3 Israeli Dishes You Need to Cook for Your Family

Those who successfully learn Hebrew for immersion know that true immersion into Israeli culture isn’t complete without trying your hand at Israeli dishes.

A wonderful mix of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, Israeli food makes generous use of spices and offers different textures and flavors. Prepare yourself for a trip to Israel by cooking some of its most famous dishes for your family:

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1. Cholent

A rich and savory stew, cholent is slow-cooked comfort food at its finest.

For an authentic experience, prepare your cholent with beef. You may use other meats and adjust the cooking time accordingly, but it won’t have the same feel to it as a traditional beef cholent.

Other ingredients include potatoes, onions, barley, beans, and broth. For seasoning, use salt and pepper, with some paprika. Add all ingredients to a big pot, pour enough water to completely cover them all, and leave the mixture to cook on a low heat.

The trick is to cook it for a minimum of 12 hours, though you can leave it on for longer for even more flavor. As it cooks, you can add more water if needed.

2. Falafel

No mention of Israeli food can be complete without including falafel, which holds a special place as Israel’s national dish and an omnipresent street food in the country.

Traditional falafel is made using chickpeas, but there’s also a fava bean variant that’s just as delicious. Whether you’re using chickpeas or fava beans, let them soak overnight. Then grind them with onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, and parsley. Finally, make small balls from the ground mixture and deep fry them.

Tradition dictates that you eat your falafel with pita bread or flatbread, as a sandwich. However, there’s no law that says you can’t devour them on their own with a bit of tahini.

3. Shakshouka

One of the most beloved dishes in Israel, shakshouka is usually eaten for breakfast, but it’s also a popular option for lunch and dinner.

Prepare shakshouka by cooking chopped onions, garlic, and bell peppers in olive oil. Toss in liberal amounts of paprika, coriander, cumin, salt, and pepper. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce to this mixture, bring it to a boil, then allow it to simmer on low heat.

Once the entire concoction—tomatoes and all—has taken on a nice, thick consistency, use a ladle to carve out small spaces in the mixture. Crack some eggs, and fill up each ‘well’ with the contents of one egg.

Allow them to cook for a little while on low heat, garnish with some red pepper flakes, parsley, and mint, and serve directly.

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