the many facets of Israeli nationalism, this ethnographic work interrogates how ordinary Israelis, in particular women, use food in their everyday life to construct, perform and resist national narratives. It explores how Israeli national identity is experienced through its food culture, and how social and political transformations are reflected in the consumption patterns of Israeli society. The book highlights understudied themes in anthropology, food studies and gender studies, and focuses on three key themes: food and national identity construction, the role of women as feeders of the nation, and everyday nationhood. It is a relevant work for researchers and students interested in the study of food, gender, nationalism and the Middle East; as well as for food writers and bloggers alike.

Contains over 300 kosher recipes from all over Israel, including chremslach, spanakopita, artichoke soup with lemon and saffron, Tunisian hot chile sauce, and hummus.

Nowhere is the Israeli passion for life more pronounced than around their food tables at home and in their restaurants The storied land of Israel is best known as the cradle of three great world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Since ancient times, the rich interplay of cultures in this region has fostered one of the world's most diverse and fascinating cuisines. Now you can take part in enjoying diverse and delicious Israeli food in the comfort of your own home. This Israeli cookbook blends the flavors of middle eastern food with those of traditional kosher cuisine. The result is a medley of tantalizing flavors and colors. This Israeli cooking book features 75 recipes of some of the tastiest offerings that the region has to offer. Arab and Bedouin tribesmen, orthodox Christian groups and Jewish settlers from all corners of the globe have thrived here on an agricultural bounty of grains, fish, meats, citrus, milk and cheese, olives, figs, dates, grapes and pomegranates. Each group has contributed flavors and delicacies to the creation of present-day Israeli cuisine. From the Yemenite Jews come aromatic breads and spicy Zhoug sauces; from the Arabs, freshly ground Hummus and pomegranate salads. Gefilte Fish is a favorite of Ashkenazi Jews while Sephardic Jews savor the garlicky, peppery Hraymi fish. Enjoy the tantalizing flavors of Israel from such classics as Falafel in piping hot Pita, Chicken Soup with Matzo Dumplings, succulent Kebabs and hearty Jerusalem Chamin. As well as presenting a wide range of recipes, The Food of Israel introduces the reader to the fascinating culinary traditions of the land. Striking color photography and detailed information on cooking techniques make this book the ideal culinary guide to the land of milk and honey. Recipes include: Babbaghanouj Jerusalem Kugel Stuffed Vine Leaves Roast Chicken with Onions and Sumach on Pita Bread Goose Liver Confit Lamb Kebabs Mutabek (Sweet Sheep Cheese Pastry)

Nutritionist, cooking instructor, and culinary tour guide Orly Ziv is pleased to announce the release of her first cookbook, Cook in Israel: Home Cooking Inspiration with Orly Ziv.

Simple meals inspired by Israeli street food, by the authors of the best-selling James Beard Book of the Year, Zahav.

Drawing on ethnography conducted in Israel since the late 1990s, Food and Power considers how power is produced, reproduced, negotiated, and subverted in the contemporary Israeli culinary sphere. Nir Avieli explores issues such as the definition of Israeli cuisine, the ownership of hummus, the privatization of communal Kibbutz dining rooms, and food at a military prison for Palestinian detainees to show how cooking and eating create ambivalence concerning questions of strength and weakness and how power and victimization are mixed into a sense of self-justification that maintains internal cohesion among Israeli Jews.

When people discuss food in Israel, their debates ask politically charged questions: Who has the right to falafel? Whose hummus is better? But Yael Raviv's Falafel Nation moves beyond the simply territorial to divulge the role food plays in the Jewish nation. She ponders the power struggles, moral dilemmas, and religious and ideological affiliations of the different ethnic groups that make up the "Jewish State" and how they relate to the gastronomy of the region. How do we interpret the recent upsurge in the Israeli culinary scene--the transition from ideological asceticism to the current deluge of fine restaurants, gourmet stores, and related publications and media? Focusing on the period between the 1905 immigration wave and the Six-Day War in 1967, Raviv explores foodways from the field, factory, market, and kitchen to the table. She incorporates the role of women, ethnic groups, and different generations into the story of Zionism and offers new assertions from a secular-foodie perspective on the relationship between Jewish religion and Jewish nationalism. A study of the changes in food practices and in attitudes toward food and cooking, Falafel Nation explains how the change in the relationship between Israelis and their food mirrors the search for a definition of modern Jewish nationalism.

Winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award 2010 A gripping story of a lone Jewish woman battling land sharks to keep her community alive Rachel lives alone by the sea. Her children have long migrated to Israel as have her Bene Israel Jew neighbours. Taking care of the local synagogue and preparing exquisite traditional Jewish dishes sustains Rachel's hope of seeing the community come together again at a future time. When developers make moves to acquire the synagogue and its surrounding land, Rachel's vehement opposition takes the synagogue committee and the town by surprise. Written with warmth and humour, Book of Rachel is a captivating tale of a woman's battle to live life on her own terms. Continuing the saga of the unique Bene Israel Jews in India, it adds to Esther David's reputation as a writer of grace and power.

A full-colour cookbook featuring an enticing array of Palestinian dishes, 'The Gaza Kitchen' also serves as an extraordinary introudction to daily life in the embattled Gaza Strip. It is a window into the intimate everyday spaces that never appear in the news.