In the JNF Kitchen: La Boite Israeli coleslaw

By Lior Lev Sercarz

This recipe of the week comes from La Boite, a biscuits and spice shop in New York City owned by Israeli chef and spice blender Lior Lev Sercarz. This is a two-in-one recipe. First we make a tahina sauce, then use it with coquelicot (poppy seeds) to dress cabbage to make a delicious twist on coleslaw.

American eats meet Israel as L.A. transplant brings food trucks to Golan

Shimon Shain, holding one of the food items from his food truck, Shimmy's.

By Alan Rosenbaum

"We’ve basically made a mini-restaurant on wheels," said Shimon Shain. "Even the health inspector was impressed with the design of the food truck." Be it sushi, tuna melts, a classic falafel sandwich, fish and chips, fries, waffles, hearty pancakes, a refreshing ice coffee, or just plain toast, Shain and his small fleet of food trucks around Israel's Golan Heights serve anything and everything to tourists, workers, and students. But don’t expect the menus to stay the same for long; they vary as clients' demands change.

Brooklyn-born and raised, Shimon, 34, and his wife, Sara, moved from the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles in July 2016 to the calm and tranquility of Hispin, a scenic town of 1,400 residents in the heart of the Golan Heights. "We like the cattle and the agriculture. We preferred to live in the north or the south -- in a quiet area," Shain said.

The Shains felt like there was still something missing from the Golan scene. Shain, who studied at the Jerusalem School of Culinary Arts, used his expertise in gastronomic studies and his extensive experience in the food industry to establish Shimmy’s, a mobile food service -- known as the beloved food truck in the U.S. -- that prepares and sells food throughout the Golan region.

In the JNF Kitchen: Roast turkey, Mousa style

This special Thanksgiving-themed recipe of the week comes to us from La Boite, a biscuits and spices shop in New York City owned by Israeli chef and spice blender Lior Lev Sercarz. 

Lior and La Boite have gained international fame for mixing spices in a unique way and selling some of the world's rarest blends. Lior opened his culinary superstore after traveling and studying around the globe. His latest venture, along with Jewish National Fund-USA, is Beit Asher, a Food Innovation and Technology Center and the JNF-USA Institute of Culinary Arts in Israel's Upper Eastern Galilee. 

This initiative, which is also in partnership with, ii2020, an Israeli NGO, aims to focus on bringing food technology and innovation, business accelerators and incubators, and a world-class Institute of Culinary Arts to the Upper Eastern Galilee. With this rollout, Jewish National Fund is playing a direct role in changing the narrative and landscape for the region by creating employment, bringing new residents, and changing the look, feel, and spirit of the area.

In the JNF Kitchen: Stern Winery’s white fish ceviche with fruit

This recipe originally appeared in the summer 2016 issue of our Byachad Magazine. You can read the full issue here.

In 2004, Johnny Stern, a Brazilian born immigrant who moved to Israel with his family at the age of 17, made the bold decision to open his own winery, Stern Winery. He realized his true calling lay with the vines of his winery, located in Kibbutz Tuval, a picturesque community in the hills of the Western Galilee. Before realizing this dream, however, he lived a dual life for nearly six years: as a sales manager for a company manufacturing industrial adhesives, machinery oil, and metal treatments, and as an artisanal wine producer in Israel’s budding boutique wine industry.

In the JNF Kitchen: Chef Alaa Moussa’s sea bass filet on a bed of lemon-verbena freekeh

This recipe originally appeared in the Fall 2017 issue of our Byachad Magazine. You can read the full issue here!

Step into El Marsa restaurant, and you instantly become witness to the latest movement in Arabic cuisine in Israel.

In the JNF Kitchen: Strawberry spinach salad from Israel's Galilee

In the JNF Kitchen: Watermelon gazpacho with fresh fish tartar

This summery recipe comes from Avichai and Idan of Yanivichi Bistro, nestled in the eucalyptus trees on Moshav Bustan HaGalil, just a few minutes drive from Akko. Set inside a renovated structure from 1948, previously the Moshav’s first dairy compound, and named after the Moshav’s first milkman, the restaurant is the place to go to for fusion cooking that combines the vibe of Tel Aviv with Galilean flavors and local plates alongside dishes imported from Italy and France.

In the JNF Kitchen: Shakshukeet from a famed Jerusalem restaurant

In the JNF Kitchen: Fish wrapped in dough

Fish in dough, or salt crust.

For the next few weeks, our #RecipeOfTheWeek series will host some fantastic Israeli chefs. These culinary masters are slated for the itinerary of the amazing JNF Culinary, Wine and Music Tour this June. Learn more about this cultural experience here. 

This recipe comes from Erez Komarovsky, a chef and baker. Afar described him as "the first contemporary baker to introduce artisanal bread to Israel" and he's considered to be one of the leading cooks who defined Israeli cuisine in the late '80s and '90s.

In the JNF Kitchen: Beautiful strawberry-jam challah

This #RecipeOfTheWeek is brought to you by Anna Richlin, a wonderful member of the JNF family. Anna is a campaign executive for the Central New Jersey region, an area you can learn more about here. She's an expert challah baker sharing a sweet version for this week's Shabbat. See below for braiding tips as well! Recipe yields six medium challahs.

In the JNF Kitchen: From Israeli ice cream shop Buza, fresh fruit sorbet

Ice cream shop Buza in Israel's Western Galilee has graced us with this delightful recipe for prickly pear or strawberry sorbet -- the flavor is up to you! 

Buza, the Arabic word for ice cream, is co-owned and operated by Alaa Sweetat, a local Muslim, and Adam Ziv, a Jew from Kibbutz Sasa. Their ice cream is Italian-inspired and produced from the finest ingredients, 100 percent natural. Their main store is located in the center of Maalot-Tarshicha, a Jewish-Arab town in the culturally diverse Western Galilee. Friends Sweetat and Ziv are models for co-existence. What brings people together if not ice cream?!

In the JNF Kitchen: Watermelon margaritas inspired by Israel's Arava

It's Friday, the temperatures are climbing and it's time to celebrate the watermelon season in the Arava -- with a twist! The Arava desert is a region characterized by sharp climate changes, extreme topographical conditions, scarce water, and dramatic natural beauty. It's a key focus of JNF's Blueprint Negev initiative. 

In the JNF Kitchen: Super easy tahini from Israel, with a twist

Edna and one of her beloved goats.

This week's recipe is as simple, yet as delicious, as can be. 

It comes from Edna Hefer of Meshek Hefer (Hefer Farm), a ranch located in Abirim in Israel's Western Galilee. The family-owned and family-run farm operates based on principles of self sufficiency, with very few hired employees, and guests pitching in by feeding and milking the farm animals. 

The farm has a dairy that makes goat milk products under the name Edna’s Cheeses. The cheese, along with other local goods such as olive oil, olives, and unique wines from nearby boutique wineries, can be purchased by taking it straight out of the refrigerator and putting money right into the register. 

In the JNF Kitchen: Kubbeh soup, a dumpling delicacy

Our recipe this week is the creation of Shaul Levy, president of the Israeli Art Association. For the past few years, Shaul has collaborated with JNF to promote Israeli artists, primarily young adults and artists with special needs. A former CEO of a marketing consulting firm, Shaul stepped down five years ago to devote his time to keeping the Israeli art market alive, a move inspired in part as a reaction to the BDS movement. Shaul is devoted to help keep the Israeli art market alive. On the side, he loves to cook traditional food for Shabbat.

In the JNF Kitchen: Traditional shakshuka eggs with special spices

Photo: Christian Leue

This recipe of the week comes to us from La Boite, a biscuits and spice shop in New York City owned by Israeli chef and spice blender Lior Lev Sercarz. Lior and La Boite have gained international fame for mixing spices in a unique way and selling some of the world's rarest blends. Lior opened his culinary superstore after traveling and studying around the globe, and he dreams of establishing a cooking school in Israel's north along with JNF. 

In the JNF Kitchen: Passover cocoa bites, an easy and tasty dessert

Margot Alfie, a JNF board member in Atlanta and personal chef extraordinaire, shared this recipe for a super easy, and super tasty, Passover dessert.

In the JNF Kitchen: King oyster mushroom pasta

Meet Esti and Uri Yaakobi of mushroom company פטריות פארן (Mushrooms of Paran). They are farmers from the Paran moshav in the Arava desert who decided to grow mushrooms, of all things! 

Their mushrooms are pure Israeli and a result of their entrepreneurial spirit, desire to produce something unique, and passion for farm-to-table dining. Among their mushrooms you'll find oyster, shiitake, king oyster, and lion mains, and you can also find dishes with their products at אורסולה בית קפה בערבה (Ursala Coffee and Pub in the Arava).

Enjoy this #RecipeOfTheWeek for king oyster mushroom pasta inspired by the Yaakobis and their interesting crops. If you make any of these recipes, be sure to send a photo of your creation to teddyherzl18@gmail.com or tweet it to @JNFUSA with the hashtag #JNFfoodie. We might share it! 

In the JNF Kitchen: Gefilte fish with citrus carrot and horseradish creams

In the JNF Kitchen: Stuffed grape leaves and zucchinis

This recipe for stuffed grape leaves and zucchinis, a classic Galilean dish, is brought to us by Paul Nirens of Galileat, which organizes unique cooking and hospitality experiences. Four or five variations of this recipe, reflecting differences between regions and home cooks in the Galilee, will appear in Nirens' new recipe book, the Galilean Kitchen. He is currently raising funds on Indiegogo for the project, which will showcase local, authentic dishes as well as the stories behind the women who create them, those who offer home-cooking classes as part of Galileat. Learn more about the book here.

In the JNF Kitchen: Cauliflower latkes from the Arava

All latked out yet? We have the perfect antidote -- cauliflower latkes from the Central Arava Regional Council. The Arava is a key focus of JNF's Blueprint Negev initiative, which aims to bring communities to Israel's south, away from the congested, highly priced center of the country.

The Central Arava is a wonderful place to visit, live, raise a family -- and run a farm! What residents in the area lack in natural resources, they make up for in ingenious agricultural solutions. All year round, the tastiest peppers, artichokes, melons, and cucumbers come out of the Central Arava.