Israeli Soul: Easy, Essential, Delicious

by Michael Solomonov, Steven Cook

For their first major book since the trailblazing Zahav , Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook go straight to the food of the people—the great dishes that are the soul of Israeli cuisine. Usually served from tiny eateries, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, or market stalls, these specialties have passed from father to son or mother to daughter for generations. To find the best versions, the authors scoured bustling cities like Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa, and sleepy towns on mountaintops. They visited bakeries, juice carts, beaches, even weddings. 
 
Their finds include meals in the hand like falafel and pita; juicy, grilled and roasted spice-rubbed meats; stuffed vegetables; a wealth of chopped vegetable salads; a five-minute fluffy hummus with more than two dozen toppings; pastries, ice creams, and shakes. Solomonov has perfected and adapted every recipe for the home kitchen.
 
Each chapter weaves history with contemporary portrayals of the food. Striking photographs capture all its flavor and vitality, while step-by-step how-tos and closeups of finished dishes make everything simple and accessible.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Culinary, Travel, Israel

384 pages, Hardcover

Published October 16, 2018

About the author

MICHAEL SOLOMONOV is the multiple James Beard Foundation Award winning chef behind Zahav, which won the 2019 James Beard Outstanding Restaurant award and was named an “essential” restaurant by Eater, and co-author of four cookbooks: the James Beard Award winning Zahav, Federal Donuts, Israeli Soul, and the forthcoming Zahav at Home. He and business partner Steven Cook are the co-owners of the nationally beloved, trailblazing Philadelphia hospitality group, CookNSolo, responsible for hit restaurants celebrating the vibrant cuisine of Israeli: Dizengoff, Federal Donuts, Goldie, K’Far Café, Laser Wolf, Lilah, and Zahav.

Reviews

[Dana Al-Basha | دانة الباشا]

While browsing Amazon for cooking books I saw this one in my suggestions, as a Palestinian I was curious, and as I pressed the mouse on the book to "see inside" I started crying. The book was photographed in Palestine, the food was Palestinian, the streets, the people and I felt nostalgic, I added the book to my cart to purchase later. It may say "Israeli Soul" on the cover but all I see is Falastine and its ancient soul, and sea, and smell, and buildings... this book is beautiful like all books about food, but it's more beautiful than most because it captures something I haven't seen before about the land of olive and fig.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made all the more special because of the autographs. :)

[Gennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book! Full of vibrant pictures, stories and recipes that make you feel like you've just taken a culinary tour through Israel. I can't wait to start making some of the recipes.

[Hannah Rosenthal · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a pleasure this book is. the recipes, stories and photos. absolutely one of my most favorites.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Israeli Soul is part Israeli restaurant guide, part history lesson about the dizzying mix of cultures making up Israeli food, part cookbook, part coffee table book. This brightly colored, step-by-step illustrated, tome is guaranteed to make you both want to plan a trip to Israel and cook your way through it.

A delightful read. Recipe making to commence!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The recipes are good, but many of them are NOT Israeli! They even have the country of origin in the name of the recipe. Jews contributed to the cuisines of many MENA countries, but that doesn’t mean they are Israeli.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous food I want to cook and eat now. I still love Zahav just a bit more but this is a fantastic follow-up and a must-own.

[RUSA CODES · Rating 5 out of 5]

This gathering of classic dishes and culinary history is a jubilant, expanding romp, as the award winners behind acclaimed Philadelphia restaurant Zahav take readers onto the streets of Israel and then urges them into their home kitchens to cook. Step-by-step directions, a litany of variations and dish toppings, and a strong point of view make the collection deeply inviting, and engaging. Give the 5-Minute Hummus a test-run.

2019 CODES List Winners Announced

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drooling just from looking at the gorgeous photography in this book! This felt like a combination of a travel book and a cookbook. The authors did a great job of including a lot of background, culture and explanation in addition to the recipes. They discussed ways to adapt the recipes to work for a person's shopping/taste options. Definitely going to be trying some of this deliciousness out in my own kitchen!

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be fair, I have not tried any of the recipes in this book yet. However, reading the text, looking at the pictures and reading the recipes made me want to eat my way through Israel, and cook all the recipes. I was raised eating Ashkenazi food and as an adult learned to cook Persian, Moroccan, and Israeli food, but many of the recipes offered in this book are new to me. If you want to try healthy, fresh, interesting food, give this book a try.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely cookbook with mouthwatering photos and recipes. It’s also a journey through Israeli cooking traditions. I so want to try almost all the recipes. I’ll definitely be trying their bagels (not boiled), falafel, pita, sabiches (sandwiches - it’s all about the eggplant!), Druze mountain bread, chicken thigh shawarma, pickled watermelon (not just the rind) and too many others to list.

[Ietrio · Rating 3 out of 5]

A refreshing book with a nice list of recipes. I particularly liked the part where the dogma is broken, like useless passing of the chicken meat through flour for Schnitzel, or the superstitions around canned chick peas. On the other hand, nothing special, everything in here can be found in a thousand places online.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enticing dive into Israeli cuisine and the cultures it’s inspired by.

It’s been a genuine delight to “meet” the restaurant, café and cart owners who put their soul into their food.

Will reread this book as much for its rich history as its explanations to making sabich — harissa — Regina shakes — and more!

[Jaydub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cover to cover I finished this book in a sitting. Like another review mentioned: this is part tour guide, part history, part cookbook. Beautiful photography. The writing is easily accessible. Made the 5-minute hummus and the cookbook is worth it alone for the quick tehina sauce. I do wish this was in metric instead of imperial.

[Charles Eldridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

And incredible follow-up to the seminal ZAHAV cookbook. Each recipe is accessible and doable by a home chef of any caliber. Truly, you should read this book just for the “five minute hummus” recipe. I rank this cookbook with the “Night + Market” Thai cookbook as the two most-used in my kitchen: each meal is relatively quick and easy to make, and is always a stunner for those who are enjoying.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. I love the mix of storytelling and recipes.

I am deeply comforted by diverse and thoughtful stories from Israel and Jewish Diaspora cultural traditions in these times.

A note for other readers: this is a physically large book. If you are someone who walks to the library, like me, bring a sturdy bag.

[Aja Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

excited to have finally spotted an israeli cookbook that has so many of the great salads, pickles, and hummus variations i've been looking for. skipped all the meaty stuff, obviously, but yay for all the rest. also lots of great photos and stories.

[Aasinathena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even soulful than Zahav !!! I read this from the library and by the time I reached the chapter "Grilling" I decided to add this book to my permanent collection. Luckily this book has simplified version of Borekas than Zahav too ! Love this !!!

[Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is alive with the culture of Israel, particularly the food culture. It made me want to visit the places described. I liked how the book would take a main food, like hummus, and then develop that topic with multiple recipes, variations, and the cultural context. well done.

[Frieda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories behind the recipes give a nice social and food history of the Israeli people who have ancestors that hailed from other lands, combining cultures and creating new versions of old recipes. This was a fun read.

[Margaret Gerberding · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has beautiful pictures and a lot of recipes. I have never cooked Israeli food, and may try some of the recipes.

[Gina · Rating 1 out of 5]

a beautiful history, travelogue and coffee table book but not a very practical cookbook; I would love to have this food made for me but am not interested in making the recipes.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure how many of these recipes I will try but the photos made me hungry and want to visit the author's restaurant in Philly!

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful cookbook. Informative about the food of the region. Definitely worth the time to read.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful stories to go along with absolutely scrumptious recipes. I'll be coming back to this one a lot.

[Louise Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of Israeli recipes written by the owner of the Philadelphia James Beard wining restaurant, Zahav. The photos are spectacular and the stories are intriguing.

[Cait]

Checked this out of the library, and it was too much meditation on the "soul" and not enough on the recipes. Maybe I will try again when I have time/energy.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Need to go grocery shopping stat.

[Margery Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

love

[John Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful book. Photography is amazing, descriptions of Israel are entertaining and informative. Recipes all look incredible.