A few weeks ago, I was invited to the inaugural conference of Kosherworld, a unique trade show designed to introduce California grocers to specialty producers from around the world. Gelson’s snapped up all natural cookies and Mandelbrot from Debbie and Sandy, two Westside lawyers who found a common cause in baking the traditional foods their mothers carried in their memories from the Old World, and How’s Market fell for their granola. Some of the fare was kosher but hard to think of as Jewish-beef pepperoni pizza and shrink-wrapped sushi, for instance. There were cookbooks by the score and sample stacks of Passover matzos from a dozen bakeries. But the most interesting booths to my mind were the ones manned by hopeful kibbutzim from Israel’s Hebron hills.
One boasted a feature article in The Wall Street Journal. Halutza Olive Oil is produced from skinny green fruit grown on a half million trees that were irrigated with thick, brackish water dredged up from ancient wells. The oil is a pure desert miracle despite its unpalatable source-it contains much more vitamin E than any other natural source. The flavor is crisp and clean, with an almost green fruity flavor characteristic of fine Tuscan oils.
There were several Israeli vintners who set down roots in the lands where Romans grew their grapes and Arabs still grow table grapes. In the Hebron Heights, an area so politically conflicted it is hazardous to venture without an armed escort, a pair of French Jewish brothers began producing wine five years ago. Their second vintage has yielded a superb meritage -half cabernet, half merlot-called Makhpelah, their term for the tomb of the patriarch-that is, in Israel. In Spain, where the wine has a huge following, especially at Easter, Makhpelah is relabeled Armageddon and it shares the shelves with Hevron Winery’s version of Two-Buck Chuck, dubbed Nazareth for the Christians.
Whether you celebrate Easter or Passover, or if you just want a lovely wine to drink with dinner, you might want to look for one from the Holy Land. Bon appetit. Shalom. And blessings on you all.
ROSEMARY-CRUSTED LAMB
At Easter, Christians often serve lamb in honor of the Paschal Lamb, a term often used for Christ. But did you know that the term “Paschal Lamb” actually refers to the first meal of Passover. Check out Exodus 12.
Serves 8
7-lb. leg of lamb, partly de-boned (save the bones for barley soup)
8-10 cloves of garlic
2 tbs. sea salt
2 tbs. olive oil
4-5 tbs. chopped fresh rosemary
Black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup dry, full-bodied red wine
1/4 cup beef bouillon
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Score the lamb with shallow cuts all over.
3. With a mortar and pestle, grind the garlic with the salt into a paste. Mix in the oil and rosemary, and add about a tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper.
4. Rub onto the lamb and let it rest in an oiled roaster about an hour.
5. Roast to an internal temperature of 130-degrees-about 1 1/2 hours. Let stand 20 minutes before carving.
6. Deglaze the pan with wine and broth for gravy.
LAMB BARLEY SOUP
Sometimes I like the leftovers even better than the meal- This is one dish so delicious the dogs never have a shot at the bone.
Serves 8
2 – 3 lbs. meaty lamb bones
Spray of Pam
4 carrots
1 parsnip, chunked
1 small cabbage
2 onions
10 cups water
2/3 cup pear barley
3 tbs. concentrated beef broth
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 bay leaves
Pinch of allspice
1. Spray Pam in a soup kettle. Sauté bones until they are dark.
2. Chunk two carrots and one onion and add to pan, cooking until they color. Add half the cabbage and the water. Bring to a boil and simmer about an hour until meat is tender and the marrow released. Cool and de-fat. Reserve the meat. Strain the broth and toss the vegetables and bones. (Note: if the bones are lean, you can skip this step).
3. Chop the remaining vegetables and add all ingredients to the broth-cook until barley is tender, about another hour. Delicious as is or served with crème fraiche.