Israel What To Eat
Both Arabic and Jewish meals begin the same way - with a variety of savoury salads. Hummus - ground chickpea seasoned with tahina (sesame paste), lemon juice, garlic and cumin - is probably the most popular dip, spread and salad rolled into one. You'll also find the most astounding variety of aubergine salads you've ever seen; aubergine in tahina, fried sliced aubergine, chopped aubergine with vegetables, chopped liver-flavoured aubergine, and more.
While the waiters may show some signs of disappointment, you can order a selection of these salads as a meal in themselves. Or you can follow them with kebab (grilled ground spiced meat), shishlik (grilled sliced lamb or beef with lamb fat), seniya (beef or lamb in tahina sauce), stuffed chicken or pigeon, chops or fish.
Do try the fish, particularly in the seaside areas of Tiberias, Tel Aviv, Yafo and Eilat (there are no fish in the Dead Sea). Trout, grey and red mullet, sea bass and the famous St Peter's fish are generally served fried or grilled, sometimes accompanied by a piquant sauce. Authentic North African restaurants will also feature harimeh - hot and spicy cooked fish fragrant with an appetising blend of tomatoes, cumin and hot pepper.
And if you still have room, there's dessert. In Arabic restaurants this may mean baklava (filo pastry sprinkled with nuts and sweet syrup) or other rich sweets, or fruit. In typical Sephardic Jewish restaurants it could mean caramel crème custard, chocolate mousse or an egg-white confection laced with chocolate syrup and called (for some unknown reason) Bavarian cream. Turkish coffee or tea with fresh mint ends the meal. If you do not want sugar in your coffee, tell the waiter in advance or your coffee will be liberally sweetened.
As far as snacks go, the ultimate has to be felafel (fried chickpea balls served in pitta bread with a variety of vegetables). Along the pavements of major streets you can usually find several adjoining felafel stands where you're free to stuff your pitta with salads for as long as the bread holds out.
Israel is also famous for its fresh produce. A trip to the open-air Mahkane Yehuda in Jerusalem or the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv will reveal a sumptuous array of fruit and vegetables: everything from apples to artichokes, kohlrabi to celeriac. Sub-tropical fruits include kiwi, mango, persimmon, loquat, passion fruit, chirimoya and papaya. Fresh dates, figs, pomegranates and the world's largest strawberries are among the seasonal treats.