[Upbeat Music Playing]
[Maya Yosefi] Shabbat shalom! [Chef Einav Gefen] Shabbat shalom! Friday night!
[Chef Einav Gefen] We came here for a Shabbat dinner. [Maya Yosefi] Yeah, welcome.
[Chef Einav Gefen] But you prepare a Shabbat meal that is based on recipes from your catering and event business.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Right? [Maya Yosefi] Right, mm-hmm....
[Chef Einav Gefen] What, uh.... What are we gonna start prepping?
[Maya Yosefi] We're gonna start prepping the Qatayef, which is a traditional Arabic dessert.
But I made it like savory taste, filled with chicken flavored with Shawarma.
Yeah. And we start making the dough. Right.
Mix the dry ingredients.
And we're gonna add water.
[Chef Einav Gefen] You want me to slowly let it in? [Maya Yosefi] Mm-hmm.
[Chef Einav Gefen] What's the consistency? Should be like a pancake batter? [Maya Yosefi] Yes.
[Chef Einav Gefen] I think it's the first time that I've seen a combination of both baking powder and yeast in the dough.
[Maya Yosefi] In some doughs, we use it.
Like, I make buns with milk, and I add Easton bacon powder also.
[Chef Einav Gefen] The end result of those pancakes is bubbly. Very aerated.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Is that the combination of the yeast and the baking powder? [Maya Yosefi] Yes.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Just say me more or less....
[Maya Yosefi] Yeah, yeah, no.... You have to almost add everything and we have to add as we run along with the frying.
[Chef Einav Gefen] So, no fat. Zero. None. [Maya Yosefi] No. Zero fat.
[Maya Yosefi] We have to make sure that the consistency is pretty, uh......
.....And we are looking for bubbles. If we don't see a lot of bubbles, we add some more water.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Hmm, okay. That means it's too thick? [Maya Yosefi] Yes.
Bubbling. Almost dry. But not too much color underneath.
[Chef Einav Gefen] And you cook it only on one side. Is it still too high? Do we need to lower the heat?
[Maya Yosefi] We need to lower the heat, please.
That's nice bubbling.
Ah. Almost.
Almost dry, but it will dry outside.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Okay.
[Maya Yosefi] This is what we are looking for. This one is not. This is the first one.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Golden color. [Maya Yosefi] Yes.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Alright. Nice and even. Golden. [Maya Yosefi] Mm-hmm.
[Chef Einav Gefen] And I see it still pliable. [Maya Yosefi] Yes.
It's very flexible, so we can fold it and tie it.
Yeah, I'm gonna put some chicken with lamb fat.
Not too much, so it won't tear up the dough.
And I want to try to stitch it together, so it will hold — not tear apart like this one.
Because it's always so flexible, it's easy to stitch it together.
Usually the Qatayef is deep-fried, but I prefer to bake it.
It's more healthier and it keeps the shape more prettier.
This dish traditionally is served – like – sweet, filled with the sweet nuts and sugar.
I love it very much. It's coming from my mother and father, um....
[Chef Einav Gefen] Who came from....? [Maya Yosefi] Who came from Syria.
And for me, it's very traditional, but I try to make a salty version about it.
[Chef Einav Gefen] I think it's — this is something you see commonly in cuisine.... You see, like....
...the similarities. There may be nuances that are different but....
[Chef Einav Gefen] Essentially stuffed dough being a ravioli or a pierogi or an empanada.... [Maya Yosefi] Or an empanada.
[Maya Yosefi] Or Gyoza, yeah? [Chef Einav Gefen] Yeah.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Or the Syrian version of that — that I wasn't aware of — that is great.
And can stretch between savory and sweet and kind of, like, opens the imagination....
....for everybody. I mean it's just an excuse, right? The pocket. And then you can fill it with whatever you want.
And then, you said instead of frying it....
[Maya Yosefi] I'm gonna put it in the oven.... [Chef Einav Gefen] Do you brush it with oil? [Maya Yosefi] Yes.
Not canola oil. With olive oil. Or I prefer to use olive oil.
For the crust, the dough has no oil, as you can see,
so I'm looking for the — that crust.... ....when I put it on the oven on high heat.....
[Chef Einav Gefen] Just a little bit of crunch? [Maya Yosefi] Yes.
And color, of course.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Maya, we're putting it in the oven. Temperature and time?
[Maya Yosefi] 200 Celsius.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Just until it's nice and crusty? [Maya Yosefi] Yes. Nice and gold.
[Music playing]
[Maya Yosefi] So, we're gonna fill the sea bass with Turkish spinach and fresh breadcrumbs and capers.
[Maya Yosefi] And garlic of course. And olive oil of course. [Chef Einav Gefen] Of course! Of course.
[Maya Yosefi] So, we're gonna put some nice portion here.
[Chef Einav Gefen] And you left the skin on? [Maya Yosefi] Yes, of course. Um....
[Chef Einav Gefen] Of course? Why "of course"? [Maya Yosefi] ....because I'm looking for the crust on the skin.
[Chef Einav Gefen] You're looking for a lot of crust. [Maya Yosefi] Yes. I like crust. (laughs)
So, we are putting here. Normally this dish served with kalamata olive,
but I find that the olive brings it, like, very bitter taste when it fry.
[Chef Einav Gefen] And how about green olives? [Maya Yosefi] It doesn't make the the same impression as the capers, I'm sorry.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Fine, I'm running out of olives, sorry.
[Maya Yosefi] Okay, so we're gonna, um.... [Chef Einav Gefen] Stick to capers. (laughs) [Maya Yosefi] ....tie it.
...so it won't run....
[Chef Einav Gefen] So, it won't run? It's dead, Maya. (laughs)
[Chef Einav Gefen] I don't think it's gonna run. [Maya Yosefi] It's so fresh, so I'm afraid it will run out of the pan.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Can I ask you a question? Why aren't you doing with one long string? [Maya Yosefi] Because I want to cut it.
I don't wanna.... I want to cut it before I fry it.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Okay. [Maya Yosefi] Okay?
[Chef Einav Gefen] So you need it... you need almost to tie it portion-wise? [Maya Yosefi] Yes, okay, exactly.
I try to put it here.
[Maya Yosefi] If you want to help, you can cut— [Chef Einav Gefen] I don't. [Maya Yosefi] You don't have a choice.
(laughter)
[Chef Einav Gefen] What do you want me to do? Cut what? [Maya Yosefi] Um, yeah, your one portion like this one.
Like three....
As you can see some of them are thicker than the other one.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Yeah, because it's the center cut. [Maya Yosefi] Yeah, it would need more time.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Where did the inspiration of that dish come from?
[Maya Yosefi] So, I learned it — this dish — on the cooking school, I learned....
....and which is located in Tel Aviv.
And I like it very much.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Good, cuz it likes you too. [Maya Yosefi] Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
[Maya Yosefi] And they use Mangold like....
[Chef Einav Gefen] Swiss Chard. [Maya Yosefi] Yes.
[Chef Einav Gefen] But you can — you can really do it with any green. [Maya Yosefi] Yes, of course.
[Chef Einav Gefen] It can be kale, it can be spinach.... [Maya Yosefi] Ah. Kale, it's more hard because you to cook it before.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Well, you know *we* have baby kale. [Maya Yosefi] Oh, baby kale is great!
But I like Turkish spinach because it's — it's delicious. It has a short season.
[Chef Einav Gefen] And now it's the season? [Maya Yosefi] Yep. At the winter time.
[Chef Einav Gefen] If it's not a sea bass, I assume.... any version of....? [Maya Yosefi] White fish.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Any whitefish that has, like, firm....?
[Maya Yosefi] Mm-hmm. Of course.
[Chef Einav Gefen] And if I want a gluten-free version?
[Maya Yosefi] Just skip the the breadcrumb bit actually.
[Chef Einav Gefen] So, no other spices, right? Aside from the garlic, salt and pepper? [Maya Yosefi] Yes.
[Chef Einav Gefen] And you're gonna serve it with any sauce?
[Maya Yosefi] No, I'm gonna serve it with the Gnocchi.
Which is sautéd in sage and garlic also. And olive oil.
[Chef Einav Gefen] So that's kind of marrying two cuisines....?
[Chef Einav Gefen] No? [Maya Yosefi] Yes. mm-hmm.
So I'm going to flavor it with some salt and pepper.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Any particular salt?
[Maya Yosefi] Ah no, just regular salt.
Okay, so I'm going to start frying it now, with olive oil.
And then I'm gonna finish it in the oven — hot oven.
So we're gonna fry it in hot olive oil.
[Chef Einav Gefen] And why olive oil here? [Maya Yosefi] Because I want the favor.
[Chef Einav Gefen] But you're really — at this stage — you're just crisping the skin. [Maya Yosefi] Yes.
[Chef Einav Gefen] You're not worried about cooking the fish all the way, because it goes in the oven? [Maya Yosefi] No, because it goes in the oven.
[Upbeat Music Playing]
[Chef Einav Gefen] Maya, take a look. [Maya Yosefi] Just a sec.
Oh, perfect! This is the color I'm looking for.
[Chef Einav Gefen] Ready? [Maya Yosefi] Yes, please, thank you.
[Upbeat Music Playing]
[Maya Yosefi] So, these are — look perfect. Perfect color I was looking for.
So, we're almost ready to sit down to the table.
We have to first light a candle — the Shabbat candle —
and do the blessing for the Shabbat.
[Speaking Hebrew]
Amen.
Shabbat Shalom!
[Chef Einav Gefen] Alright!
[Maya Yosefi] Okay, let's eat. [Chef Einav Gefen] Now it's Shabbat.
[Speaking Hebrew]
Amen!
Shabbat Shalom!
[Upbeat Music Playing]