The cookbook club is taking a trip to the Middle East for the March 2016 Meet & Eat with Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking. This fantastic book from Michael Solomonov and James Cook reinterprets Israeli Cuisine for American kitchens, and we're especially excited about this inventive recipe for fried potatoes using Harissa, a perennial favorite here at the shop!
From the Authors: "This dish happened by serendipity. At Zahav, our Israeli pickles come packed in huge cans with a ton of excess pickle juice. One day, in a passion for brining, I decided to throw some peeled potatoes into that leftover pickle juice. A day later, I drained and fried the potatoes, ending up with the most amazing French fries ever. The potatoes were seasoned from within with a garlicky tang from the pickle juice. Deep-frying can be an undertaking, so when I make this dish at home, I just slice the potatoes into rounds and pan-fry them on both sides in a cast iron skillet until theyre nice and crispy. I serve the potatoes with tehina augmented with harissa, the North African condiment based on dried chiles thats a staple on the Israeli table. In my harissa, I use ground Aleppo pepper from Syria, which has a fruity avor and is not screamingly hot, so you can appreciate the peppers earthy undertones. I thin the sauce with a little more pickle juice to cut through the richness and echo the avor of the potatoes. Ill bet theres a jar in your fridge, with a lonely pickle or two bobbing in a sea of brine. This recipe is the perfect way to put those pickles out of their misery."
From the Authors: "This dish happened by serendipity. At Zahav, our Israeli pickles come packed in huge cans with a ton of excess pickle juice. One day, in a passion for brining, I decided to throw some peeled potatoes into that leftover pickle juice. A day later, I drained and fried the potatoes, ending up with the most amazing French fries ever. The potatoes were seasoned from within with a garlicky tang from the pickle juice. Deep-frying can be an undertaking, so when I make this dish at home, I just slice the potatoes into rounds and pan-fry them on both sides in a cast iron skillet until theyre nice and crispy. I serve the potatoes with tehina augmented with harissa, the North African condiment based on dried chiles thats a staple on the Israeli table. In my harissa, I use ground Aleppo pepper from Syria, which has a fruity avor and is not screamingly hot, so you can appreciate the peppers earthy undertones. I thin the sauce with a little more pickle juice to cut through the richness and echo the avor of the potatoes. Ill bet theres a jar in your fridge, with a lonely pickle or two bobbing in a sea of brine. This recipe is the perfect way to put those pickles out of their misery."
