Eating legit Turkish Shwarma in Tel Aviv: Turk Lachmaj’un

Turk Lachmaj’un

WOW, when I left, Turk Lachmaj’un I was impressed. I mean it’s known that the two most common street foods in Israel are falafel and shwarma, but the way they do things at Turk Lachmaj’un really take it to the next level. I want to thank my friend Mitch Schnieder for introducing me to this place because I KNOW I’m going to head back there.

Turk Lachmaj’un (Kosher Rabbanute Tel Aviv) has been around for a while, and their standards have stayed the same since day 1. For those of you who don’t know what a lachmaj’un is, (here comes the culinary tidbit) it’s a loaf of bread baked with any type of meat inside. The dish hails from Turkey, and has become a very popular dish in restaurants around Israel. Traditionally it’s baked with lamb, but those who can’t afford it will use beef or any other meat they fancy. Traditionally it’s served with techina, but you can enjoy it with any dip you like.

Now to the restaurant. I call it a restaurant because it really  is. You have an option to either eat a shwarma to go and have them wrap up your meal in a laffa or lachmaj’un or to sit down and enjoy the full experience where they bring you salads to your table and you eat with a fork and knife. I chose the first option, and it was perfect! A little more about the restaurant, show up early or you will be waiting a long time to enjoy an amazing meal because the place is packed during the lunch rush. Most of the food is made in-house from the salads to the fries, I don’t know if the meat is prepared there but I know that each lachmaj’un is made in the stone oven that they hide in the corner. Now I need to break down the lacmaj’un process for you: They bake each lachmaj’un fresh to order. the lachmaj’un is prepared like this: they bake the meat and spices into and open-faced type of laffa bread and then when it comes out of the oven, they fill it with more meat!If you aren’t already drooling, here comes the fun part, I chose lamb all the way through, then he put in the fillings that were so fresh, from the techina dripping through, pickled onions, and I don’t even remember what else the guy put in, but it made it a perfect bite! The lamb was super moist and full of flavor and you can taste the lamb all the way through because it’s baked into the bread! The fries were a bit soggy because sadly Israelis don’t believe in a double fry french fry (pomme frites) but everything else was just perfect.

Turk Lachmaj’un is one of the best shwarmas I have had in Israel, definitely in my top 5 in Israel. So if you find yourself in the Nachalat Binyamin area of central Tel Aviv, come by foot, because there’s almost no parking and get on line for some of the best shwarma, Tel Aviv has to offer.

 

Kadaif Beef Nests

Recipe for Kadaif Beef Nests

A very easy recipe and looks very impressive as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 Package of ready to go Kadaif dough
• 1\2 kilo ground beef
• 3 tsp pine nuts
• 1 onion diced
• 3 dates diced
• 3 cloves of garlic crushed
• 3 tsp Ras al Hanut
• Chopped coriander for garnish
• Salt & Pepper

Recipe:

1. Take the ready-made kadaif dough and place in cupcake tin and create a pocket for the beef filling, spray the tin with oil. Turn your oven on 180c and bake the dough until firm and golden brown.
2. For the beef filling: Saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 1 more minute. Add ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook until it’s broken down and nice and brown.
3. Drain the excess liquid from the ground beef and add the ras al hanut and dates.
4. In a different pan toast the pine nuts until they have a smokey essence.
5. Combine all the ingredients together and garnish with fresh coriander.

Serve with a nice yellow tahini sauce or a tomato chutney.

Enjoy!

 

A carnivores dream sandwich at Carne

  Carne Carne is a fun place for foodie who enjoy two things: a great sandwich, and really good beef. Carne has been able to create this match made in heaven. The only competition that I see that they really is Just Meat on the Ben Yehudah Midrachov, but I feel that they are very different in approach and in price. Carne (rabbanut Yerushalayim) is run by two young guys who like to make sandwiches, and make sure the customers are happy. For the full experience you need to let them build you the sandwich, let the artists do their work. Located in an alley between Ben Sira street and Ben Shatach street, the restaurant is very small, not to many places to sit, but you can either sit on one of the 2 tables outside, or on the bar. The menu there is pretty simple: Entricote, chicken, homemade sausages and for those who for some reason don’t eat meat, they have a grilled portobello sandwich as well. The regular sides of fries, potato wedges and onion rings, but they didn’t have onion rings available the day I went.  I met a foodie friend from my Israeli Foodies group group Neil Gillman who also has a blog, and a great perspective on food and life. We decided to order 2 sandwiches and try the: Entricote and the homemade sausages with a side of fries and potato wedges. I feel that any time a restaurant offers something made in-house like potato wedges, they will always be better than something frozen or processed. We also asked the owner to make the sandwiches with the whatever he thinks is best. So, how good can a sandwich be? Um, amazing! Well the entricote was amazing. The meat was full of flavor and cooked really nicely, the gepata bun with a nice crunch on the outside, the fresh vegetables and really nice sauces to compliment it all. The homemade sausages had very nice texture but the sandwich itself was lacking. It was missing that kick you get from spice in the sausage, and he didn’t put in mustard. Once we added a bit of heat it took it to a much higher level. Sometimes all a sandwich needs, is a nice kick in the taste buds! The fries were generic but the wedges were very nice. Oh , and the gherkins(the really small pickles) were a delightful compliment to the sandwich as well. The prices weren’t bad as well. To get a very fulfilling and satisfying meal for 60 shekel in my opinion is very reasonable. In my opinion, Carne offers a really great sandwich for those who are looking for some really great street food!

A surprise at Grill Bar

Getting ready for the pesach holiday is every parents nightmare, but we took a break for a couple of minutes as a family to throw a surprise birthday party for my father at the Grill Bar. Why the Grill Bar and not somewhere fancier? Because you really get your value for your money. We where 13 people and paid less than a 1000 shekel in all. They also have a private room that seats 30 in the back as well. The Kashrut is Rav Machpud(there is a big lighted sign next to the door, a new trend in the kosher world) so it fit everyone’s needs.

So about the steakiyah(a steakiyah is an Israeli steakhouse that serves a lot of salads, fresh pita bread and grilled skewered meats), the decor is simplistic but inviting, wooden chairs so you don’t stay that long and has an open kitchen, which I personally like the concept.

The service was on point and fast. They use Ipads to take your orders and not just scribbled on a piece of paper which is faster, cost efficient and just plain and simple smart. One of my favorites things there was watching a server that during the entire service was refilling the salad plates, non stop, like a machine, very entertaining.

The menu is composed of a large variety of skewered meats and steaks. I ordered an entricote(rib steak) skewer with a side of rice and beans and a in house made hummus platter. After ordering our waiter barraged us with a large amount of fresh salads and fresh pita bread that were simple and delicious. The hummus was very fresh and creamy, just the way you want it to be.

Then the meats came out. I asked that mine should be medium rare, and they got it done perfectly, just like everyone elses order. I also tasted other types like the sweet breads and the liver that were cooked perfectly. The sweet breads weren’t chewy and the liver was creamy. Also the pargiyot were just as good. The only downside to any steakiyah is that they use the same blend of spices on every cut of meat so the flavor is the same on all of the meats.

All in all it is a great place to take a family for a tasty dinner, that won’t break your wallet as well.

Grill bar Hasoreg 1 Jerusalem, Rav Machpud

Sweet&Spicy BBQ Beef Short Ribs Recipe

Short ribs are a great cut of beef. In Israel they go by Asado. The way to cook them is low and slow, and the result is a tender, juicy, succulent piece of meat. The way I make them here is a 2 stage process. Because most of us don’t own smoking devices in our back yard, here’s how I do it. Start in the oven and finish on the grill. It is able to cook through in the oven, and gets that smokiness from the finish on the grill. So, here we go! The dry rub here can go on any piece of meat you like too so make a batch and save for later use!( also great on potatoes)

Cooking time: 2 1\2 hours in the oven, 10 minutes on the grill

For the dry rub for the ribs:

• 1/4 cup paprika
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1\2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1\2  tablespoon seasoned salt
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• BBQ sauce of your choice

• 1-1 1\2 kilos of short ribs, connected in 1 piece

How to cook:

Before anything gets done, the meat needs to be room temperature to get an even cook. That is the iron rule with any piece of meat!

1. Turn oven on 150c\300f, and place the rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the dry rub together and sprinkle on the ribs. Coat generously. (At this point, you can roast the ribs immediately, but for the best flavor and texture, refrigerate them for up to 24 hours.)
3. Place ribs in the oven in a roasting tin, cover with foil for 2 1\2 hours in the oven.
4. After 2 hours of cooking turn on your bbq on 175c\350f.
5. After 2 1\2 hours remove from the oven and transfer to the bbq.
6. Slather the ribs with bbq sauce on both sides and grill for 5 minutes on each side.
7. Remove the ribs and let it rest for 10 minutes and then serve!

Enjoy!