Israeli food has flooded menus across the world, and ingredients commonplace in Middle Eastern kitchens have appeared on UK supermarket shelves.

Like our society — a melting pot of a multitude of nations — Israel’s food is a blend of the delicious diaspora. The various influences and background are what make the food so fascinating and the ingredients we use, so diverse.
Borrowed as they are from various countries, there are few ingredients that are uniquely Israeli, but there are a few essential storecupboard staples for creating a sabra-style feast at home.

Here are a few of favourites. No-one likes a one-recipe wonder clogging up their cupboard, so in the spirit of zero waste, we’ve given you a good few ways to use them:

GettyImages-1318482028

Photo: Getty Images

Ptitim
Definitely Israel’s own — a true classic and credit to Israeli ingenuity. This was developed in the 1950’s during Israel’s Austerity period. Rice was scarce and Israel’s then Prime Minister came up with the idea of using a gluten-based substitute for rice. Hello ptitim (which translates literally as flakes) aka Israeli couscous. It’s not couscous at all, but versatile balls of precooked pasta that take minutes. Toast them briefly in olive oil or butter before rehydrating. Cook like regular pasta, uncovered in boiling water, or in a measured amount (300ml water to 135g ptitim) covered for about 10 minutes.

Once cooked, use it as a side or cold as in salads. Try it mixed with plenty of fresh chopped parsley, mint and coriander and finely diced red onions and tomatoes and dressed with plenty of lemon juice and extra virgin olive olive for a riff on tabbouleh; or you can chuck it into soup to give them a bit of heft. Or top it with stir fried or roasted veggies.

Labaneh

This is the easiest homemade cheese you’ll ever make — literally the work of minutes. Simply mix 500g Greek yoghurt with 500g plain low-fat yogurt, add a pinch of salt and place in a muslin. Place the muslin inside a sieve, and rest that over a bowl to collect the liquid that will drain out — you’ll discard this. Refrigerate overnight and the next day you’ll have your own, homemade, delicious fresh labaneh.

It’s wonderful served simply — drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and za’atar with a pile of warm, pillowy pita bread, but it’s also more versatile than that. Spoon it over steamed garlicky greens and shower with dried chilli and finely chopped preserved lemon peel. Or blitz peeled, roasted red peppers with honey and lemon juice then mix that with your labaneh for a pink dip that little people will love. Use it to replace mayonnaise in cucumber sandwiches, or, leave it to drain longer — until firm enough to form balls which you can roll in chopped herbs and store in olive oil for a smart aperitivo snack. I use it anywhere I want to add creaminess and cheesy flavour without adding too much fat.

GettyImages-1341897446 Sumac

Photo: Getty Images

Sumac

This spice is made from red berries from the sumac (or sumach) shrub, which grows mainly in Northern Israel and the southern areas of Lebanon and Syria. In Arabic, sumac means “blush” – referencing the bright red colour of the fruits. They are dried then ground to a powder, with intense lemony flavours. It is also added to za’atar spice mix. Add anywhere that you want to add a fresh citrus, lemony tang.

It’s a key ingredient in a fattoush salad — mix toasted pita slivers with chopped tomatoes, red onions, cucumber and LOTS of chopped parsley, mint and coriander then dress with extra virgin olive oil, za’atar and plenty of sumac. Sprinkle over sauteed greens or add to baba ghanoush — a chunky dip of charred, skinned aubergine, tahina and lemon juice. A generous pinch will also pep up an Israeli salad.

For a delicious chicken marinade mix a couple of heaped teaspoons of sumac with 500ml olive oil, salt and pepper plus 3 cloves of minced garlic. Pour over a whole chicken or chicken pieces and leave from two hours to overnight before roasting.

Or make a delicious summer-time drink: first make a syrup by melting 100g sugar in 100ml water, bringing to a boil and simmering for three minutes then adding a teaspoon of sumac. Mix the juice of half a lemon with two teaspoons of syrup plus ice and sparkling water for ‘sumac-ade’!

Shir and Amir are co-founders and chefs at The Black Cow Camden
Find them on Instagram here