Oratorio Restaurant , Kosher 1 Rehov Yair Street, Zichron Ya’acov Open for dinner Sunday to Friday, 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

A concert of flavors at Oratorio.The gourmet restaurant in Zichron Ya’acov is a true classic.

The Elma Arts Complex in Zichron Ya’acov and its restaurant Oratorio hold a special place in my heart. Before the structure was turned into a concert hall with a gourmet restaurant, it was a Kupat Holim vacation home. We spent several summer breaks there with two small girls, enjoying the brisk sea air and walks along the sandy beach.

Forty years on, and the place has been transformed by the vision of local resident Lily Elstein. When she heard that the iconic building, designed by Yaakov Rechter, was going to be torn down, she decided to renovate it instead. Today, audiences enjoy classical music concerts in the auditorium, as well as the imaginative creations of chef Gil Aviram and sous-chef Peleg Ezra. A meal at Oratorio is an experience not to be missed.




Dish at Oratorio.

We settled down at a table for two, and the attentive staff could not have been more helpful. It was explained to us that the first course comes in the form of tapas, many different kinds laid out on an adjacent bar, and it was self-service. Later we would order a main course, which our waitress would bring to the table.

The tapas bar offered a very wide selection of tastes, many vegetarian but also some ceviche and meat choices. Among the dishes that stood out were a fresh whole mushroom salad marinated in a sweet chili sauce with a touch of pepperiness which was very welcome on a cold evening; a wild rice salad garnished with pomegranate seeds and herbs; and chunks of baked aubergine soaked in date syrup. The carpaccio – thinly sliced salted beef – was swimming in a sea of olive oil, which I found offputting. The ceviche of salmon also did not have eye appeal. More slices of fried eggplant found their way onto delicious homemade bruschetta. In sum, the vegetarian options were the best bet as far as the appetizers were concerned.

There was also a thick vegetarian soup at the buffet. It was described as vichyssoise, which is made with potatoes and leeks and is usually served cold. This one was nicely hot and satisfying, although the potatoes seemed to overpower the leeks.

For the main course, my companion chose the lamb shank.

The tender crispy lamb was perfectly cooked, falling away from the bone but still pleasantly chewy. The accompanying bok choy was oily, and the carrot puree tasted as though someone in the kitchen had tipped a whole packet of cumin into the mix. I like cumin, but it is a very powerful spice and must be used with a gentle touch.

My main course was goose rillettes with red cabbage, served on a homemade brioche. This consisted of shredded roast goose in a rich brown sauce. The brioche was perfect for absorbing the delicious gravy. The side dish was a brilliant concoction, both visually and gastronomically. It consisted of five vegetable purees laid out on a plate – a real work of art. There were beet puree (a rich purple); parsley (vivid green); corn (bright yellow); sweet potato (orange); and Jerusalem artichoke (greige).

The hearty red wine to accompany this feast was Bat Shlomo, 2014 Red Blend (NIS 190 or NIS 45 a glass). You can also take the house wine at NIS 32 a glass.

There were several dessert choices, but we plumped for our usual favorites – lemon for me, chocolate for my companion. The lemon curd with crumble and Swiss meringue was as good as expected. The chocolate dish, called Only Chocolate, had the sweet brown stuff appear in five different incarnations – jelly, cream, cake, ganache and crumble. The waiter also insisted we try the dessert called The Pink. This was a pretty plate of pink goodies – macaroon, marshmallow, Turkish delight and creamed berries. It looked beautiful, and the taste did not disappoint.

La Regence Restaurant , King David Hotel, Jerusalem Kosher Sunday through Thursday, 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

There are times when a chef can be too talented for his own good. David Biton, longtime chef of the King David Hotel’s flagship restaurant La Regence, has created a sterling reputation for his inventive use of fresh local ingredients in creating superb meat-based dishes that have satiated world leaders and tourists alike. A few years ago, I had one of the best steak dinners of my life there.

Biton recently unveiled a winter tasting menu, available through the end of March, that offers an adventurous gastronomic journey through 11 courses and numerous styles, some more successful than others.

Be prepared to sit a spell. The evening takes a minimum of two hours, and while it isn’t any more filling than ordering a regular meal, you’re going to walk out thinking that you’ve spent a good part of your night eating.






La Regence.



“We offer a Mediterranean menu based on fresh local ingredients. Aside from salt and pepper, you won’t find any spices in my kitchen,” said Biton, explaining that he preferred to let the natural flavors of the dishes come to the forefront.

Biton has decided to challenge the diner with some unorthodox dishes that can be both inspired and perplexing. The menu got off to a positive start with an inventive selection of homemade, oddly shaped crackers that included tapioca, wild rice and beef served with a piquant horseradish sauce We looked forward to the goose liver tart on pralines, expecting a creamy creation. Instead, it consisted of jelly-like crystals that tasted fine, but the texture left something to be desired.

The same with the Jerusalem artichoke flan – a block of jiggly mousse that bore the distinct flavor of the Mediterranean delicacy but with a consistency that was somewhat offputting.

More enjoyable was the chicken consommé, served in a novel manner. Our pleasant server turned over an upside-down mug to reveal a forest of smoky spices. She then presented us with a tea bag-looking device. She said that after she filled the mug with steaming water, we should let the bag float for 15 seconds and then remove it. The result was an enchanting clear broth with a distinct barbecued taste that went down very easily.

Even more successful and satisfying were dishes like cold red snapper served with fennel cream and tarragon with smoked potato chips, and the sublime goose-filled ravioli with mushrooms, onions and peas.

Both would have warranted a larger portion if they had been served on their own.

But the best was yet to come. The fillet of beef medallion was a succulent and tender offering, enhanced by cauliflower and garlic cream. It was impossible not to forgive any shortcomings in whatever had arrived before it.
Two more courses awaited us, however. First was a pre-dessert selection of tapioca pudding with saffron, baba au rum balls and mandarin sorbet. They were all light and refreshing, but the baba au rum lacked a punch.


But they were a nice set-up for the rich chocolate torte that closed the meal in a sinful and delightful manner. We managed to leave the splendor of the historic hotel under our own steam, but just barely.

At a hefty price of NIS 380 per person, I would think twice about ordering the tasting menu, especially when you can have the best steak in town. But for the adventurous diner with a couple of hours to spare, it will provide an evening of diversity that showcases a fearless chef who looks around his kitchen and says, “Why not?”

The tasting menu is offered until 9 p.m. and costs NIS 380 per person. Allow at least two hours for the tasting meal.

Gourmandises Restaurant ,Mehadrin Kikar Hamusica 10 Yoel Salomon St., Jerusalem Tel: (02) 566-7222 Sunday – Thursday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. https://www.facebook.com/ gourmandisesbyyoel

French pastries.

Livnatt and Yoel Afriat were opticians in Paris with a number of their own shops, but they knew they wanted to change their careers to something that would be more easily transferable to Israel. So Yoel gave up being an optician to become a pastry chef and spent a year at Le Notre, one of Paris’s most prestigious cooking schools. Then he started his own patisserie business, selling his creations from the family home in Paris.

A chance meeting with the owner of Kikar Hamusica at a party in Paris in 2014 led to the Afriat family’s making aliya and the opening of Gourmandises by Yoel just six months later. All the pastries, breads and beautiful desserts are made by Afriat and his team from their factory in Talpiot, while the food for the restaurant is prepared by chef Oscar Zuckerman in the kitchen below the restaurant. Livnatt manages the restaurant and the catering business, which caters events at the restaurant itself for up to 200 people but also provides parve or dairy dessert buffets for weddings and other special occasions.

Many people think that Gourmandises by Yoel is just a bakery or pastry shop, but the varied menu offers so much more, so we were delighted to be invited to sample the dinner menu. In keeping with the musical theme, many of the dishes on the menu are named after French musicians.

We started our meal with a chef special – ceviche of sea bream with mango, beet, pea shoots and bulgur wheat (NIS 69). This dish was a riot of strong colors, textures and flavors and included touches of wasabi cream, citrus jelly and creamed spring peas.

Real French crepes are a weakness of mine, so it was a pleasure to try some of the savory crepes. The Jean Jacques Goldman (NIS 69) was filled with sautéed zucchini, tomatoes and cheese. It was beautifully presented so I could see the colorful filling at the top of the dish rather than a folded crepe where you can’t see the filling.

The crepe itself was fresh and light, so the focus was on the filling, and all the flavors worked well together. We also tried the Georges Brassens crepe (NIS 69), which was filled with a trio of Emmental, Camembert and Roquefort cheese. This was also a rich and tasty dish, but I preferred the first crepe with the vegetables.

Next came the Edith Piaf (NIS 69), a bruschetta with eggplant, zucchini, dried tomatoes and Parmesan. The dish was well presented and colorful, but the flavors did not blend so well, and we felt that the tomato sauce overpowered the taste of the vegetables. It was still enjoyable and would make a good light meal.

Our final starter was the Waltz salad (NIS 64), made with lettuce, apple, walnut, Roquefort, mustard French dressing. While this was a pleasant salad, it lacked any unique elements, and the price was high for such a simple salad.

For mains, we chose the Michel Fugin (NIS 65) – fettucine with a creamy mushroom sauce, which was cooked perfectly al dente. The baked sea bass (NIS 119) looked like a piece of art on the plate. The fish was served atop roasted carrots, fennel and beet, with a dusting of pink almond olive oil powder and artistic drops of green sauces at the side. Although this was a nice dish overall, we felt that it was slightly too salty and needed more acidity on the fish.

The rich Barbara potato gratin (NIS 62) had a great crispy top layer with a lovely nutmeg flavor, but overall it was slightly bland and needed a sharper cheese. It was also very rich as a main course but would be ideal as a shared dish or as a smaller side dish.

Finally, we had a gnocchi chef special (NIS 69) served with roasted sweet potato and cherry tomatoes, covered in a coconut foam and flaked almonds. It was well cooked, and the sauce was light and refreshing.

The desserts were definitely the highlight of the meal. We could not resist the crepe Suzette (NIS 45) which did not disappoint, even though it lacked the kick of the flambéed orange liqueur that it is traditionally served with. It was very difficult to choose from the array of beautifully made French delicacies, but with the chef’s guidance we settled on the Snickers (NIS 38), which was rich and sweet with a touch of salted caramel to balance the flavors; and the Alliance (NIS 35), an almond mousse cake with an almond biscuit and praline mousse. It was light and fluffy and the perfect end to a very tasty meal.

Just like all the restaurants in Kikar Hamusica, there is the option to sit in the shared courtyard and enjoy the musical performances that take place most afternoons and evenings. The schedule of concerts can be found on the Kikar Hamusica website, http:// kikar-hamusica.com/en/concerts.

Whether you are looking for a light lunch, a full dinner or just an indulgent evening of authentic French pastries while enjoying the music, I highly recommend heading to Gourmandises 

Deca Kosher (mehadrin) 10 Hata’asiya St., Tel Aviv Tel: (03) 562-9900

The ‘fish and complements’ restaurant celebrates 10 years of kosher fine dining in Tel Aviv




The ‘fish and complements’ restaurant celebrates 10 years of kosher fine dining in Tel Aviv.

This year is one of special significance for the restaurant whose name derives from the Latin word for 10. The appellation was chosen because it symbolizes excellence. Now, however, it also stands for a milestone, as Deca marks its tenth anniversary in a niche that it practically pioneered: fine dining – in Hebrew, a “chef restaurant”– that is, kosher-dairy.

As a kosher restaurant that serves no meat or poultry, Deca’s starters and main courses revolve around fish and pasta, often in combination. Several of the pasta dishes, as well as salads, are ideal for vegetarians. Nonetheless, Deca specializes in fish. Indeed, the homepage of the website specifies Fish and Complements.

As befits an upscale restaurant, the full bar offers classic cocktails and six specialty ones. The Compassion (NIS 46) – vodka citron, Campari, lemon and passion – and the Green Smash (NIS 52) – gin, mojito syrup, lemon and a large basil leaf – served neat in martini glasses, are both pleasingly complex, although the fruit in the former renders it sweeter than the latter.

A meal at Deca starts with complimentary house bread and butter, or one may order focaccia (NIS 39) that comes with some excellent dips: ikra, goat cheese, tzaziki, tehina and olive oil. For some reason, the focaccia is labeled an appetizer, along with just one other dish: bouillabaisse (NIS 44), an outstanding fish soup delicately seasoned with orange and Pernod.

For a main dish, Deca’s manager recommended the red tuna sashimi (NIS 62), with roasted eggplant, olives, cherry tomatoes, radish and cucumber. The brilliantly hued raw fish was exceedingly fresh, practically melting in the mouth.

He further advised us that the pine nut and almond gnocchi (NIS 65) is very popular. The tender potato pasta – in a delectable cheese sauce with shallot, sage and honey – was certainly as good as any to be found in an Italian restaurant.

The red tuna fillet (NIS 150) is one of Deca’s signature dishes. In a first for me, we were asked how we wanted our fish grilled. The generous tuna steak was done to a perfect medium.

Paired with beet and potato gratin in a three-cheese sauce, this superb dish definitely lived up to its billing.

The black paella with salmon and red drum fish (NIS 340) is a dish meant for two to share. Served in a large skillet, the distinctive black rice, studded with morsels of flavorful fish and enhanced by a butter and Parmesan sauce, was filling and satisfying.

Deca boasts an impressive international wine list, even encompassing some exclusive wines no longer in production (and priced accordingly). The restaurant also offers its own red and white private label house wines, bottled by the Eyal Winery; only these two wines, plus featured “wines of the month,” are available by the glass.

Everything at Deca is made on the premises, including the desserts (NIS 41-62), which are prepared by a dedicated pastry chef. Two very good desserts were a study in contrasts. The caramel chocolate mousse, layered with a hazelnut ganache, was decadently rich, thick and substantial.

And the “cones” – actually, crispy “cigars” – containing a sweet, creamy cheese filling, with almond streusel and cassis cream, was light and crunchy.

Throughout our meal, the service was impeccable. Toward the end, the waiter poured warm water on towelettes, and then wrung them out tableside, handing them to us with tongs. Deca also pampers its customers with its adjacent complimentary private parking lot, a welcome bonus in downtown Tel Aviv – and a critical component in rendering the restaurant handicap accessible.

The spacious restaurant spans two floors, comprising a number of alcoves and rooms suitable for semiprivate meals and private events. Deca offers discounted weekday business lunches – a perk that is extended to dinner hours, as well for Diners Club card holders.

Brasserie Restaurant 70 Ibn Givriol St Tel Aviv Tel 03 6967111

The Brasserie serves local ingredients with a French 

Situated on Tel Aviv’s bustling Ibn Gvirol, Brasserie is one of the city’s most attractive bistros. It’s classy; the service is friendly and professional; it’s good for romance or business; and the food is outstanding.

Stepping inside, it almost feels like you’re not in Tel Aviv but in some quaint bistro outside of Paris. There’s a lovely outdoor terrace in the front, filled with tables and chairs for al fresco dining, in addition to the main dining area and long bar inside.

Chef Ofir Dvir combines the finest in locally sourced ingredients with accents of French cuisine. The extensive menu features fish, seafood, meat and pasta dishes. The tasty dishes are complemented by a fine selection of wines, both local and international.





The Brasserie serves local ingredients with a French accent.

Before the appetizers appeared, we cleansed our palates with a couple of refreshing cocktails, which displayed the same nuanced flavors that make the dishes so impressive. My dining partner opted for the white sangria, while I chose a whiskey sour. What a great drink! It really sent my taste buds on a trip from sweet to spicy with a nice whiskey finish. If you’re a whiskey drinker and want something rather light and refreshing, this is a great choice.

We began our culinary journey with one of the specials of the day – a creamy blue crab soup. The soup was surprisingly light in texture and strong in flavor and, together with the tasty homemade bread, it was an ideal way to begin our meal.

This was followed by the endive and Roquefort salad (NIS 54). Endive is a notoriously difficult vegetable for those unfamiliar with using it. Though fragile in appearance, it has a rather bitter taste. Here, the endive was finely sliced and served in a mound with nuts, Roquefort cheese and a sauce that mellowed the bitterness without overpowering it. I would go back to the restaurant just for this rich and delicious salad. It was creative in both taste and presentation.

For the main course, we had the beef fillet (NIS 134) accompanied by a piece of bone marrow. The meat was generous in proportion, and the seasoning was just right. Normally I have to add a lot of salt to my fillets to bring them up to my preferred salt level, but this was seasoned perfectly with just salt and pepper, with no extra seasoning needed.

Next up was the sirloin steak in a Madagascar pepper sauce (NIS 136).This steak was absolutely delightful.

Cooked perfectly medium/rare, it was very tender and juicy. The pepper sauce with cream and brandy made it even more addictive. I cleaned my plate of that sauce using anything I could find, except my fingers! My dining partner and I tried to eat it as slowly as possible so the experience wouldn’t end. Both main dishes came with a side of thin, crisp French fries.

For dessert, it was recommended that we try the decadent dark chocolate cake, as well as the cheesecake (NIS 39 each). Both were sinfully good.

Brasserie has carefully preserved an old world atmosphere while serving top-of-the-line meals. So when you’re looking to combine a gourmet meal with elegant atmosphere and nearly faultless service, you’ll find that Brasserie has it covered.

Goocha Not kosher 171 Dizengoff St., Tel Aviv Tel: (03) 522-2886

Quite by chance, I recently discovered one of the secrets to the success of the popular Goocha Seafood and Bar chain. At an outing to the Ashdod headquarters and impressive showroom of Cancun, one of Israel’s leading importers of seafood, the owner of the company told me that Cancun is a partner with Goocha. The sight of the beautiful fish and seafood displayed on the glittering ice, together with this new information, was all the motivation I needed to schedule a visit to Goocha.

“Our association with Cancun not only gives us preferred access to the finest seafood,” says Goocha chef Eitan Sasson, “but it also enables us to offer our customers the best possible prices.”

Sasson has been with Goocha since it was founded in 2004 as a small eatery on Ben-Gurion Street in Tel Aviv. Since then, it has expanded at its original location to occupy the entire corner at Dizengoff and opened two more restaurants: one in Ramat Hahayal and The Diner by Goocha on Ibn Gvirol.

According to Sasson, the menu has expanded as well, now encompassing 12 categories.




“We specialize in mussels,” he adds. “We sell half a ton of mussels a year.” In fact, Goocha is known for its Sunday night mussels special: half a kilo of mussels, fries and draft beer for NIS 85.

Justifying the word “bar” in the restaurant’s name, Goocha has a separate bilingual wine and alcohol menu, including seven specialty cocktails. Our waiter recommended the Citrus Mojito (NIS 42), which turned out to be far from any semblance of a mojito worthy of the name, since it did not contain even a bit of rum. Nonetheless, this blend of vodka, red (i.e., blood) orange liqueur, lemon and orange, garnished with mint, was excellent.

The house sangria (NIS 39) – red wine and orange liqueur, with slices of orange and apple and a cinnamon stick – was equally good.

Refreshingly cool in the summer, it can also be ordered warm in the winter.

We embarked on the food portion of the menu with the first of several of chef Sasson’s personal recommendations: tuna tartare with tobiko and herbs (NIS 53). The exceedingly fresh chopped raw tuna studded with the premium roe was served on a citrus vinaigrette that enhanced the fish mixture nicely.

Our second starter was grilled calamari with goat cheese (NIS 54).

Once again, the freshness of the calamari was evident, while the accompanying zesty cheese, tomato, olives, red onion and jalapeno pepper infused it with the flavors of Provençal, with an added touch of heat. We mopped up the terrific dressing with the dark house bread.

The list of mixed seafood dishes on the menu presented us with some tough choices to make, but the scallops and shrimp in truffle cream (NIS 75) eventually won out.

We were then quite startled to discover what the menu left out of the description: The seafood was actually buried under both a mound of mashed potatoes and a pile of French fried onions. Despite the overwhelming amount of carbohydrates, and slight dearth of shrimp, the scallops that practically melted in the mouth and the decadently rich sauce rewarded us for our selection.

Our final main course, from the pasta sea section of the menu, combined the best of both undersea worlds: shellfish plus the fins-and-scales variety. The sea bream and seafood on butter and herb gnocchi (NIS 83) paired perfectly grilled filleted fish with shrimp and mussels on a bed of plump pillows of potato pasta.

This dish gave us the opportunity to enjoy Goocha’s famed mussels, and the large, meaty, briny molluscs lived up to their billing.

The dessert menu contained some discrepancies between the English and Hebrew versions. The former had frustratingly skimpier descriptions than the latter.

Nonetheless, the mascarpone cheesecake (NIS 39) and caramel flan (NIS 38) were both superlative finales to our filling meal: light and sweet confections with welcome crunchy counterpoints – pistachio nuts sprinkled on the cheese mousse and an alfajor cookie on the flan, respectively.

To further leverage its connection with Cancun, Goocha offers a business lunch on weekdays (a starter, bread and a drink for NIS 15 added to the cost of the main course) and a special sea bream meal weekdays until 6 p.m. for NIS 69.

206 Grill Bar offers excellent value afternoons and evenings.





Shaham Street in Petah Tikva is a veritable restaurant row, in the center of which is a square building that houses nothing but casual restaurants. One of them is 206 Grill Bar, an offshoot of the venerable 206 Meat and Fish restaurant tandem in Zahala, with an interior whose décor is part sports bar, with plenty of al fresco sidewalk seating.

The Hebrew and English menus are separate for lunch and dinner, but they have two things in common. One is a bill of fare that is predominantly meat and chicken, with a few fish dishes. There are not a lot of options for vegetarians (although there is a children’s menu, in Hebrew only).

The second shared feature is specially discounted weekday (Sunday to Thursday) business meals. At lunchtime, they start as low as NIS 49. At dinner, there are three meals priced at NIS 206, designed for parties of two and four diners. And that is the cost of the meal for the whole table, not per person.

First, however, all meals start with nine mezze salads, served with piping hot pitot. One may also request toasted pita with za’atar and sesame seeds.

Notable among the salads were a minty tabouleh, al dente cubed beets, a zesty Turkish salad, creamy egg salad and crunchy falafel balls. Included among the mezze were three kinds of tehina –plain, with cauliflower and with eggplant – but not hummus, which is available for an extra charge, starting at NIS 25.

The set meals for four people come in two formats: either “all you can eat” Arab kebabs or a more varied smorgasbord, comprising chicken skewers, chicken heart skewers, Arab kebabs, and chicken liver. Each meal comes with a choice of two side dishes and soft drinks.

The meal for two is quite different: “bottomless beer” – endless glasses of draft Heineken or Goldstar to go with a large bucket of chicken wings and four chorizo sausages.

We sampled the kebab patties, which were authentically seasoned and grilled well done, as well as the juicy and flavorful morsels of chicken breast.

We also enjoyed our side dishes: the crispy French fries, served directly in their fryer basket, and the majadara – rice with black lentils, accented nicely by caramelized onion.

More good news here is that even if you build your own dinner from the regular menu, two people would have no trouble coming in at under NIS 206 for both.

The most expensive item on the menu, for example, is the entrecôte steak (NIS 111), which was recommended to us by the waiter. Although it was not thick, the kitchen managed to grill it as we requested – medium, with a pink center – and it was surprisingly succulent.

There are four desserts, explained by the wait staff. Again, I listened to the recommendation of our waiter and watched as he placed in front of us a huge brick of snow-white Bavarian cream, drenched in chocolate sauce and topped with slivered almonds. This is certainly meant to be shared, perhaps even by four people. Mercifully, it is light as chiffon, so even after a heavy meat meal, the sweet fluff goes down easily.

Count Darori's Eggplant Soup with Pesto

There’s no end to eggplant surprises. We eat the vegetable fried, pickled, roasted, pureed, stuffed and baked. But have you ever considered eggplant soup? This recipe exploits the vegetable’s meaty weight to produce an elegant, creamy soup with just enough chunky texture to keep it interesting.

Have prepared pesto on hand. Use store-bought if you must, but it doesn’t compare to the bright flavor of freshly made pesto. Refrigerated in a tightly closed container, leftovers will keep up to a week. Pesto may also be frozen for up to six weeks.

Ingredients
Pesto – Makes 1 cup
½ cup olive oil
2 cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed, dried and tightly packed
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¹⁄3 cup pine nuts
3 medium garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Juice of ¼ lemon
Salt and black pepper to taste

Put the ingredients in the order given in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.

Eggplant Soup – Serves 6

2 medium-sized eggplants
4 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced thickly
4 garlic cloves, chopped coarsely
8 cups (2 liters) water or vegetable stock
¾ cup fresh white mushrooms, coarsely chopped,
plus ¼ cup thinly sliced mushrooms, reserved
2 Tbsp. fresh basil leaves
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme (or ½ tsp. dried) or oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
1 container sour cream
6 Tbsp. prepared pesto

Method

1. Place each eggplant on its side and cut it in half horizontally.
2. ut a cross-hatch pattern deeply into the flesh.
3. Drizzle ½ tablespoon olive oil over each eggplant half.
4. Grill for 20 minutes or until the eggplant is brown, soft, and separating into cubes. With a spoon, scrape the eggplant flesh off the skin.
5. Chop the flesh coarsely and set it aside.
6. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions and garlic in the heated olive oil for eight minutes.
7. Add the chopped mushrooms.
8. When the onions are golden and the mushrooms start to release juice, add the water or vegetable stock and chopped eggplant.
9. Bring everything to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
10. Stir in basil, thyme, salt and pepper.
11. Cook another 2 minutes.
12. With a slotted spoon, lift the solids out of the pot. Keep the soup hot.
13. Blend all the solids in a food processor or blender until smooth.
14. Return the puree to the hot liquid and reheat to a simmer.
15. Add the reserved sliced cup mushrooms now.
16. Simmer another five minutes. Taste to adjust seasonings if needed.
17. Ladle the soup into bowls. Spoon 1 tablespoon sour cream into each bowl.
18. Top each bowl with ½ tablespoon pesto.
19. Serve and enjoy.

Count Darori's Old Fashioned Kneidlach Recipe (Matza Balls)

About 8 kneidlach

What’s Passover without kneidlach, a.k.a. matza balls? The recipe below details old-fashioned, homemade kneidlach. You’ll be surprised to see how easy they are to make; just handle the batter gently when you form the balls, as squeezing will make them tough. You may use plain room-temperature water, but soda water makes the lightest matza balls. The quantity of water will vary according to your matza meal; some brands absorb more water, some less. The batter should be stiff, but not doughy or kneadable.

You may boil the kneidlach directly in soup, but they result lighter if cooked in plain water.

Ingredients
2 whole eggs
4 Tbsp. oil or schmaltz
1 scant cup matza meal
¼ cup soda water and up to ¼ cup more if needed
1 tsp. table salt

Optional: ½ tsp. ground ginger

Method

1. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, fat and matza meal with a fork.
2. Add water, salt, and ginger if using, stirring to make a stiff batter. Add more water by tablespoons if the batter seems too solid.
3. Cover the bowl and chill for two hours.
4. Set a large pot of salted water to boil.
5. Wet your hands to prevent the batter from sticking, and gently form balls about the size of a walnut.
6. Drop the balls into the boiling water. Lower the heat to medium. The water should be simmering. Cover and cook 40 minutes.
7. Drain and serve in soup.
8. Kneidlach accompany soup, of course, but can also stand in for potatoes. Dribble schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) over the cooked and drained dumplings and brown them in a 180° oven for 10 minutes. Lacking schmaltz, fry a small onion in olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle it over the kneidlach before setting them in the oven to brown.