Olives, Lemons & Za'atar

2014-06-15-4b18f811676713e51f4f40443c6ce38d_full_size-thumbI've been writing about za'atar for decades. The haunting spice mixture, which looks like marijuana and smells like Jerusalem, has had a home in my pantry since my first trip to Israel in 1980. I use it as an earthy rub for chicken with blackened lemons; as a zippy dip mixed with good olive oil and grated parmesan; as a coating for grilled swordfish, or tossed with heirloom tomatoes and feta cheese. So I was thrilled to see its place on a banner headline for this year's standout cookbook: Olives, Lemons & Za'atar: The Best Middle Eastern Home Cooking by Rawia Bishara (Kyle Books). Everything about Ms. Bishara's evocative new book made me want to run to the kitchen or get on a plane and wander in the Old City. Instead, my family and I hopped in our car and drove to Ms. Bishara's acclaimed restaurant, Tanoreen, located in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. All praise bestowed upon it by my colleagues rang true about the excellent food Ms. Bishara serves. But no one warned me about her exotic warmth and hypnotic intelligence.

Ms. Bishara's first name, Rawia, means storyteller in Arabic. She uses her imaginative food as her words to share an intimate bond between her mother's recipes and her personal narrative, which illuminates the history of her homeland, Nazareth, in southern Galilee. I have been there: It is beautiful.

Born into a food-obsessed Palestinian family, Rawia grew up eating food that has recently become trendy currency: the flavors and spirit of the Arabic kitchen found along the Eastern Mediterranean and in Israel, or Palestine, depending on your point of view. Ms. Bishara, once head of an organization that helped new immigrants settle in New York, became a grand hostess and entertained often. Friends encouraged her to open a restaurant which she did in 1998. Named for the majestic Lebanese town, Tanoreen, Rawia said it is a name far easier to pronounce than her own. The tiny storefront restaurant with only 12 tables has grown into someplace quite spacious, but it retains Rawia's aura of personal attention. .

Clearly there are dishes not to be missed. Brussels sprouts with a tahini-yogurt sauce and crunch of panko; mouthwatering eggplant napoleon brightened with a "salata" of tomatoes and basil and layered with baba ghanouj; and lamb shank marinated in herbs and rosebuds, are signature examples of redefined authenticity. Thankfully instructions for making these delectables can be found in her new book.

Allspice, cardamom, lentils, sumac, freekah (smoked green what berries), maftool (a traditional tiny pasta), pomegranate molasses, cumin and ghee, lentils and, of course, za'atar, lemons and olives - are part and parcel of this vibrant cuisine. In Nazareth, baba ghanouj is called mutabal (and I have recently seen this word on restaurant menus in the city.) Rawia adds tomatoes, chilies and cumin to her rendition. And I can't wait to try her recipe for cauliflower salad. In Nazareth it is simply fried and tucked into Arabic bread, sprinkled with lemon juice and sea salt. At Tanoreen, Rawia dresses nuggets of caramelized cauliflower with thick tahini laced with pomegranate molasses, served as a mezze. We couldn't get enough. This was also true of makdous -- tiny pickled eggplants stuffed with walnuts and red pepper, which my brother and sister-in-law loved when they visited Syria. Also of note was the baked kibbeh and sayadiyya, or fisherman's meal, which Rawia said her family ate every Friday night. I would run back for musakhan, a homemade flatbread topped with sumac-spiced shredded chicken with slow-cooked onions and toasted almonds.

For dessert, I would order her supernal knafeh, the best we've had, where layers of shredded phyllo are filled with warm homemade cheese and anointed with orange blossom water and crushed pistachios.

It's all in Rawia's book, complete with beautiful photographs and arresting design. It is a heartfelt documentation of the mystical wind gently blowing these flavors from the Levant. But if you don't feel like cooking, make a reservation at Tanoreen. Rawia will be there, waiting.

"Fresh" Is the New Word in Olive Oil

Chile has emerged as the promised land for premium extra-virgin olive oil, the kind of unconventional gift that leaves a lasting impression on your palate and finesse on your dinner table. Green and wet as droplets of morning dew, olive oil from Chile boasts a tree-to-bottle experience right in the orchard. A bit poetic perhaps, but the tiny country is counting on its miraculous climate and feral "terroir" to hoist its sparkling olive oil onto the world market. Where to start? At Todd English's restaurant "Olives" in New York City. On a clear night in June in New York City, 30 journalists and eager foodies sat at one long table to sample the inspired food of Chef English, but more importantly to learn why Chile has landed as prize winner in international competitions -- titles previously held by the more familiar domains of Italy, Israel, and even the U.S. The ring leader in the effort is Hugo Regojo, a Spaniard no less, who turned down a coveted life in the Foreign Service to become a farmer. He has joined the ranks of other pioneers, modern Chilean "Olivareros," to cultivate the riches of Chile's Central Valley.

Olive oil is a sacred food (or ingredient) and so I pay close attention to it. I also happen to love it. At home I use only two kinds of oil and they are both olive oils. A regular blended oil from a good producer, and extra-virgin olive oil -- from Italy, California, Israel, Greece, Spain, or sometimes France, when I can find it. Yet I am intrigued with the new offering from Chile with its golden-greenish hue, notes of almonds and artichokes, and its fresh "alive" quality. Many years ago I tasted a similar "freshness" at the Antinori estate in Italy. They had just developed the technology to "freeze" their exquisite oil almost immediately after extracting. At room temperature, the olive oil tasted almost "molecular" -- an exaggeration of itself. It was nice to get reacquainted with that decisive palate memory many years later.

Olive oil was first mentioned in the Hebrew bible in the 13th century B.C. -- and there is evidence that it has been around a lot longer than that -- as far back as 4000 B.C. As we now know, it is extremely healthy -- high in antioxidants, and monounsaturated fats -- particularly oleic acid -- and cancer-fighting polyphenols. But buyer beware. There are too many flawed olive oils on the market that suffer from rancidity and fustiness -- a word used by olive oil experts to define the "off" flavor caused by anaerobic fermentation of the olives before they are milled. Rancidity, on the other hand, is the result of a secondary oxidation process resulting in a strong smell of paint or varnish.

Chile is selling its premium extra-virgin olive oil to chefs in great restaurants and it is slowly appearing on supermarket shelves. Since the olives are harvested, cold-pressed, and bottled right at the orchard with every bottle you know you're getting just their olives -- and so it has integrity. You are not getting a blend of olives from all over the world, like I discovered in the brand I was using! The climate in Chile is perfect -- cold rainy winters and hot, dry summers let olives reach their optimum maturity -- revealing the great taste and perfume of the fruit (remember olives are fruits). It is also one of the few countries which is free from the dreaded olive fruit fly (bacteria) which severely affects the quality of the oil.

I use olive oil for everything and I bake with it all the time. In my book Eat Fresh Food, my daughter and I invented a lovely Italian-style chocolate chip cookie made with olive oil, as well as tender muffins and a delicious zucchini-banana bread. (You can find these recipes on my blog)

Using olive oil in new ways has always fascinated me. I was the first to invent olive oil ice cream in the mid-80s for the International Olive Oil Council. (Pastry chef Meredith Kurtzman makes it at Otto.) I was the first to freeze olive oil to use instead of butter to emulsify sauces and make them healthier. And I often make a quirky recipe from Colman Andrews (adapted from his book Cooking from the Riviera) for hot polenta topped with fresh orange segments and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil. And that night at Olives, I had a mini martini laced with olive oil from Chile -- and it was very good, indeed.

Tastes of the Week

June 4 through June 11, 2012 This was a crazy week of eating, press events, and socializing. How did we ever do it when we were young travelers -- eating two meals out, day after day. I really crashed at the end of the weekend when all I could do was eat animal crackers. Ha! What made me think of animal crackers?! I think it was a trip to my second carousel this month. This time it was at Prospect Park. (Several weeks ago it was the new carousel in Dumbo.)  We were there to celebrate the 100th birthday of the beautiful carousel, complete with a beautiful "carousel cake" made by Hudson Cakery (located in Weehawken, NJ.)  The cake was delicious and all around it were small horses made out of a kind of hard sugary fondant.  The excursion through Prospect Park and a visit to the Vale of Cashmere was courtesy of the Prospect Park Alliance, which continues to restore the park to its former Revolutionary glory. It is still glorious, however, and frequented by families, dogs, frisbee throwers, bikers, capoeira dancers, marathon runners, barbecue-ers, sightseers, drummers, and carousel goers.

Taste highlights: Wonderful, homemade string cheese!, compliments of Laurie Sandow, who, with her friend Midge, twisted many braids of the delicious cheese and was thoughtful enough to share some of it with me.

Freaking good fresh figs, compliments of the California fig advisory board. A "fig feast" at abckitchen.  Standout: honey-glazed turnips and fresh figs with rosemary and lemon.

A trip to Sunset Park, Brooklyn to Ricos Tacos at 505 51st St. (near 5th avenue) for tacos al pastor (marinated pork), tacos especiales with crispy tripe, and huarache grande (a sole-shaped flour tortilla) topped with ground meat and cheese. We'll be going back for the carnitas burrito which looked big enough to feed four.

A Lebanese banquet of mezze at ilili on 5th avenue. Chef Philippe Massoud has brought Lebanese food to "four-star" status.  We especially loved the "sliders" (ask for them -- they melt in your mouth), mouhamara w. walnuts, sundried peppers and pomegranate molasses, the shankleesh (a salad of feta, tomato, onions and za'atar), washed down with an excellent (and rather inexpensive) white wine from Lebanon, Masaya blanc, 2010.  

A fabulous lunch at Gramercy Tavern with star chef Michael Anthony.  Loved the fourchu lobster "salad" and monkfish with nettles -- one of the most sublime fish dishes I've ever had.

A lovely "media" dinner sponsored by Olive Oil from Chile at chef Todd English's restaurant Olives, located at the W Hotel near Union Square.  Standouts: the extra-virgin olive oil mini martini, Hudson Valley foie gras potage. olive oil tres leche cake with caramelized honey ice cream (and figs!  'Tis the season.)

Enjoy your own special tastes of the week!