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To bring joy to the Israeli citizens, Fairy brand initiated a live cooking workshop with the brands' presenter, chef Israel Aharoni.
The live workshop by the chef and Fairy was broadcasted on Facebook and was open for everyone to watch freely.
I was invited to watch the live cooking show, where the chef shared two wonderful recipes, including tips, and more. I shared the full recipes and tips in the article below.
Chicken with carrots and beetroot casserole recipe/by Chef Israel Aharoni
Ingredients for 4-5 diners:
8 drumsticks or 4 chicken leg quarters (separated to thighs and legs)
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
4 large carrots, peeled, rinsed, and cut lengthwise and then into 3-4 cm chunks
4 beetroots, peeled, rinsed, and cut into eights or sixes (depends on the size of the beetroot)
1 purple onion, cut into large cubes (less than 1 cm, you can use white onion as a substitute)
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 cm ginger root, peeled, cut into slices, then long strips and chopped (can be grated)
Half chili pepper (or more, if you want extra spiciness), chopped roughly
1 Tbsp. Whole cumin grains or 1 tsp. ground cumin
About 3-4 cups of fresh pomegranate juice or 1/4 cup concentrated pomegranate juice with 3-4 cups of water
salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tablespoons of honey
1 Lemon, if needed
To garnish:
Pomegranate seeds
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Preparation:
Preheat oil in a shallow casserole pan.
Sprinkle salt and pepper, generously, on the skin side of the chicken. Once the oil is hot, fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes until brown on medium heat. Place the chicken with the skin side down, then flip to the other side and fry the same for 3-4 minutes. Then, take out and set aside.
Add to the same pan the onion, ginger, garlic, and chili pepper with one tablespoon of cumin grains. Fry lightly while stirring. The goal is not to brown the vegetables, but to release their aromas to the oil and casserole.
Add the carrots and beetroot and mix a bit. Add the pomegranate juice and season with salt and pepper, and mix.
Add the honey, mix, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, return the chicken to the skillet and cook on medium heat for 45 minutes until the sauce thickens.
After about 15 minutes into the cooking, the sauce will begin to reduce. Now is the time to start checking for flavors. Check if the sauce has enough salt, sourness, sweetness, and spiciness and if the flavors are balanced together.
After 30 minutes from the cooking start, if you see there are not many liquids, you can cook for a few minutes with a lid.
Ten minutes to the end of the cooking, recheck the seasoning. If acidity is missing, squeeze in a lemon or lime.
Three minutes to the end of cooking, turn the heat up to high and cook to get a caramelization in the sauce.
When done cooking, transfer the dish to a serving plate, and leave most of the sauce in the pan. Turn the heat back on and cook on high heat while stirring to get a thick sauce. This process will take about a minute.
Pour the sauce on the dish. Chef Aharoni recommends serving this with simple white rice since the sauce is rich with flavors.
A few tips and notes regarding the recipe:
* How can you tell if the oil is hot enough? Please take one of the chicken parts and place them in the pot. If you hear that beautiful sizzling sound, it's ready. If not, wait a bit more.
*You can use other vegetables in this recipe, such as kohlrabi, celery root, but chef Aharoni says that the carrots and beetroot are lovely because they are naturally sweetened. This dish is terrific thanks to the balance of sour, sweet, spicy, and salty flavors.
*Pomegranate juice sometimes has sourness in it, so taste the casserole before adding any lime or lemon. Regarding lemon and lime, the chef said that you should add it close to the end of cooking. Otherwise, they lose their aromatics and get
*Chef Aharoni said that he is asked a lot about the difference between white and red onion. He explained that he always compares it to apples. Just like apples have the same DNA of taste, but different tones of flavor, some sweeter, some sourer, etc., It's the same thing with onions. They have the same taste with different tones. The red onions, for instance, are sweer and spicier.
*If you don't like coriander, you don't have to eat it. You can replace it with parsley or mint, or omit it.
*The chef explained he loves to use shallow pans for casseroles, patties, etc. since the dish is cooked in one layer evenly. The larger pots are used for soup and rice.
*Aharoni recommends using whole cumin grains since they are milder than the ground spice and have a great taste to the food.
*Do you prefer this to be a vegan dish? Omit the chicken and add 2 cups of chickpeas. If you still want the chicken, but love chickpeas as well, add only 1 cup.
Elegant apple tart recipe/by chef Israel Aharoni
Ingredients:
Puff pastry, thawed
4 red apples, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
100 grams of butter or margarine for parve, melted in micro
1 tsp. vanilla extract
sugar
1 egg
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 190C/374F.
Place the dough wide open on a baking paper or leave it with its nylon wrap on a flat wooden surface. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Since the dough is rich with fats, it will be easier to work with after freezing.
Transfer the sliced apples to a flat container. Mix the butter with the vanilla extract and pour over the apples. Mix using your hands so that the apples will get coated on each side.
Take the dough out of the freezer and cut it into two rectangles. The dough should be cold, but not too firm. Take a slice of an apple and place it in the middle of the rectangle, on the upper side. This method will help us to form a frame. Using a knife, cut a frame only halfway through the dough (don't reach the bottom).
After creating the frame, level the edges of the dough. You will get a beautiful rectangle with an inner rim of about 1.5 cm far from the sides.
The framing is done to create walls that will rise while baking, and a beautiful golden frame will appear.
Transfer the dough onto a baking paper and start assembling the apples inside the inner frame tightly as shingles, one on top of the other, without touching the edges. Leave about 1 millimeter from 1 slice to another.
Sprinkle the apples with a thin coating of sugar and spread the sides with a beaten egg—Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Baking tips and notes for the recipe:
*You can use green apples in this recipe. They will be a bit sourer. Chef Aharoni said that he used the red apples with their peel to get that beautiful red look, although the green color would be lovely too.
*You can use shortcrust pastry for this recipe. However, it is ideal to use a puff pastry that comes out airy.
*You can make this dessert on a larger puff pastry sheet as well. Use a large rectangle or square and arrange the sliced in lines one next to the other.
*If you have a culinary torch, you can sprinkle sugar on the dish after it comes out of the oven and burn it for a great look.
During the live cooking tutorial, Chef Aharoni answered questions from viewers, and here are a few of them:
Do you have a dish you must make during the holidays?
Aharoni said that he doesn't have a specific dish and cares about the dish's festiveness and looks, and, of course, taste. He tries to cook with the culinary characteristics of the holiday. For example, to use vegetables and fruits of the season, such as the black-eyed pea and pomegranate, which are seasonal fruits that are used widely in the holidays.
By the way, Aharoni highly praises and recommends using pomegranates in various dishes due to their nutritional benefits and taste. He also suggests adding pomegranate juice and seeds to a salad.
What is your favorite traditional Jewish food?
The chef answered he doesn't have one, but again, he said, he finds it essential to use the holiday's culinary characters wisely and that it will look festive, and that's enough for him.
Do you make all of the holiday meals yourself, or you get help?
Aharoni said that when he hosts, he doesn't allow people to bring food. He makes everything and sometimes gets help, especially from his kids.
What is the kitchen tool that you use a lot, and most people don't have?
Aharoni said that he thinks this tool is now in more homes, but people don't understand its magic. The kitchen tool he referred to was the Chinese Bamboo steamer.
He said that it seems that it is used only for dim sums. However, you can steam in it fish, chicken, and vegetables without spices and season it later. He says that it is different from cooking in water. In water, some of the nutritional values disappear, while in steaming, it doesn't.
If you could cook to one person, dead or alive, who would you cook?
Aharoni said he is a fan of Leonardo Da Vinchi and would cook for him with pride.
Do you, sometimes, cook with recipes?
Sometimes, yes. When writing a recipe, it is solely a recommendation. That is the way that person likes to make the dish. He gave an example of the chicken recipe he shared on the live video and said that if people love more garlic, they can add more than six cloves. And, if they don't like garlic at all, then they can omit it entirely.
Recipes are used as a recommendation, and if you don't like something, then don't use it.
How do you develop a recipe?
You don't make something out of nothing. We don't really invent. We have heritage assets, disassemble them into pieces, add or subtract, make trial and error, and with the years of experience, your chances of succeeding gets bigger.
What do you make when you need to fix a quick meal for guests?
Aharoni said: "Obviously from the Chinese kitchen." The Chinese kitchen is not all about stir fry, but when you put oil in a wok with chicken breast and vegetable, you get a light, wonderful meal that is tasty and can form endless variations.
How do you make a meal for the exact amount of diners with no leftovers?
One of the methods is to send the leftovers in boxes with the guests; that way, everyone is happy. Another option is not to make much of the fresh foods such as salad, that is spoiled after a few hours, and casseroles and other dishes that can be reheated the next day, are not a problem if you have leftovers.
There are many types of salt, when do you use each?
Aharoni answered that when cooking, he uses regular salt, but salt is also used as a texture and not just flavor. That is why he uses salt with texture, for food that needs crunchiness, besides taste, such as salads.
Do you have any hospitality tips?
Aharoni starts making the food that can be prepared in advance and some that don't need reheating as pastries and salads. He will often make oven-baked meals that all you need to do is "launch and forget." The dish he made in the live workshop is also suitable for making in the oven.
The chef says that you should have as many dishes as possible that are premade, that if they need reheating, it will only be a few minutes and that the reheating won't ruin them. When making a fish, for example, Aharoni says that he never prepares it in advance. The fish needs to be cooked for about 10-15 minutes, and he puts it to cook just before serving.
Do you miss eating in restaurants or prefer eating at home?
He said that he loves eating his food, but he misses eating in restaurants, because in a restaurant you come to have fun and not work, and sometimes you want to eat the food of others.
Do you order deliveries during the quarantine?
Aharoni says that he sometimes does order. It is a way to support his colleagues and varying from his food.
What do you love more - Gefilte fish or Chraime?
The chef said that he loves both if they are done well. He said that if one is better than the other, he will prefer the tastier.
Do you have any tips for cooking at home?
Chef Aharoni said that before cooking, you should organize, organize, organize. Make everything you need for the specific dish in advance.
The better you are organized before cooking, the more successful and enjoyable the dish becomes.
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