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FOOD FROM ISRAEL

A New Dish

for the
New Year

Susie Fishbein

ew foods go further back in our The honey described
history than silan – date honey. in the verse, “The Land
Silan, a current belle of the culi- of milk and honey,” is not the golden
Fnary world ball, is a staple of bee honey; it is this date honey. The
Iraqi, Persian and other Middle Eastern charoset from Talmudic times was
cuisines. It is the honey made from dates boiled into this syrup.
boiling down dates.
When the Dead Sea scrolls were uncov-
According to Gil Marks, noted food ered at Qumran in 1947, a 2,000-year-
historian, date seeds from the 3rd mil- old date-honey press was found. Silan
lennia BCE were found in the Royal
Cemetery at Ur Kasdim, making it an was a beneficial ingredient in times
almost certain part of Avraham Avinu’s before refrigeration as it could be
diet. stored for much longer than its mother
fruit and the syrup was easily portable.
Dates are amongst the Sheva Minim
– seven species of Israel – and the It is a natural sweetener whose cara-
frond of the date palm tree is one of mel notes add a fantastic depth and
the Arba’a Minim – four species of the sweetness to recipes for today’s cooks,
Sukkot rituals. as in the recipe below.

Roasted Silan Techina Prepare the silan techina: In the bowl of a
food processor fitted with the metal “S”
1 cup raw tahini (sesame paste) blade, purée the tahini, lemon juice, garlic,
Eggplant ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice salt, pepper, ½ cup warm water, and silan.
Reproduced from with Silan Techina 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced You may need a bit more warm water to
Kosher By Design thin to desired consistency. Set aside.
Brings It Home by pinch kosher salt
Susie Fishbein, with Prepare the roasted eggplant: Preheat the
permission from the ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper oven to 400°F (205°C). Cut the eggplants in
copyright holders Yields 6 servings ½ cup warm water, plus more as needed half lengthwise, cutting straight through
ArtScroll/Mesorah the green stalk. Using a small sharp knife,
Publications, Eggplant, in some form or another, can be ¼ cup silan (date syrup) make 3–4 “X” marks to score the eggplant
Ltd. Photograph found on every restaurant menu in Israel.
by John Uher. flesh without cutting through to the skin.
Halved roasted eggplant is the ambassa- Roasted Eggplant
dor of these appetizers. Gorgeous, 3 large, long eggplants Place the eggplant halves, cut-side up,
simple, and healthy, it is the perfect on a baking sheet lined with parchment
paper. Brush them heavily with olive oil.
starter with its smoky aroma and ⅓ cup olive oil Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for
smooth-cooked center. Roasting salt 35–40 minutes; the flesh should be soft,
the eggplants on the open flame pepper flavorful, and nicely browned. Remove from
adds so much flavor but can be the oven; allow to cool.
a bit messy; make sure to cover pomegranate seeds, for garnish Transfer the roasted eggplant to a platter
the grates with foil to catch the radishes, sliced paper-thin on a mandolin, or plate for serving. Drizzle on the silan
charred skin — or follow this recipe for garnish techina; garnish with pomegranate seeds,
for an oven-baked version. scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish radish slices, and scallions.

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