I got the Jerusalem cookbook as a gift this past Christmas. It was a great (and esthetically pleasing) addition to my collection. Though it isn’t a (purely) vegetarian cookbook, there are plenty of meat-less recipes to try. The book is written by 2 men born in Jerusalem (the same year!) but one in the Arab east side and the other in the Jewish west so there is an interesting mix of both their cultures in the book.
This was the first recipe to catch my eye in the book so it was only fitting that I try it first. The fresh ingredients were a nod to spring, even if the weather hasn’t very spring-esque.
Click to see the recipe.
To make the Zhoug, combine all ingredients in a small food processor and pulse till well blended.
Use a vegetable peeler to peel away strips of eggplant skin from top to bottom, leaving the eggplants with alternating strips of black skin and white flesh, zebralike. Cut both eggplants widthwise into slices 1 inch thick. Sprinkly them on both sides with salt, then spread them out on a baking sheet and let stand for at least 30 minutes to remove some water. Use paper towels to wipe them.
Heat the sunflower oil in a wide frying pan. Carefully – the oils spits – fry the eggplant slices in batches until nice and dark, turning once, 6 to 8 minutes total. Add oil if needed as you cook the batches. When done, the eggplant pieces should be completely tender in the centre. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.
Make the chopped salad by mixing together all the ingredients and seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
Just before serving, place 1 slice of pita or bread on each plate. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the tahini sauce over each slice, then arrange the eggplant slices on top, overlapping. Drizzle over some more tahini but without completely covering the eggplant slices. Season each egg slice with salt and pepper and arrange over the eggplant. Drizzle some more tahini on top and spoon over as much zhoug as you like; be careful, it’s hot! Spoon over mango pickle as well, if you like. Serve the vegetable salad on the side, spooning some on top of every serving if desired.
Jerusalem: A Cookbook
Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi