Every so often a new culinary trend becomes popular – for example, gluten-free food, veganism, the paleo diet. I'm usually a bit skeptical each time a new fad begins, and so when Efrat Petel's cookbook, 100 American Favorite Dishes: the Real Food Version, came out in Hebrew (Segol Publishing, 2017), I was excited when I realized that this was probably not going to be just a passing trend. The book focuses on popular American dishes and explains how to prepare them with only natural ingredients. Petel, by training, is a chef as well as an integrative nutritionist with a degree from New York's Institute for Integrative Nutrition. After completing her studies, she founded Daily Real Food, which promotes a lifestyle of eating real, healthful food and focuses on daily habits, supportive tools and information. “I chose to focus on American cuisine,” says Petel, “in order to show that even 'junk food' can be prepared in a healthy way if you use fresh ingredients. My book demonstrates to people that you don't need to give up the pleasure of eating just because you want to eat healthfully. I wanted to write a cookbook that was more than just a conglomeration of recipes. My goal was to make people excited about exploring new ways to prepare meals. There shouldn't be any guilt or shame connected with eating. And there are no hard-and-fast rules. I don't think people should be telling others how or what to eat or what not to eat.” Below, you'll find five recipes from Petel's book, which demonstrate that it's possible to prepare good food that's both fresh and healthful. RED HUMMUS Makes 6 cups 2 cups dry chickpeas that were soaked overnight or frozen ½ cup water 1 tsp. sea salt 2 beets that were cooked in oven until soft 2 cloves garlic Juice from 1 or 2 lemons (¼ to ½ cup juice) ½ cup olive oil + ¼ cup olive oil when serving ½ tsp. cumin 2 Tbsp. raw tehina Drain the chickpeas and cook covered in water until soft (60-90 minutes, depending on type of chickpeas). Drain and then, with an electric blender, blend with other ingredients until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle olive oil on top. Decorate with a few sprigs of parsley. MILLET TABBOULEH SALAD Millet is an African grain that can easily replace rice, couscous or even oatmeal and bulgur. It contains magnesium and is therefore recommended for people who suffer from high blood sugar levels. Millet is good for the digestive system since it's high in dietary fiber. The best part about millet is that it's gluten-free, so is suitable for anyone with celiac or who doesn't eat gluten. Makes 3-4 servings 1 cup millet that's been soaked for an hour or overnight 3 cups water ¼ tsp. salt 1 package parsley, chopped 1 package coriander, chopped 4 scallions ½ package dill (optional) 1½ cups mint leaves Juice and zest from 1 lemon 1 tsp. sea salt ¼ cup olive oil 1 cup pomegranate seeds or pieces of orange or pomelo ½ cup dried chopped apricots or sugar-free cranberries Bring water to boil in a medium pot. Add the salt and millet and cook for 15 minutes until millet has softened. Drain millet (if it's sticky, you can separate granules with a fork). Place the herbs in a separate bowl and then add the millet and mix gently until light and airy. Add the olive oil, lemon and salt. Mix and then add the pomegranate seeds and dried apricots. LENTIL SHIITAKE BURGERS Lentils are extremely high in protein and low in calories and fat content. They also contain dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins. Makes 8 burgers ½ kg. black lentils that were soaked in water overnight 3 large carrots, chopped 3 small onions, chopped 100 gr. shiitake mushrooms 1 cup raw walnuts ¼ cup olive oil 1 tsp. paprika or smoked paprika ½ tsp. sea salt ¼ tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. dried coriander For serving: 1 Tbsp. tomato paste + 1 Tbsp. maple syrup Drain the lentils. Put one cup of lentils aside and pour the rest into a food processor and blend until mixture becomes sticky. Transfer to a bowl. Put the carrots and onions in food processor and pulse until they become little pieces. Add to bowl with lentil mixture. Heat olive oil in a large pot and fry mushrooms for 5 minutes. Add ¼ cup water as needed. Add the fried mushrooms and walnuts to the food processor and mix. Add them to lentil mixture. If you have a meat grinder, you can use it to grind the mixture. The mixture should remain thick. Add the spices and the cup of whole lentils. Form patties with the mixture. If the burgers are too crumbly, blend the mixture again and start over, making new patties. Preheat oven to 220°. Prepare all of the burgers. Grease a lined baking sheet and place burgers in oven. Flip after 7 minutes. Bake for 5 more minutes on second side and then remove. If burgers seem a little dry, you can brush them with olive oil. You can also lightly fry them in olive oil. Let cool for 2 minutes and then serve on a roll with the tomato paste/maple syrup spread or barbecue sauce. OREO COOKIES Makes 6-8 cookies 1 cup rice flour ¾ cup cocoa powder ½ cup maple syrup ½ cup coconut oil 1 tsp. vanilla extract ½ tsp. baking soda Filling: 4 Tbsp. coconut cream or 3 Tbsp. coconut butter + ¾ cup water 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar To make cookies, mix dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in a second bowl. Then combine the two bowls and let sit in fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 170°. Flatten dough between two pieces of baking paper (make sure not to roll out dough too thin). Cut out pieces with a glass. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and let cookies cool for 10 minutes. To make filling, mix the sugar with the coconut cream until thick. Add a ½ tsp. of filling to each cookie and then cover with a second cookie. Cookies can be stored in the freezer. PIZZA Use spelt or sourdough flour. You can prepare dough a day ahead and store in fridge. You can also add broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms or zucchini as toppings. Makes 8 servings Dough: 2½-3 cups water 1 level Tbsp. dry yeast 2 Tbsp. silan 6½ cups spelt flour or 3½ cups spelt flour + 3 cups Italian pizza flour 2 Tbsp. sea salt 2 Tbsp olive oil Sauce: 4 tomatoes or 2 cups cherry tomatoes or 1 cup crushed tomatoes ¼ cup olive oil 2-3 small cloves of garlic ½-1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. dry or fresh oregano Chopped basil leaves Toppings: 1 Tbsp. olive oil 450 gr. mozzarella cheese, sliced 1-2 acorn squash, cooked and quartered 8-10 plum tomatoes, halved or whole 2-3 medium zucchini, sliced thinly If you're preparing a gluten-free version, prepare the gluten-free dough 24 hours in advance. Put the water, silan, yeast and flour into a bowl and mix in a blender with a dough hook. Once it's mixed well, add the salt and oil and mix on high speed for 5 minutes until the oil has been mixed in well. The dough should be a little wet, so put some oil on your hands before you pick up dough. Transfer dough to a greased bowl and let it rest for two hours or until it doubles in volume. Even better, leave dough overnight in the fridge. Preheat oven to 220°. Take 200 grams of the dough and form balls. Flatten the balls with a rolling pin until they are ½ cm. thick. Grease a baking tray with olive oil and then sprinkle with flour. Place dough circles on a baking tray and cover with a clean towel. To prepare the sauce, slice the tomatoes or blend them in a food processor on low speed. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend. To prepare the toppings, put the ingredients into a bowl. Add the salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of the tomato sauce. To make the pizzas, spread sauce on top of the dough disks and then sprinkle with toppings. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven, slice and serve. Translated by Hannah Hochner.
