Optional additions: zucchini, broccoli, sweet potato, shrimp, carrots, or any other vegetable you prefer for antipasti.
Roasted vegetables of all kinds is a light addition that always adds color to the table, no matter if they are roasted peppers, zucchini, cauliflower or eggplant. The lightness is that you can arrange it on a tray with a drop of oil and send it to the oven. Even without any sauce it would be great, but this time the secret is in the sauce. Coriander sauce is sour and thick thanks to the yogurt that is added to it. I recommend trying both, with all kinds of roasted vegetables with or without the salad.

Ingredients for the sauce:

• A medium bunch of cilantro (20-30 stalks), including the stalk

• 3 tablespoons of whole yogurt

• 1/4 cup of olive oil

• 1/4 cup of squeezed lemon

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1/2 a teaspoon of salt

• 1/4 a teaspoon of black pepper

For the roasted vegetables:

• 1 eggplants 

• 1 cauliflower 

• Optional additions: zucchini, broccoli, sweet potato, carrots, or any other vegetable you prefer for antipasti.

For the salad:

• 1/4 head of round lettuce, thinly sliced

• 1/4 white or purple cabbage, thinly sliced

• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved

• Optional: 1/4 purple onion, quartered and thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup roasted cauliflower

• 1/2 cup roasted eggplant

• 4 tablespoons of sauce (adjust to taste)

How to make it:

• Cut the eggplants into cubes and place them on absorbent paper. Lightly salt them and let them sit for five minutes. The eggplants will release liquid, which you should absorb using the paper. This step helps remove their bitterness

• Cut the cauliflower into slices or break it into florets. Arrange them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and drizzle with a little olive oil. 

• Place the eggplant cubes in a baking tray, drizzle with a bit of oil, and toss to ensure each piece is lightly coated.

• Bake both the eggplants and cauliflower for about 40 minutes at 180°C.

• To make the sauce, place all ingredients in a 1-liter jar, leaving room to mix. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth.

• In a bowl, layer the lettuce, cabbage, and tomatoes. Sprinkle with roasted cauliflower and eggplant, then generously drizzle the sauce on top.

• For an alternate presentation, arrange the roasted eggplant and cauliflower in a shallow serving dish and drizzle the sauce over them.

• The sauce can be stored in the fridge for two to three weeks.

I have plenty variations of spreads, so this time I come with an healthier alternative to that make it possible you can indulge with my beloved spreads guilt-free.
These crackers, crafted primarily from oats and nuts, elevate any spread plate into a delightful treat. Packed with nuts, they offer a satisfying crunch, making even a small spread plate with a few crackers a perfect choice for a light breakfast or dinner."

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups of oats

• 1 cup pecans

• 0.5 cup of flax seeds (whole or ground)

• 2 tablespoons of chia seeds

• Teaspoon of salt

• 0.5 teaspoon baking powder

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil

• 1 tablespoon of silane (or maple)

• 1 tablespoon of tahini

• 1.5 cup of water 360 ml

• Optional: 1/2 cup of seeds such as pumpkin seeds or chopped nuts

How to make it:

• Use food processor to grind the oats, chia and flax seeds until they become a powdery texture, like flour.

• Add the nuts and grind again

• Add the rest of the ingredients and the water for quick mixing in a food processor - except for the nuts or seeds that have not been ground.

• Move the mass to a bowl that can be covered, leave it outside for at least four hours, but no more than 24 hours.

• Before baking, add the nuts and seeds to the bowl.

• Spread between two baking papers, roll into a thin layer, the thinner it is, the crispier the cracker.

• Bake between the two baking papers for about 20 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees Celsius.

• Remove the upper baking paper, using a pizza roller, divide into small rectangles (or any shape you like). 

• Bake for another 20 minutes, at the end of baking you can broil for additional five minutes. 

• The crackers can be stored outside for about a week, but it is possible to freeze and reheat them in the toaster before eating.

One of the dishes I like to prepare and eat the most, no matter the variation of the latkes they are always delicious and can join any meal. There are many options to vary them with the seasoning or the type of vegetables that can be added. I am sharing here the most common and loved latkes, potatoes and sweet potatoes ones.
It might seem a bit long to read, but the preparation is easy, and allows you to create a large amount of latkes very easily.

Let’s start with the tips that will make the perfect latkes:

The onion : the onion greatly affects the taste of the latkes, but on the other hand we don't want it to be too noticeable, so I use a food processor and grind the onion into a smooth puree. If you don't like onion, you can leave it out, even though it adds a lot to the taste. What you shouldn't do is add garlic, it goes great in the dip, in the latkes it will give some bitter taste.

The potatoes : Once again the food processor came to our aid, no need to develop our hand muscles on grating. In two minutes the potatoes are grated and ready for work. For me, it's the difference between making stacks of latkes and having fun to working out in with the grater. If you want, you can change the blade in the food processor at the end and chop the potatoes so that their size will be uniform and there will be less "chunks" that tend to burn.

Straining liquids: Straining the potatoes and onions, placing the whole mixture in a strainer over a plate and stirring a little so that the potatoes will absorb the unnecessary liquids.

Baking : Yes, you can fry the latkes, but you can bake three trays full of latkes in 40 minutes, I prefer this alternative that allows me to also prepare a salad, a delicious sauce and of course donuts. If you still want to fry, then use more oil, the pan should have at least 2 cm of oil in it. when backing, you can reduce the amount of oil a lot by using squeeze bottles to drip the oil (a little oil above and below each latkes).

The accompanying dip : Garlicky greek yogurt sauce with green onion or chives.
That's it, I've talked enough, I think you can go into the kitchen and start inviting people to light candles.

Ingredients for the dip:

• Green onion or a few chives

• A cup of greek/whole milk yogurt

• One clove of garlic, crushed

• Pinch of salt

How to make it:

Mix all the ingredients and store covered in the refrigerator until serving time. The dip lasts a few days in the refrigerator.

Ingredients for about 25 Latkes:

• 6 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and washed

• 1 large white onion

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1/2 a teaspoon of black pepper

• Olive oil for drizzling

How to make it:

• Start by heating the oven to 180 degrees Celsius in turbo mode.

• In a food processor grind the onion to a smooth puree or alternatively grate it with a grater.

• Grate the potatoes in a food processor (can also be done with a grater).

• Mix the onion and the potatoes and place in a strainer over a bowl, so that they drain liquids. At this stage you can squeeze with your hands so that as much liquid as possible is expelled.

• Mix the onion, potatoes, eggs and spices in a bowl.

• Grease a tray with baking paper.

• With the help of two spoons or with your hands make medium-sized latkes.

• Drizzle a little bit of oil over each latke.

• Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees Celsius.

• After 20 minutes of baking, turn the latkes.

• Served with garlic yogurt and green onion dip.

Variation of Sweet Potato Latkes (50 latkes):

• Add six medium-sized sweet potatoes to the ingredients.

• Add an additional 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg

• Boil the sweet potatoes in water for about 20 minutes until soft.

• Cool the sweet potatoes and then peel and mash them into puree.

• Add the sweet potato puree to the latkes mixture in the original recipe.

• The baking time is the same, but the sweet potato latkes are softer, so it is better to wait about 30 minutes before turning the side.

Additional variation ideas:

• Add six grated zucchini (It is necessary to drain liquids)

• Two chopped and steamed leeks

• Two cups of steamed and chopped spinach

• Two cups of minced broccoli.

• Two cups of ground peas for puree.

• Two grated beets.

• Season with a little chili

• Season with nutmeg (half a teaspoon)

• Chopped and steamed mushrooms

And if by chance there are some latkes left that were not eaten immediately, they are kept in the refrigerator for a few days and also in the freezer for two or three months (a quick heating in the oven will bring them back the crispness).

The well know potato latkes getting a twist by additional 500 grams of steamed and chopped spinach. The latkes are baked in the oven for 40 minutes, easy and gilt free. When I am hosting in Hanukkah, I make a double the quantities and divide into seperate bowls, then I am adding a different addition to each bowl - spinach/ sweet potato/pumpkin all works great with latkes. When using the oven you can simultaneously bake a few trays of latkes and make it a festive celebration.
There is no need to wait for Hanukkah to enjoy those latkes!

Ingredients for the dip:

• 1-2 Green onion or a few chives

• A cup of yogurt

• 1 garlic clove or a cube of crushed garlic

• Pinch of salt

How to make it:

Mix all the ingredients and store in the refrigerator until serving time. The dip lasts a few days in the refrigerator.

Ingredients for about 25 latkes:

• 6 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and washed

• white onion

• 500 grams of fresh or frozen spinach

• Two eggs

• Teaspoon of salt

• Half a teaspoon of black pepper

• Olive oil for drizzling

How to make it:

• In a food processor grind the onion to a smooth puree or alternatively grate it with a grater. Keep the onions in a large bowl.

• Grate the potatoes in a food processor.

• Mix the onion, potatoes and spinach and place in a colander over a bowl, so that they absorb liquids. At this stage you can squeeze a little with your hands so that as much liquid as possible is expelled. However don’t squeeze too much, this will keep the latkes juicy.

• Steam the spinach in a pan with a tablespoon of oil, until all the spinach leaves are wilted.

• Wait for the spinach to cool a little and roughly chop it.

• Mix the onion, potatoes, spinach, eggs, and spices in a bowl.

• Drizzle some oil on a baking tray wrapped baking paper, very little amount of oil is needed.

• With the help of two spoons or with your hands (allows you to squeeze out more liquid), make medium-sized fritters.

• Drizzle a little oil over each latke. You can reduce the amount of oil (not as in the picture), it is enough to have a little above and below each latke.

• Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees Celsius.

• After 20 minutes of baking, turn the pancakes.

• Served with garlic yogurt and green onion dip.

When we lived in Israel, we used to sleep part of the weekends at Nir's parents' house. Gathering of the whole family together, every child returns to his childhood room, plus the spouses and grandchildren. Nir's mother made all the things we all love, but the thing I remember the most is the multitude of salads she would prepare. At Friday dinner there was a stunning selection of maztes, but before the meal, and also on Saturday morning, the salads would repeatedly come out of the fridge, one eating tahini with challah one eating hummus and me with this spicy pepper salad. Takes a bite, burnt from the spiciness, but can't help but take the next bite. My breakfast was this salad and also dinner before going home: pita with pepper salad and tahini. More than two years since we relocated to California, and we had the privilege of eating all of Anati's delicacies, at a Friday dinner with a long table mixed with my family and Nir's family, trying to capture more and more time together before flying back. So while I'm dreaming of the visit to Israel and the next meeting with the whole family, this salad was added to our home table.

Ingredients:

• Five red peppers

• Two or three hot peppers, according to the degree of spiciness you like (you can also without), note that there are peppers that lose their spiciness when cooked, I used Serrano so as not to be disappointed that the kick of the spiciness disappeared for me.

• eggplant

• Two cloves of garlic

• Two tablespoons of olive oil

• Half a squeezed lemon

• Half a teaspoon of salt

How to make it:

• Cut the eggplant in half and put it together with the peppers in a preheated oven: 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 40 minutes, there is no need to oil the vegetables.

• The next step depends on the oven, so before you take it out, make sure that the vegetables got a brown coat, and the eggplant is soft, you may need a few more minutes for the eggplant after the peppers have already come out.

• Here comes a cute trick: after the peppers have come out of the oven and cooled for a minute or two, put them in a closed bag (or a pyrex with a closed lid) for ten minutes, when we open it the skin separates from the peppers easily.

• Peel the peppers and transfer to a food processor.

• Remove the contents of the eggplant with a spoon (without the skin), and transfer to a food processor.

• Add two cloves of garlic, juice of half a lemon, two tablespoons of olive oil and a teaspoon of salt.

• Blend everything in pulses, so the texture is a chunky spread and enjoy with sandwiches or as an addition to rice.

Sometimes, I'm the one who needs to pampered: It’s the summer vacation, Nir is on a work trip for the second time in two months, and I find myself working, chauffeuring kids to friends, classes, and errands, and even trying to give them a sense of great summer vacation. So, in between it all, I had to find an island of sanity for myself, a good book, coffee with a friend, anything that would make me feel like more than just a driver and operator. This week, that oasis was a pot of Mujadara.

There are many versions of Mujadara; I love this one, with a one-to-one ratio of rice to lentils. Even when I ate it for several days in a row with all sorts of variations, it brought me joy. And now, we're back to routine, Nir is here, and I immediately made Mujaddara again to share with him the taste and abundance of this healthy dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of lentils, soaked for half an hour in water

• 1 cup of rice

• 1 large onion

• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1 tablespoon of cumin

Instructions:

1. Soak the lentils in water for half an hour.

2. Cut the onion into quarters and then into slices. Sauté it in three tablespoons of oil and a quarter cup of water until the onion is golden and the water evaporates.
   Using the water while caramelizing the onions guarantees we soften the onions, but you don’t have to stand beside the fire the whole time.
   Caramelizing the onions will take about 25 min, but with the water tip, i can move on to do something else instead of watching the onions.

3. Rinse the lentils and add them to a pot with three cups of water and the spices. Cook them for 20 seconds, make sure the lentils are soft before adding the rice.

4. Add the rice and another cup of water. Wait for the water to boil for about five minutes, then close the pot.

5. After twenty seconds, the Mujadara is ready. At this point, add the sautéed onion, mix, and close the pot for another 20 minutes.

6. Serve as a main course by itself. The combination of rice and lentils provides complete protein, and you really don't need to add anything else.

7. If you still want an addition, Mujadara goes very well with a chopped vegetable salad, especially with tahini sauce.

My treat was: a piece of salmon roasted in the oven with lots of lemon (25 seconds at 180 degrees), and a quick sautéed spinach in olive oil, along with a mountain of Mujadara.

A new friend came over, an InstaPot, one of those friends who save us a lot of time in the kitchen, allowing the family to spend time together while the magic happens in the pot. Cooking in it is so enjoyable that I keep trying more and more recipes from the InstaPot version, which is not much different from the regular one, except you can set a timer on the pot and not worry about something burning.

So far, the main drawback I find is that there's only one of these in the house because when the dish is cooked, I'm already thinking about what else I can create in it. This combination of a pressure cooker and a slow cooker allows me to work for ten to fifteen min setting up the dish, and then close it for 2 hours during which I can go back to work or spend time with the kids and enjoy afterward.

Another great thing about this pot is that it won't open if there's any risk, which makes it relatively easy for kids to use (it can turn into an Air Fryer, so kids can make baked potato cubes or schnitzel with minimal risk).

When preparing a traditional Cholent, it means a whole night in the oven, occasionally peeking at it, but with the instapot it is not needed, I set it up for low pressure for an hour an a half, later one it will move to the keep worm on it’s own.

The name "pressure cooker" is a bit misleading because it gives the impression of extra intensity, but here it's the opposite; the pressure is only in the pot, outside of its surroundings, and calm. I enjoy peeking and watching the magic unfold, how several ingredients suddenly come together and turn into a tasty and rich stew.

The last time I tried this recipe, in its vegetarian version (just without meat), I started in the evening, thinking the pot would continue to cook until the next morning. However, at ten at night, when I checked, it was already ready. Me Yuval and Nir tasted it, and the tasting turned into eating a full bowl and a bit more. The pot continued to simmer slowly until the next day, but really, the first four hours were enough. The stew turned into a thick soup with a precise combination of liquids against beans and meat.

I prepare this recipe in at least 5.5-liter pot, and its seasoning consists of silan, tomato paste, soy sauce, and garlic, caramelizing slowly in the pot, filling the house with a delightful aroma. It's what makes all of us come back and refill our bowls.

You can also make it in a regular pot in the oven, start with 30 minutes of stovetop cooking, and then transfer it to the oven for eight hours at 100 degrees Celsius. Normally in this case the pot will be set in the evening and left there for the next day’s lunch.

I'm sure one day my son will try to recreate this recipe and this nightly feast with his parents will bring us good memories and this is what home cooking is all about.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of dried black bean, soaked in water for at least two hours (you can soak them for more hours)

• 1 cup pearl barley, rinsed

• ! chopped onion

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 2 tablespoons Silan (can be substituted with two chopped dates)

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 3 cloves of crushed garlic

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 5 eggs (actually, as many as fit in the pot)

• 500 grams of meat for long cooking, cut into cubes (you can use chicken thighs or cook in a vegetarian version)

• 3 potatoes washed and pilled

• You can also add mushrooms, which go well with the barley

How to make it:

1. Set the InstaPot in saute mode and add the onion with a tablespoon of olive oil, close the lid for ten minutes until the onion caramelizes.

2. Add the meat for a light browning on all sides.

3. Mix the beans the spices and two cups of water in a bowl.

4. Add all other ingredients beside the eggs: first the beans and the spices, then the potatoes, and the pearl barley.

5. Fill the pot with water up to its maximum, stir slightly, and put the eggs on top.

6. Close the pot and operate it in pressure cooker mode for 1.5 hours.

7. Switch to the slow cooking or keep worm mode and leave it to release the pressure slowly. By now, the stew is ready to be eater but can also stay like that for 2-3 hours. You can also check it from time to time (carefully, if the pot doesn't open, it means the pressure hasn't been released).

8. Before serving: take out the eggs wash them and pill them, place the potatos in a sparate bowl, and now each person can take some stew and add the eggs and potatoes to it. You can also freeze it, but I preferred to share some of this with the neighbors so that they could enjoy it too.