The Food of Israel: Authentic Recipes from the Land of Milk and Honey (Food of the World Cookbooks) [Hardcover]

Sherry Ansky (Author), Nelli Sheffer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Food of the World Cookbooks | Publication Date: May 15, 2000

The Food of Israel is the only cookbook that successfully combines the best of Israeli cuisine with the allure of a great destination guide. Find recipes fro some of the best restaurants throughout Israel, including the many influences of the land: from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia. From piping hot pita bread with spicy zaÆatar seasoning, Israeli salads made with the finest olive oils to Arabic Malawach, stuffed sardines, and lamb with roasted eggplant, as well as the sweet Mutabeck, a pastry filled with salty sheep cheese and syrup. The modern Israeli palate is as vibrant and varied as its people. There is a recipe sure to please a wide variety of tastes.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sherry Ansky is the author of several cookbooks, and is one of the formost authorities on ethnic foods in Israel, where she writes a regular food column for the daily newspaper Maariv.

Nelli Sheffer, born in Tel Aviv, is an international food photographer, whose work has appeared in may cookbooks, including Food Markets of the World with Mimi Shearton (Abrams) and Eating Alfresco: Best Street Food in the World (Abrams).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Periplus Editions; Hardcover with Jacket edition (May 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9625932682
• ISBN-13: 978-9625932682
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 9.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #436,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #68 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Middle Eastern
  • #77 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Kosher

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not just Milk and Honey, August 20, 2000

By 

Larry Mark "editor of MyJewishBooks.com" (nyc) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Food of Israel: Authentic Recipes from the Land of Milk and Honey (Food of the World Cookbooks) (Hardcover)

The land of Israel is not only a land of Milk and Honey, but a land of seven main ingredients: olives, figs, dates, pomegranates, grapes, barley and bulgur wheat. The author, Ansky, is Jerusalem-born and is the food writer for Israel's prestigious MA'ARIV newspaper. The book opens with thirty pages of essays on the nature of Israel cuisine, and is followed by three pages of descriptions of ingredients. Each recipe is faced by an alluring, sensuous picture of the dish. Recipes include five eggplant salads, hummus, falafel, fatoush, shakshouka, Jerusalem kugel, patira, pastelicos, Etrog jam, Jerusalem Hamin, kibbeh, and Mussakhan (chicken with sumach and onions). Soups include a version of matzo ball, a kibbeh soup with beets and turnips, and lentil soup. Recipes for the Yemenite breads of malauach and Jachnun are included, in addition to recipes for lachma, and chickpeas with squid (well, maybe it isn't a kosher cookbook). Three exceptional recipes are Hraymi (a garlic halibut) which is the gefilte fish of the Sephardim; Leek Patties and Meat Cutlets in a lemon sauces; and Lamb Kebabs. Some recipes are from Israel's most famous restaurants and chefs.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for extraordinary dining., September 5, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Food of Israel: Authentic Recipes from the Land of Milk and Honey (Food of the World Cookbooks) (Hardcover)

The Food Of Israel is an impressive compendium of authentic regional recipes that are beautifully presented and wonderfully illustrated with full-color photography. Part One, "Food in Israel" is an engagingly informative history of more than 3,000 years of Israeli culinary history, concluding with the New Israeli Cuisine. Part Two, "Cooking In Israel" surveys the Israeli kitchen and typical Israeli ingredients. Part Three, "The Recipes" covers basic recipes, salads and appetizers, eggs, soups, breads and baked delicacies, stuffed foods and croquettes, fish, meat and poultry, and desserts. From Eggplant with Feta, Pita and Pomegranate Salad, and Chickpea Soup with Squid and Parmesan, to Patira (Herb-stuffed Pastry Triangles), Maluach & Jachnun (Yemenite Breads), and Roast Pigeon Stuffed with Goose Liver, The Food Of Israel is a very highly recommended culinary resource for extraordinary dining experiences.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars As Was Recommended, Food of the Middle East, March 6, 2011

By 

Steven Rossellini (Twin Cities, MN) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Food of Israel: Authentic Recipes from the Land of Milk and Honey (Food of the World Cookbooks) (Hardcover)

Nice book that separates the concept of Middle Eastern cuisine from that of what is commonly thought of as Jewish Eastern European cookery. There are foods with Syrian, Lebanese, Turkish and other Middle Eastern and Mediterranean roots. I was surprised to see recipes for some entrees that clearly would not be served in practicing Jewish homes; dishes that combined meat, shellfish, and dairy. There are numerous other cookbooks of the region that are superior to this book. I'd say, "Buy it!" if you can find one in used, pristine condition for a price that is less than the shipping fee.