Layo Paskin and Tomer Amedi give their take on modern Israeli cuisine in The Palomar Cookbook.
This dish was born in the Machneyuda restaurant a couple of months after we opened. At that time, everybody in Jerusalem was serving kebabs with tahini and to go for the same boring concept seemed a bit uncool to us, so Papi worked his magic and came up with this deconstructed version. The toppings and the pita make it the ultimate mopping dish. I like the fact that you get a different flavor with each bite, but some people like to mix everything together before they eat it. Feel free to try both ways and decide for yourself. As always, it’s important to get good-quality meat, but you won’t ever regret the extra time and effort it takes to source it. By the way, you don’t have to make all four toppings—I know it’s a lot of work—but this is the way I like to eat it, so feel free to play and top in any way you like.
Directions
- For the meat, place a large, shallow pan over a medium heat, add the oil and then the onion and sweat for 5 minutes. Add the pistachios and pine nuts and sauté for another 5 minutes, then add the garlic and sauté for another 3 minutes.
- Add the ground meat in 3–4 batches, breaking up each batch with a wooden spoon and allowing it to cook for 3–4 minutes before you add the next batch so that you don’t get lumps. You can increase the heat to high now, but just make sure you continue to stir.
- After 10–15 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook over a medium heat for another 5 minutes so that all the flavors combine well.
- Meanwhile, make the tahigurt. Mix all the tahigurt ingredients together in a bowl and divide among 4 soup plates (or funky pans, if you have some).
- Divide the meat among the 4 plates and layer with all the toppings.
Reprinted from The Palomar Cookbook. Text copyright © ZLC London Ltd 2016. Photography copyright © Helen Cathcart 2016. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
