Every time I visit Israel I simply can’t stop admiring the food. The creative chefs of Tel Aviv; the more traditional food of Jerusalem; the shouk in Haifa, Akko, Ramla, Natanya and more; the hummus, burekas and malabi of Jaffa.
A foodie day in Jaffa always starts with hummus at what must be the best hummus place in the world, the famous Abu Hassan. It sits at the end of an alley, overlooking the sea, and the small place can hardly fit the hummus addicts that line up early in the morning. All you can get is a bowl of hummus, with tahini or fava bean, with fresh pita and slices of raw onion and tatbila sauce on the side. And it’s the best thing you’ll ever taste.
From there you can take a stroll through the old city of Jaffa, stone allies that go up above the sea with breathtaking views. Stop at Abouelafia bakery for a quick sambousak filled with feta and eggplant. Then, make your way to the flea market, now filled with designers stores and chef’s restaurants. You can nosh on pickled and smoked fish, served with a thick slice of bread and soft butter at the hip Cafe Puaa, but save room for Doctor Shakshuka’s Libyan food or his new lamb Shawarma. Or some burekas at Leon Bakery. (Or have both, if you can.)
If you happen to come on a Friday morning, consider shopping for Arab food made by local cooks at De Yaffa. For dessert you must try one of the perfect pastries with hazelnut-chocolate cream at Milk Bakery.
Jaffa is an example of a peaceful city, where Muslims, Christians and Jews coexist. For most of the time, at least.
Abouelafia bakery is owned by an Arab family from Jaffa, that always worked to promote coexistence and peace between Arabs and Jews in the city. Until you get to visit the place yourself, try this recipe for one of their famous sambousak (filled pastry.) Close your eyes and imagine the Mediterranean Sea in the background.
One of the main attractions of Abouelafia Bakery in Jaffa is the large variety of stuffed pastries. The recipe below is for the over-the-top combination of potato, feta, eggplant, tomato and half-boiled-egg. But feel free to try any other filling you prefer: from simply crumbled feta, to feta mixed with roasted or fried eggplant, mashed potato and cheese, pizza sauce and cheese. It’s all going to be delicious.
Eggplant & cheese sambousak
Course: Main course, sandwich, snack, pastriesCuisine: Arab, IsraeliDifficulty: Advanced10
servings20
minutes25
minutes40
minutes1
hour25
minutesYou can freeze the dough, or some of it, if you don’t want to make 10 sambousak at a time. Prepare the dough as instructed below. Let it rise, divide to ten equal portions and freeze as many of them as you want, keeping each ball from sticking to the others. When you’re ready to bake, let them thaw in the fridge overnight. Then take out of the fridge 30 minutes before you’re ready to roll and fill.
I highly recommend using SAF Instant yeast (it’s available online and can keep for months in the fridge.)
When using instant yeast, you should skip the process of proofing the yeast.
If you’re using active dry yeast, start the recipe by proofing the yeast and continue as usual.
INGREDIENTS
- For the dough
1 lb. flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoons instant yeast (or active dry yeast, see note above)
1 tablespoon sugar
1⅓ cups warm water
2 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
- For the filling
10 eggs
6 medium Yukon gold potatoes
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for frying
½ lb. feta cheese
1½ cups grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese (optional)
2 eggplant (optional)
2 thinly sliced tomato
Kosher salt
- For the egg wash
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
4 tablespoons yellow or black sesame seeds
DIRECTIONS
- Turn oven to 500 degrees. If you have a pizza stone, put in in the oven.
- If you’re using DRY ACTIVE YEAST, skip to instruction number 3.
If you’re using INSTANT YEAST, put flour, baking powder, yeast and sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Mix for 1 minute on low speed, then add water and mix for 2 minutes. Add oil and salt and knead on low speed for 6 minutes. Spray a large bowl with oil, gather dough to a ball and transfer to the greased bowl. Cover bowl with towel and let stand in a warm spot in the kitchen for about 40 minutes until it doubles in volume.
Skip to instruction number 4. - If you’re using DRY ACTIVE YEAST you need to proof it first. Put ½ cup warm water, the yeast and a teaspoon of sugar in a glass and stir briefly. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until it visibly foams.
Put flour, baking powder, yeast mixture, the rest of the sugar and water in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Mix for 2 minutes. Add oil and salt and knead on low speed for 6 minutes. Spray a large bowl with oil, gather dough to a ball and transfer to the greased bowl. Cover bowl with towel and let stand in a warm spot in the kitchen for about 40 minutes until it doubles in volume. - To cook the eggs, bring a saucepan half filled with salted water to boil over medium-high heat. Gently place eggs inside using a large spoon and cook on low simmer for 8 minutes. Transfer eggs to ice cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
- To prepare the potatoes, peel and slice them to ¼ inch slices. Bring a saucepan half filled with salted water to boil over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and cook on low simmer for about 7-8 minutes, until fork tender and not falling apart. Remove potato from water, transfer to a small bowl and use a fork to roughly mash them. Add olive oil and salt to taste and set aside.
- If you want to serve the sambousak with eggplant, peel the eggplant and slice to 1/2” thick slices lengthwise. Arrange in a colander and sprinkle each layer with kosher salt. Let the eggplant stand in the colander over a large bowl for ½ hour, the salt will help get rid of its light bitterness. Wash under running water and dry with paper towels.
- In a large drying pan over medium-high heat pour about 1/8” oil. When the oil is hot arrange half the eggplant slices in it and fry slowly until both sides are golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel lined cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the eggplant slices.
- When dough is ready, divide it to 10 equal balls and cover them with a towel. Lightly dust a working surface and a rolling pin with flour. Roll each ball to a thin 6-7 inch circle, put a couple of tablespoons of the potato mixture in the bottom half, top with crumbled feta and grated mozzarella. Fold the top half over the bottom and use your fingers to pinch and close the turnover to a half-circle shape. Transfer to a tray and repeat with the rest of the dough. If you’re not using a pizza stone, spray a couple of baking sheets with oil and place the sambousak on those.
- Mix egg and water in a small bowl and use a pastry brush to brush sambousak. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Use a pizza peel to transfer 2-3 sambousak to the oven and bake for 5-6 minutes, until golden-brown. Repeat with the rest of the sambousak. If you do not have a pizza stone, bake the sambousak on the baking sheet, one baking sheet at a time, for about 6 minutes.
- Slice open each sambousak, leaving one side intact, as shown in the photo. In each sambousak put a slice of eggplants, couple of slices of tomato and a sliced egg on top. Sprinkle with a little salt and serve immediately.