Israeli Food Bloggers Share Shabbat Menu Featuring Meatballs and Chocolate Cake

An Israeli food publication has presented a detailed Shabbat meal menu, featuring recipes from several contributors, designed to be prepared while awaiting heartier winter dishes. The menu includes a warm mushroom salad with greens, meatballs with okra and tomatoes by Rotem Liberson, and green Persian rice by Liza Paniels, alongside a fennel, kohlrabi, and carrot salad. The meal concludes with a dairy-free chocolate and almond cake.

The warm mushroom salad, a quick dish taking about fifteen minutes, can be made with button or portobello mushrooms, sautéed with olive oil and balsamic, then combined with green onions and baby greens. The meatballs are prepared by browning them before simmering with cherry tomatoes, okra, garlic, chili, lemon juice, and chicken broth. The green rice involves pureeing cilantro, garlic, and onion with olive oil and water to create a seasoning paste, which is then cooked with the rice.

The accompanying salad offers a fresh contrast, made with thinly sliced fennel, julienned carrots, and kohlrabi, dressed simply with olive oil, lemon, and salt. For dessert, the chocolate and almond cake uses dark chocolate, coconut oil, and almond flour, and is described as a simple recipe that doesn't require whipping or separating eggs. The cake is best served when the edges are firm but the center is still slightly soft.