“Cooking with Israeli TV Celebrity Gil Hovav!”

Last week I had the honor to be “Sous Chef’ in a cooking demo for Gil Hovav, guest of the Israeli Consulate and UJA Israeli Affairs.  As I studied Hebrew from a very young age and eventually became a Hebrew Teacher, I truly enjoyed listening to his lecture and cooking demo so beautifully articulated in ‘modern day’ Hebrew ….

By:  Chef Margie Arosh

Gil Hovav, one of Israel’s most famous culinary personalities, food critic and author is often nicknamed the ‘Captain’ due to his lineage.  Not only does he get his gift of language and journalism from his great grandfather Eliezer Ben-Yehuda; (reviver of the Hebrew language) but he is also the grandson of  Itamar Ben-Avi who began modern Hebrew journalism and the son of Moshe & Drora Hovav, "founding members" of Israel's modern day public radio.  

Gil has been accredited with changing the image of Israeli cuisine from a country of basic traditional foods into a “gourmet nation”.  He is often described as Israel’s Gordon Ramsay and JK Rowling, rolled into one. 

He explained that due to the second intifada and the financial recession, the face of Israeli restaurant food has changed once again.  Unfortunately, many of Israel’s upscale restaurants have closed and others changed their menus to serving simple Israeli food.  Even though security and the economy have improved lately the food trend still is simplicity…

Gil’s cooking demo focused on Israel’s famous fresh produce and modern variations of traditional recipes.  The first was a Tabouleh Salad; Gil stated that the Lebanese version is a relatively simple (yet not less tasty) combination of bulgur and chopped fresh herbs.  The Israeli version replaces the bulgur with couscous and adds vegetables, fruit, pine nuts and pomegranate seeds for a much richer salad.

I especially loved the ‘Spicy Carrot Salad’ a twist on an old ‘unloved’ Kibbutz recipe.  This salad delivered a delicious punch of spicy, citrus flavor.  It reminds me of the preserved lemons I use a lot in my Moroccan cooking yet with a fresh, spicy, mouth puckering taste.  To achieve that lemony flavor, Gil chopped an entire lemon including the rind.  A great tip that I will definitely use!     

Gils Spicy Carrot Salad   

Ingredients:

·       6 big carrots, peeled

·       2 lemons

·       1 green hot chili pepper, thinly sliced

·       1 cup chopped coriander

·       3 chopped green onions

·       5 peeled and chopped garlic cloves

·       Kosher salt

·       Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1.    Wash and scrub the lemons. Squeeze both of them into a big bowl and finely chop one of the lemons (with peal). Add to the bowl.

2.    Roughly grate carrots (you may use the shredding disc of your food processor). Add to bowl.

3.    Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

4.    Taste and correct seasoning.