A wonderful way to show your solidarity with Israel is by serving Israeli dishes to family and friends. Support Israel by thinking Israeli – enjoy hummus, falafel and pita bread. You can also serve grilled foods, otherwise known as mangal.
And don’t forget about the coffee! Israelis love good coffee. In coffee houses, they like to drink it served in porcelain cups with a piece of oogah (cake). Israelis seem to find any excuse to have coffee, so I was intrigued to find a recipe for Israeli Coffee Chicken submitted to www.jewishfood-list.com from Nancy Berry of California. It comes from Jewish Cooking Secrets from Here and Far.
As a side dish for your Israeli-style dinner, serve this special noodle kugel, which was shared with members of the Jewish Food list by Maxine Wolfson of Rhode Island. She wrote: “Here’s an easy and never-fail way to make what is a ‘must’ for shul kiddushes in Jerusalem – Kugel Yerushalmi. It’s both sweet and sharp and is served with a slice of pickle.”
KUGEL YERUSHALMI (JERUSALEM NOODLE KUGEL)
1 lb. thin noodles, not the thinnest
41/2 cups water
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. black pepper
2/3 cup oil
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/4 package pareve margarine
Bring water, salt and pepper to a boil, add noodles and reduce to medium flame. Cook until water is absorbed.
In a small pot, heat oil and sugar; keep mixing until sugar liquefies and turns brown. Be careful not to burn. Then immediately, carefully, pour over cooked noodles and continue stirring until thoroughly blended. Mix in margarine. Let cool for a few minutes and then add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Bake in a greased casserole for 50 minutes or more at 325°F until nicely browned.
Serves 8.
ISRAEL COFFEE CHICKEN
1 large broiler-fryer chicken, cut up*
3/4 cup cold coffee
1/3 cup ketchup
3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp. wine vinegar
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. brown sugar
Combine liquids and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 to 10 minutes.
Arrange chicken in baking dish. Pour sauce over chicken and bake at 350°F for 1 hour. Turn and baste chicken every 15 minutes.
Serves 4.
* You can make it with 2 chickens using the same amount of sauce.