0:00:02 > 0:00:05HE SHOUTS
0:00:11 > 0:00:15This is Jerusalem, my home town.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18The cradle of three faiths, and the heart of two nations.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Founded over 3,000 years ago, and repeatedly invaded and conquered,
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Jerusalem has always been a city of immigrants.
0:00:31 > 0:00:36This is where Muslim, Christian and my own Jewish cultures collide,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39creating a melting pot of people unique in the world.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46The food of Jerusalem is a perfect expression of this mish-mash of cultures,
0:00:46 > 0:00:53and has produced tastes and sensations that have stayed with me and inspired me to cook.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56This is za'atar.
0:00:56 > 0:01:02This is, sort of, almost the reason for my name in the world is za'atar,
0:01:02 > 0:01:07because I use it, not in this format, but as a powder, as a spice,
0:01:07 > 0:01:12all the time, and just to arrive here and get this sort of whiff
0:01:12 > 0:01:15of very, very herby, it's like oregano and thyme mixed together,
0:01:15 > 0:01:17but there's something much more to it.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21That's the smell of Jerusalem.
0:01:23 > 0:01:24So good.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28'I left Jerusalem nearly 20 years ago,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31'and now create food in London with Sami Tamimi,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35'a Palestinian chef who also grew up in Jerusalem.'
0:01:36 > 0:01:40The food we serve together now draws inspiration
0:01:40 > 0:01:43from our shared childhood memories of the city.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52'I'm coming back to Jerusalem to see what's happening here.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54'There's a real food revolution going on,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57'and I want to understand where it's coming from,
0:01:57 > 0:02:01'what people are cooking, and cook with them.'
0:02:01 > 0:02:02- Beautiful.- Yeah.
0:02:02 > 0:02:08'I also want to brush up my palate and seek fresh inspiration.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11'Maybe find some new ingredients and techniques.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16'And with luck, come back with some wonderful recipes and new ideas.'
0:02:31 > 0:02:36'To understand the unique significance of food in Jerusalem,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40'you need to start with the food that everyone eats - street food.'
0:02:40 > 0:02:44'Although I was born in the Jewish west of the city,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47'I have come to one of my favourite haunts as a kid in East Jerusalem,
0:02:47 > 0:02:52'the Arab area just outside the walls of the Old City.'
0:02:52 > 0:02:54I haven't had this in years.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58- Sahlab.- Sahlab.- What is it?
0:02:58 > 0:03:03- Milk and...- Cornflour.- Yeah. - Yeah?- Yeah.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05And what do you put on top?
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Cinnamon, ginger.
0:03:09 > 0:03:10Walnuts.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15- Coconut.- Yeah.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19- Many people like this?- Yeah. - It's popular?- In the cold.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24I used to come here with my friends when I was a teenager,
0:03:24 > 0:03:28it was, sort of, a little bit of an adventure, because it's outside our comfort zone,
0:03:28 > 0:03:29it's in East Jerusalem.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33We used to come in the evenings, on Friday nights, when it's really cold, and get it.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36It's really funny, because I would never assume -
0:03:36 > 0:03:38in England, kids this age would go and get drunk,
0:03:38 > 0:03:43but we used to have something so innocent as milk thickened with some rosewater.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45We used to stand here and drink that.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Maybe have a cigarette or two.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Just to be naughty, but it actually is really, really nice.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55'The best-asked food in Jerusalem, found on every street corner,
0:03:55 > 0:03:57'is falafel,
0:03:57 > 0:04:03'these ubiquitous little balls of deep-fried, crushed chickpeas.'
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Can I have one?
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Everything, thank you.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10'Falafel was one of my favourite things as a kid.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13'I used to buy it after school and walk home
0:04:13 > 0:04:15'with the tahini dripping through my fingers.'
0:04:15 > 0:04:18- How much is it?- Six shekels.
0:04:18 > 0:04:19Thank you.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22It's funny, because now you see it on fancy menus in restaurants.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Versions of falafel, falafel of this, falafel of that,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28but actually, all it is is crushed chickpeas.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31But it's definitely part of the DNA of everyone that grows up here,
0:04:31 > 0:04:33it's what you eat when you're out and about,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36it's the typical street food of Jerusalem.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42When Israel was formed, you know, when it started to build up as a nation,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46there was really no sense of any sort of indigenous food that fits this climate,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50and very early on, they needed to adopt something that is hearty
0:04:50 > 0:04:55and they can feed themselves on, and falafel, funnily enough, you know, although it was an Arab food,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59turned to be the first thing those Jewish immigrants grabbed.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03'As well as forming the basis for falafel,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07'the humble chickpea is also at the heart of hummus.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11'Of all the Arabic foods that Israelis have made their own,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15'this simple blend of chickpeas, garlic and sesame paste
0:05:15 > 0:05:19'has become the Israeli national dish.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23'I've come to a typical Palestinian hummus restaurant,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25'here in the east of the city, to taste the Arabic version.'
0:05:25 > 0:05:30So this type of hummus, you've been doing here for many years?
0:05:30 > 0:05:32- More than 50 years. - More than 50 years.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36And do you find that the Israelis like different hummus than Arabs?
0:05:36 > 0:05:40They know, like, this is, like, "our hummus." And they know we are talking about something...
0:05:40 > 0:05:44- From their point of view it's called hummus, but it's not really hummus. - Why's that?
0:05:44 > 0:05:48Because they've discovered the real taste of the original hummus.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58I can definitely see what you mean about this being very different.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Because, all the lemon juice, it's very sharp.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06It's really, really, really nice.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09And do you feel like, you know, with the Jewish people who come here,
0:06:09 > 0:06:14there is a sense that they take the Arab food and turn it into their own food?
0:06:14 > 0:06:16That's very funny...
0:06:16 > 0:06:18THEY LAUGH
0:06:18 > 0:06:20You don't want to get into the political explanation.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23They took the whole land, and now you're talking about a dish!
0:06:23 > 0:06:27'I grew up in the city, so it's no surprise to me
0:06:27 > 0:06:32'that even something as simple as hummus can easily become political.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39'I've always been fascinated by the tradition of food here,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42'and the Old City is bursting with it.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46'Within these walls, the city is divided into four quarters -
0:06:46 > 0:06:49'Jewish, Muslim, Armenian and Christian.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54'But it's the traditional Palestinian food in the Muslim quarter
0:06:54 > 0:06:56'that I really love.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00'To really understand the traditions that shape that food,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02'I want to go behind closed doors,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05'meet the Palestinian people that make it, and see them at work.'
0:07:05 > 0:07:09- You bake all this beautiful stuff? - Yeah.- Every day?- Every day.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12I have a soft spot for pastries, because I can make myself, too,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15- but I don't know if I can make it like you.- In London?- In London.
0:07:22 > 0:07:23This is good.
0:07:25 > 0:07:26Very, very nice.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29- This pita...- Yeah.- ..is very traditional Palestinian pita.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31- Yeah...- Is it...
0:07:31 > 0:07:36- Uh... From Jerusalem, you know? - Yeah.- It's the best one.
0:07:36 > 0:07:37- What's that?- That's safiha.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40- There's surprises everywhere. - Safiha.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42- Safiha.- Yeah. Lebanese.
0:07:43 > 0:07:48Meat, onion and tomato, and meat, onion and tahina also.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53- And who buys this? Palestinians or tourists?- Everybody.- Everybody.
0:07:53 > 0:07:54So you have everything going on here.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57- You've got the Jews, you sell them what they want.- Yeah.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00- You've got the Christians, you sell them their Easter products.- Yeah.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04- And the Muslims, they buy whatever they...- Yeah. It is not different.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08- To me, and for him, and for everybody.- Yeah.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Tell me, how did you become a baker?
0:08:10 > 0:08:12- My father.- Your father.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16- My father before me.- He was a baker? - Yeah.- He worked here?
0:08:18 > 0:08:19About 35 years.
0:08:21 > 0:08:22You have children?
0:08:22 > 0:08:26- I have children.- You think they're going to come to work here?
0:08:26 > 0:08:28I like... I hope.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- This is the safiha with the... - Tahina.- Tahini.
0:08:32 > 0:08:33Tahina and lemon.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36- Thank you.- Have a try.
0:08:36 > 0:08:37HE GASPS
0:08:38 > 0:08:40THEY LAUGH
0:08:42 > 0:08:44- Thank you.- You're welcome.
0:08:44 > 0:08:45I like this.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49You know why?
0:08:49 > 0:08:52- Why?- Because you can taste everything.- Yeah.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56- You can taste the onion...- Yeah, yeah.- You can taste the meat... - Yeah. Everything.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58- And here you just taste the tomato paste.- Yeah.
0:08:58 > 0:08:59HE LAUGHS
0:08:59 > 0:09:02- You get all the flavour. - That's right.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05This bakery is like no bakery I've ever been to.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10It's... With the sort of ramshackle buildings with layers of history on the walls, you know,
0:09:10 > 0:09:15we are underground, things could have happened here ages ago.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18It's really remarkable,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22because the stuff that comes out is really the real things people eat here,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25it's not, you know, fancy stuff we get in London.
0:09:25 > 0:09:26This is like people's food.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Which is really what this place is all about, you know,
0:09:30 > 0:09:32when you go to the Old City.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34It's not foodies' world, it's the world of the people
0:09:34 > 0:09:36who live in the Old City and eat these things.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43'A perfect example of this, that you literally see everywhere,
0:09:43 > 0:09:48'is the bright red kanafeh, made from shredded filo or semolina
0:09:48 > 0:09:51'and sheep's cheese, topped with pistachios and sugar syrup.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53'I've always had a love-hate relationship
0:09:53 > 0:09:56'with this Arabic dessert, but it's so popular here,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59'it feels like a real national institution.'
0:09:59 > 0:10:01- Everybody loves it here, right?- Yes.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Yeah? You've got families coming and going, and children...
0:10:06 > 0:10:10- This is the favourite Palestinian dish?- Yes.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12- Like it?- I like it.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14I like it, and I don't like it.
0:10:14 > 0:10:20- Why?- Because, for me, the flavour of the cheese is very strong.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23This place, Ja'far, is very famous for the kanafeh.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25And everybody comes here.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28For me it's quite hard, because it's almost like eating meat,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31because the flavour of the sheep's cheese is very, very strong,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34so, I mean, the syrup is sort of diluted a bit,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38but it's still very, very sheepy, it's almost like eating mutton.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Ah, the syrup. Six spoons.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49- Seven.- Seven? This is for you.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52HE LAUGHS
0:10:52 > 0:10:54I can't eat any more. Believe me.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58- This is the stuff.- Oh, wow. This is nice.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00- This is for you also.- Thank you.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04HE LAUGHS
0:11:05 > 0:11:07This is my stupid face.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09HE CHUCKLES
0:11:09 > 0:11:11- Thank you.- You're welcome.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14'The owner was so proud of his kanafeh,
0:11:14 > 0:11:15'he wanted to show me how they make it.'
0:11:15 > 0:11:20This recipe is an old recipe from many generations?
0:11:20 > 0:11:22- This is 60 years old. - It's from your father?
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Grandfather, father, and we have our children.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26That's four generations now.
0:11:26 > 0:11:27- To make this here?- Yes.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32- This is the national dessert.- The Palestinian national dessert.- Yeah.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34- Kanafeh everywhere.- Everywhere.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37- Even Israelis, they love it. - I know, I heard!
0:11:37 > 0:11:38HE LAUGHS
0:11:38 > 0:11:43- They like it.- They come from Tel Aviv, all over...- To buy your kanafeh.- To buy our kanafeh.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47- Like falafel, like hummus, it's kanafeh.- Kanafeh.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54'Someone who shares my fascination with traditional food is Sherry Ansky,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58'a Jewish food writer and author of the most respected book on Jerusalem food.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02'Having lived in the city all her life,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05'Sherry knows places I could never find on my own.'
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Mr Zalatimo!
0:12:07 > 0:12:11'In his shop, that felt like a kind of underground cave,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Mr Zalatimo serves just the one dish.'
0:12:14 > 0:12:16How many years has he been cooking those things?
0:12:16 > 0:12:20HE SPEAKS ARABIC
0:12:20 > 0:12:24His grandfather used to make it, but basically it goes back 150 years,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27from his great-grandfather to him today.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30- Exactly.- And he's got all this knowledge in his hands...- Yes.
0:12:30 > 0:12:31- And in his head.- Exactly.
0:12:31 > 0:12:38Look at this pastry. I think the secret is that it's like silk.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Basically, it's like a sourdough.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46'I knew I was lucky to witness such a perfect example of tradition at work.
0:12:49 > 0:12:56'Pastry worked by hand this thin should be utterly delicious.'
0:12:56 > 0:12:57Wow.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59'It seemed as though a skill like this
0:12:59 > 0:13:02'could only be passed down from one generation to another.'
0:13:02 > 0:13:04He's like a dancer.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06The whole body moves with the pastry.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10You can see the marble through the pastry.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12'It's just a simple folded pastry,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15'filled with sheep's cheese and brushed with clarified butter.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18'But it's considered such a unique delicacy
0:13:18 > 0:13:22'that round here it's known simply as a "Zalatimo."
0:13:27 > 0:13:30'While we were waiting for our food to cook,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34'in a room adjoining Zalatimo's shop, Sherry wanted to show me something.'
0:13:34 > 0:13:39Look. You can see the way Jerusalem is built.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41- All the layers, the history. - All the layers.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46Because the city always goes up and up and up, they built on the ruins of the previous time, right?
0:13:46 > 0:13:50- Yes.- So this would be 1,000 years under the street.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55We are on Golgotha Hill, and that's the place of the original church.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Where Jesus's tomb is?
0:13:57 > 0:14:02There is no doubt that he was walking here.
0:14:02 > 0:14:03HE LAUGHS
0:14:03 > 0:14:07'After a few minutes in the oven, the Zalatimo is ready.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12'It's simply finished off with sugar syrup and icing sugar.'
0:14:12 > 0:14:14Aah.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Oh, my God.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19You know, it smells so good.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21Oh!
0:14:21 > 0:14:23I've really never had anything like that.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27- Never?- Never. You cannot recreate this.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32It's really good.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35You didn't get yours yet.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38We will wait. It takes time!
0:14:38 > 0:14:40So you've been coming here for a while?
0:14:40 > 0:14:42Oh, from when I was a little kid.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44I always came with my mum and my dad,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47and when I was married, I came with my husband,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50- and my kids, they are...- Ah! - ..also with me.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52But not many people know about Zalatimo.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56- Here in Palestine, everybody knows about him.- Everybody knows.- Yeah.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00- So when you were a little girl, he was cooking it for you?- Yeah, yeah.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04At the same place, the same walls, everything is the same.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08- Do you cook a lot at home? - Yes, of course.- What do you make?
0:15:08 > 0:15:12- Every Thursday, a traditional Arab food.- Yeah?
0:15:12 > 0:15:14- Yeah.- Do you think maybe you can teach us something?
0:15:14 > 0:15:17What do you think?
0:15:17 > 0:15:19THEY SPEAK ARABIC
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- OK, I will give you my number.- Yeah?
0:15:22 > 0:15:25You can call me, and we can arrange it.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30'The prospect of going to see traditional cooking in a Palestinian home
0:15:30 > 0:15:33'was really exciting.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36'All the traditions I was finding here in the Old City
0:15:36 > 0:15:39'seemed to be kept alive within families,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42'and passed on from one generation to the next.'
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Oh, my God.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46'Even the spice shops seem unchanged.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49'I remember seeing these pyramids as a kid.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52'They're made from the powdered form of za'atar.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55'On the little steps are sesame seeds,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58'and the purple spice sumac, made from berries.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01'These are then sold together to make a wonderful spice mix,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04'also known as za'atar, which I use all the time.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07So I will tell you what is the difference
0:16:07 > 0:16:11between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17The reason we love za'atar, the reason we love hummus,
0:16:17 > 0:16:25is because it stayed so good that we are taking it to be ours.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29- Yes.- But the old secret is that they are doing it the same way.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34They don't change the recipe of their father.
0:16:34 > 0:16:35That's their honour.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40And we are always changing the recipes
0:16:40 > 0:16:43of our mothers and grandfathers.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- We always think we can do better. - We always think we can do better.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55'There's certainly some truth in what Sherry's saying.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59'But I'm also aware that there are very strong traditions in Jewish food.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04'The question is, why don't we feel bound by them in the same way?
0:17:05 > 0:17:08'To answer this, I need to come to the west of Jerusalem,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11'to the Jewish area outside the walls of the Old City.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16'Here, there's always been a complex mix of cultures.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19'But this soup of people thickened dramatically in 1948,
0:17:19 > 0:17:21'after Israel was created.
0:17:21 > 0:17:26'Entire Jewish communities were transplanted from all over the Diaspora.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29'Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia
0:17:29 > 0:17:32'brought a taste for gefilte fish and goulash,
0:17:32 > 0:17:36'while the Sephardi Jews from the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans
0:17:36 > 0:17:41'brought a taste for herbs and exotic spices.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44'Now, most of the people here have parents and grandparents
0:17:44 > 0:17:47'drawn from the four corners of the world,
0:17:47 > 0:17:51'all with entirely different culinary traditions.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56'I've come here to meet a friend of mine, Anat.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58'She's a passionate cook, and she wants to show me
0:17:58 > 0:18:02'one of her favourite restaurants in West Jerusalem.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06'Called Azura, it's been serving traditional food
0:18:06 > 0:18:08'for nearly 60 years.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11'But recently, their classic Sephardic dishes
0:18:11 > 0:18:14'have begun to appeal to younger Jerusalemites.'
0:18:21 > 0:18:25- You know this place?- Of course.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27- You come here?- Every two weeks.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30- Every two weeks? - Yes, with all my family.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34'The chef, Elran, comes from a Sephardic family of Jewish Kurds.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36'He's famous for his kubbeh,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39'a sort of meat-stuffed dumpling cooked in a soup.'
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Wow.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44This is kubbeh hamusta. This is a Kurdish soup.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47If there is, like, a Jerusalem dish, this is a Jerusalem dish.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51This is your typical... Everybody eats this, especially on a Friday, right?
0:18:51 > 0:18:53Yes.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Everything comes from a different Jewish community.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00This would be the Kurdish stuff, this is Yemenite,
0:19:00 > 0:19:06- this is sort of Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Palestinian...- Yes.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09And, you know, the tahini is very local.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12- When we were growing up, we were not interested in that.- No.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16We wanted to eat, like, pasta and French food and American food, no?
0:19:16 > 0:19:19- Yes.- I think so.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24The Americanised food came when you were young,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26I was a little bit, uh...
0:19:26 > 0:19:28SHE LAUGHS ..older.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33But right now, all the young people like the traditional food,
0:19:33 > 0:19:37- and it is like reviving...- A revival.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Revival of these tastes.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Like, years before, they were trying to say, "OK, this is not our culture..."
0:19:43 > 0:19:46- Exactly.- And now they're claiming back their country.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49You have to speak with my mother. She is from Hungary.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51She can't stand...
0:19:51 > 0:19:5365 years in Israel,
0:19:53 > 0:19:59she's insulted when my children like this type of food
0:19:59 > 0:20:00and not her type of food.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05- Which is goulash?- Yeah, goulash, and all kinds of...
0:20:05 > 0:20:07Eastern European stuff.
0:20:07 > 0:20:13I will ask her, "Come with us to eat here," she will never come.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20They start work incredibly early at the Azura because most of
0:20:20 > 0:20:25the dishes are slow-cooked for hours over traditional oil-burning stoves.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31I've tried many times to make kubbeh like Elron
0:20:31 > 0:20:33and never got it right.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37Hi, Elron. 'So, I've persuaded him to show me how he does it.'
0:20:37 > 0:20:42It's early in the morning, but I'm here.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45- What time did you start? - Four.- Four o'clock?
0:20:45 > 0:20:48- So, you're here one hour already, I'm late.- Yeah, a little.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51When I arrive, Elron's Palestinian sous-chef, Bassam,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53is finishing making meatballs.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- So, what's this he's mixing? - It's a secret, you know.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Just... So, tell me some of the things.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02If I married your sister or something, we'd be family,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04then I can tell you what I put inside.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07OK, I'll talk to my sister and see what she says.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11She might leave her husband for you!
0:21:11 > 0:21:13'When I had made the kubbeh before,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15'it was the dough that I'd always failed to perfect.'
0:21:15 > 0:21:18Basically, it's semolina and crushed wheat that's mixed
0:21:18 > 0:21:23with some beef fat just to give it some richness.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26You know, you're adding more and more semolina, it gets harder,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29and I don't think we let it go to this stage
0:21:29 > 0:21:30when I was trying in London.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34It was very hard to shape them to the shape that you wanted.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37But I think if it goes as hard as this,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40maybe it's possible? I don't know, we'll see in a second.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44- Are you happy?- Yeah.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47This is the sort of thing you don't know until you actually
0:21:47 > 0:21:51work with someone who knows with their hands to feel it.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58- It's good?- Yeah.- It's perfect.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05OK, next... So, this is the bottom of every kubbeh.
0:22:09 > 0:22:16So, we've got minced beef, paprika, tomato, onion, pine nuts,
0:22:16 > 0:22:17and that's it.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21Yeah, it does look really rich. It's almost glistening from the tomato.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24It's beautiful.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27- Then, you seal the sides with the... - Cup.- Shall I put it in?
0:22:30 > 0:22:31This is a Kurdish kubbeh.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35So, Kurdish Jews brought it with them from Kurdistan
0:22:35 > 0:22:38when they came here?
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Turkish Jewish. The soups.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44I think only the Jewish make it.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51For this version of the dish, the giant kubbeh are served
0:22:51 > 0:22:54in a traditional soup made with chickpeas and spices.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57This is turmeric. Not a lot.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59Flaked chilli.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Coarse salt.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04- This is a Yemenite spice mix, right?- Yeah.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09- Can you tell me a few things we have there?- Cumin.- Cumin.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14- Black pepper.- Black pepper.- Yeah. And...- Eh?
0:23:14 > 0:23:20Mainly it's turmeric and cumin. Maybe some curry, yeah.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24It's nice, huh? So, this is the chicken stock.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30- OK, so, we take the kubbehs we made. - Yeah.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32And you throw it in.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35HE SPEAKS IN NATIVE TONGUE
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Now, this is the...
0:23:37 > 0:23:41So, you want it to boil so hard like that because then it goes thick?
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Yeah.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Then, do you put a lot of soup or just a little bit of soup?
0:23:49 > 0:23:53Some people like it with soup and some people like it like this.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Just a little bit of paprika, some chickpeas.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00HE SPEAKS IN NATIVE TONGUE
0:24:00 > 0:24:02OK.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08This is a nice one.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17- Beautiful!- Yeah?- Yeah. - You like it?- I love it.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19- You did a good job.- Absolutely.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Elron's cooking is proof that traditions in Jewish food
0:24:26 > 0:24:29are just as strong as those that are found among the Palestinians
0:24:29 > 0:24:33in the Old City. But there is a crucial difference.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Just a ten-minute walk from Azura,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Cafe Kadosh feels like a little slice of Europe.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46But the tradition here has Ashkenazi roots from a completely
0:24:46 > 0:24:49different part of the world.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Cafe Kadosh has been serving the best Viennese pastries
0:24:52 > 0:24:56in Jerusalem for over 40 years.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59But all is not quite what it seems.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03The owner, his Itzik's father, who started the patisserie in 1967,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06is not Ashkenazi at all, but from a Sephardi family,
0:25:06 > 0:25:10who've lived in Jerusalem for generations.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14Tell me about your father, was he born in Jerusalem?
0:25:14 > 0:25:18He was seventh generation in Jerusalem.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23- And he was born in Machane Yehuda. - Ah, where the market is.- Yeah.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27Originally, they came from Spain, but they went through Morocco
0:25:27 > 0:25:29- because... - They were expelled from Spain.
0:25:29 > 0:25:35- They went through Morocco and ended up in Jerusalem.- Yeah, in Jerusalem.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38- And your mother? - No, my mother is something else.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41- She was born not in Israel, but in Yemen.- She's Yemenite.- Yemenite.
0:25:41 > 0:25:46When she was a half a year old, she came to Israel.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50My father spoke like, six languages. He spoke Yiddish...
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Like, if you spoke with him, you thought, like, he's Ashkenazi.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57They grew up in a yard. They call it chatzerot.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Yeah, a little courtyard, where they used to eat challah, hamin.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05Yeah, everybody was together, so they learned from each other.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10The Sephardi learn from Ashkenazi a few things, dishes.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12The thing was, like, mixed together.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16So it would be quite natural for your father, who was Sephardi,
0:26:16 > 0:26:21seventh generation, to associate with the Ashkenazi
0:26:21 > 0:26:25and learn all the things that are really not from his old tradition,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27but, like, from the new tradition, from Jerusalem.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Of all Itzik's pastries,
0:26:29 > 0:26:33it was his Kranz cake I was really interested in.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35It's a hugely popular traditional cake
0:26:35 > 0:26:39that can be plaited into different shapes with a variety of fillings.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Jerusalemites are addicted to it.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45- This is completely new to me. - This one?
0:26:45 > 0:26:47Yeah. I have tried making the Kranz cakes at home,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49but nothing like this.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53- They're really better...- I'm curious to see how it works.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55This is cheese.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58- This is a cheese Kranz.- Yeah.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02This is one of our specialities here because the cheese is the most
0:27:02 > 0:27:07selling cake here on Saturday and Friday.
0:27:07 > 0:27:08Oh, wow.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11So it's very, very typical to the rituals of Friday
0:27:11 > 0:27:14- and Saturday here, in Jerusalem. - Yeah.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21OK. This is the bit that I really didn't have a clue about.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24- Shall I do one?- Yeah.- So...
0:27:24 > 0:27:26You have to close it real good, so there's nothing that's going
0:27:26 > 0:27:32to come out, because I put in the oven and everything will grow up.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35So, I have to close it very good.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39- Do I do it OK?- Yeah. Try that there's not going to be holes.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48I am definitely not getting this right.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Ah, you start really, quite... No.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57- Sometimes, you see, you put two.- OK.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59It doesn't matter.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03You can definitely see the difference between yours and mine.
0:28:03 > 0:28:04You can.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12- This is poppy seed.- OK. - This is something that my father used to do also.- I'm sorry about that.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15- No, it's very good.- It's not.
0:28:15 > 0:28:20Cafe Kadosh is a perfect example of what I love about this city.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23The fact that the Sephardi family could end up perfecting
0:28:23 > 0:28:27the European art of Viennese pastries feels like something
0:28:27 > 0:28:29that could only happen in Jerusalem.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35'My friend Anat strikes me as someone who typifies this
0:28:35 > 0:28:40'particular Jewish Jerusalem mix...' Hello. '..with her Viennese mother and Moroccan husband.'
0:28:40 > 0:28:44I want to see what ingredients she plays with,
0:28:44 > 0:28:47in particular, a dish she once made for me with whole wheat,
0:28:47 > 0:28:49Swiss chard and pomegranate molasses.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52I've never been able to get it out of my head
0:28:52 > 0:28:53and I want her to show me how to make it.
0:28:53 > 0:28:59So, you take one glass of wheat.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01I better write it down.
0:29:01 > 0:29:06- Pomegranate molasses, this beautiful liquid.- Concentrated.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10It's pomegranate juice that's been concentrated and caramelized
0:29:10 > 0:29:13and turned into a very sharp and sweet syrup.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17- Leeks.- Like this.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21- Not too chefy. - SHE LAUGHS
0:29:21 > 0:29:25I'm not a chef, I'm just a housewife, you know.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29- Yeah. Yeah, that's what I thought. - When I feel like it.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31That's what I thought.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35So, the leek goes with the butter and the oil.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39- Now you take the...- Swiss chard.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41Yes.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44I see you separate the stalks from the leaves.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47Because this has to be approximately with the leeks
0:29:47 > 0:29:52and the green leaves will come a little bit later.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54- Because they don't take so long to cook.- Yes.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59- It's a good pot for this.- Yeah.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01I'm going to put the wheat
0:30:01 > 0:30:06- after I cook with green leaves.- Hm.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10And now the fun part starts.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14- OK.- When you put the pomegranate.
0:30:14 > 0:30:20I'm trying to estimate how much pomegranate molasses you've got.
0:30:20 > 0:30:26- I say two tablespoons, something like that.- No, I...- More?- Look...
0:30:26 > 0:30:31- Maybe more like five tablespoons. - I am very...- You're very generous.
0:30:31 > 0:30:37- Generous. Very. And then I put a little bit brown.- Brown sugar.
0:30:37 > 0:30:43- And now you're going to give me... - One cup of stock.- Two!
0:30:43 > 0:30:49- White pepper.- White pepper, very little. Just for the aroma of it.
0:30:49 > 0:30:56And that's it. Now you can cook it till the pomegranate and the sugar...
0:30:56 > 0:31:01- Start to caramelise? - Yeah, exactly.- A-ha.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05And that leaves the wheat to cook for just over an hour
0:31:05 > 0:31:08until most of the stock is absorbed.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11- OK, you want to see if it is ready?- Yeah.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14When you see, it is brown under.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18- It, like, starts to stick and it caramelises.- Yeah.
0:31:18 > 0:31:23- That's what is tasteful. The brown caramel.- Wow.
0:31:26 > 0:31:31- Good? It's good?- It's quite crunchy.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35Yeah, and it is not, erm, sour enough.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38- I tasted a little bit. - Not sour enough, no.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42- So, you can put more of this. - Yeah?- Yeah.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44- I think you put about half a bottle already.- Yeah.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47Pomegranate molasses is also another ingredient
0:31:47 > 0:31:49that people use non-stop here.
0:31:49 > 0:31:54I think the Lebanese Jewish kitchen uses it.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56- Uses that pomegranate molasses? - Yeah.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01- And because I always get it in Lebanese shops in London.- Yeah.
0:32:03 > 0:32:04Mmm.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10- Wow. This is really nice. - This, I like.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13- This is the way you like it? - I like sour.
0:32:13 > 0:32:18Mmm. I had this dish the first time when I came to Anat, here.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22I immediately felt those flavours that are typical Jerusalem flavours.
0:32:22 > 0:32:23It's so sharp and sweet,
0:32:23 > 0:32:28and both from the pomegranate molasses but also from chard,
0:32:28 > 0:32:30and this dish, although it doesn't have a name
0:32:30 > 0:32:33or it doesn't have a very specific background,
0:32:33 > 0:32:35it is completely the flavours of Jerusalem
0:32:35 > 0:32:37and that's what I love about it.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40I want to publish your recipe in my next book about Jerusalem.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43How much do you want to pay me for it?
0:32:43 > 0:32:47Er, I give you a little credit, "Thank you to Anat."
0:32:47 > 0:32:49Can I eat with this?
0:32:49 > 0:32:51THEY LAUGH
0:32:51 > 0:32:54Are you hungry?
0:32:55 > 0:32:57- But you are hungry?- Anat?
0:32:57 > 0:33:02- Do you think I can ask your mother about what she likes in food?- Yes.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04Yotam wants to ask you something.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07I want to ask you about the food that you like the most.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10I like goulash, Hungary.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13- You're from Hungaria?- Yes, yes.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16And paprikash, all this...
0:33:16 > 0:33:20- Wiener schnitzel. - Wiener schnitzel, yes.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22I am from Vienna, from Austria.
0:33:22 > 0:33:29And after the Germans came to Austria,
0:33:29 > 0:33:34we escaped to Hungaria, yeah? Yeah.
0:33:34 > 0:33:40And my family cooked just Hungarian.
0:33:40 > 0:33:45But the falafel and all this oriental... I cannot eat.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50- Your son-in-law is from...- Yeah, and the family... And his family.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53- They're Moroccan. - Yeah, Moroccan, yeah.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55Do you like Moroccan food, now?
0:33:55 > 0:33:58Er... Not... Not...
0:33:58 > 0:34:02SHE LAUGHS
0:34:02 > 0:34:04- Still not 100 per cent. - Yes, yes, yes.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08'Anat's cooking is inspirational.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11'She's not constrained by any particular tradition.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15'She takes ingredients and flavours from a range of different Jewish and Arabic cultures
0:34:15 > 0:34:19'and creates something entirely new, but entirely Jerusalem.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28'I still have an appointment to keep in At-Tur,
0:34:28 > 0:34:31'a suburb on the eastern edge of the city.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33'I'm on my way to see Ruba,
0:34:33 > 0:34:37'the Palestinian woman I met at Zalatimo's.'
0:34:37 > 0:34:40I'm going deeper and deeper into a part of Jerusalem
0:34:40 > 0:34:43that I've never, ever, ever been to before.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47This is a very Muslim part of the city,
0:34:47 > 0:34:52and, you know, growing up, there was actually no interaction. You know, it was us and them.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56The only places we did interact was in restaurants or cafes
0:34:56 > 0:34:58or bakeries in the Old City,
0:34:58 > 0:35:01but I've never been to a Palestinian house before.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05Because of history, because of the recent history
0:35:05 > 0:35:08and the animosity and the hatred
0:35:08 > 0:35:11and even if I don't know where I'm going, I never feel...
0:35:11 > 0:35:13By definition, I never feel welcome.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15You know, you're almost scared for your life
0:35:15 > 0:35:20because there's all these years of images of hatred and wars etc,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23that when you actually go there...
0:35:23 > 0:35:25Rationally, I know it's completely safe,
0:35:25 > 0:35:30but emotionally, it feels slightly terrifying.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33There she is. Hi.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35- Hi.- How are you? - I'm fine, thank you.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37- Hello, nice to meet you. - This is Fareed.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41- Welcome.- Nice to meet you. Hi. - This is my sister-in-law.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45Wow.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48What do we see there in the horizon? That's...
0:35:48 > 0:35:51- At-Tur.- At-Tur? - Yeah, it's all At-Tur.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53- All At-Tur, here?- Yeah.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56- There's no Jewish people living around here.- I don't think so, no.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59- This is a completely Muslim area. - Oh, yeah, yeah.
0:35:59 > 0:36:05- So, who's cooking for us today? - Today, my mother-in-law is cooking for you.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09I want her to cook for you because she is the perfect cooker, I know.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11I want to learn something to do with my hands.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15You can do the sweet with her, because you are a sweet chef.
0:36:15 > 0:36:16Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm a pastry chef.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19Maybe you will take it to London and make it.
0:36:19 > 0:36:20- I want to take something with me. - OK.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23So, everything she wants, I will do.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26SHE SPEAKS IN HER NATIVE DIALECT
0:36:26 > 0:36:29So, all the food that you're cooking today
0:36:29 > 0:36:31is from your mother or grandmother?
0:36:31 > 0:36:34She taught it from her father, who's dead now.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37- She... Yeah.- My father.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39- Told you how to make kulaj? - Yeah.- Wow.
0:36:39 > 0:36:44- And she's the only one from his daughter and son...- Who knows.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48- ..who knows how to do it. - So, the family secret went to... - Went with her.- Ah!
0:36:48 > 0:36:51- So, this pastry is called kulaj? - Yes.
0:36:51 > 0:36:57- And it's like a very, very, very thin pita or flatbread.- Yes.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00So, I can smell the butter already.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03- And this is sheep's cheese?- Yes.
0:37:06 > 0:37:11Fareed's saying we have to know which area you did!
0:37:11 > 0:37:12THEY LAUGH
0:37:12 > 0:37:14I'm sure you will!
0:37:14 > 0:37:15I'm sure you will.
0:37:15 > 0:37:20Sami's going to be very excited when I tell him that I made kulaj.
0:37:20 > 0:37:21I'm sure he knows it.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25You put the cheese, I'll put the nuts.
0:37:27 > 0:37:32- So, it's like a big pie?- Yeah. - I finally understand what I'm doing.
0:37:32 > 0:37:33Finally!
0:37:33 > 0:37:35Because before, I didn't know what I...
0:37:35 > 0:37:39- I don't know where we were going! - You have to learn, so you will wait and learn.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43I know, I need patience, that's what you're telling me. You're right.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46So, everybody here is from Jerusalem, or where do...?
0:37:46 > 0:37:48All the people in the house?
0:37:48 > 0:37:52We are from a village called Kalunya. It's near Jerusalem.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56- Were they also living there in Palestine many, many generations...? - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59- Forever.- Yes, forever. - They had to leave in 1948?
0:37:59 > 0:38:02Yes and my family went to Bethlehem.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05Uh-huh. Do you ever go to restaurants?
0:38:05 > 0:38:08- Yes, of course.- You go alone?- Yes.
0:38:08 > 0:38:09In Jerusalem?
0:38:09 > 0:38:13Eh, sometimes in Jerusalem, sometimes Ramallah and Bethlehem.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17- You ever go to Tel Aviv? - No, never.- No?
0:38:17 > 0:38:19We go to Jaffa to Tel Aviv to the sea,
0:38:19 > 0:38:21- but we don't go to restaurants. - In Tel Aviv?- No.
0:38:21 > 0:38:27- Because you don't feel welcome? - No. No, not like this.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30No. We don't know the food, really.
0:38:30 > 0:38:35And they... They will... All of them will stare at you.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37- You will feel...- Yeah.
0:38:37 > 0:38:42- So, we go to Arab food, Arab restaurants. It's OK. - No. Well, it's fine.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48- Do you want to see the kulaj? - I have to see the kulaj.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51- Ah, it starts to get coloured.- Yes.
0:38:51 > 0:38:56'Ruba's mother-in-law had prepared the main course earlier.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58'A traditional Palestinian dish called maftoul -
0:38:58 > 0:39:01'a giant couscous, served with chicken and lamb.'
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Erm, Rami? This is very good. Yeah.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07I like it because you can really taste the...
0:39:07 > 0:39:09All the spices.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12- So, this is, like, your Friday night meal?- Yes.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15Very, very nice.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18- We will eat the kulaj. - I can say I had some part in this.
0:39:18 > 0:39:19Yeah.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23Thank you. I will start with the cheese.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25Oh, my God, this is so good.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29- I eat the nuts, always. - You always eat the nuts?
0:39:29 > 0:39:33- I think we like the same food, Ruba. - I think so!
0:39:37 > 0:39:42'I was very touched by the warm welcome from Ruba and her family.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46'I had now seen examples of home cooking
0:39:46 > 0:39:48'in both Jewish and Palestinian households.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56'But ten miles outside Jerusalem, in the Judaean Hills,
0:39:56 > 0:40:00'there is a restaurant run by a couple who transcend the religious
0:40:00 > 0:40:01'and cultural divide.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08'In the small Arab village of Ein Rafa,
0:40:08 > 0:40:10'a Jewish woman and a Palestinian man
0:40:10 > 0:40:13'have opened a restaurant in their home.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16'Yaakov takes care of front-of-house
0:40:16 > 0:40:20'and his Jewish wife, Michal, is the chef.'
0:40:21 > 0:40:24So, you're the only Jewish in this Arab village?
0:40:24 > 0:40:26Yeah, and I'm still Jewish.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28SHE LAUGHS
0:40:28 > 0:40:32- Yaakov's family is from here. - Yes, all the family.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37And I ask if I can use the land for parking and...
0:40:37 > 0:40:39The restaurant was a bit noisy. They said, "Of course."
0:40:39 > 0:40:42Everybody came, they give me present and say,
0:40:42 > 0:40:45"Good luck, succeed, we'll help you any time."
0:40:45 > 0:40:47And it was a good, you know, push.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51- So, he's the ambassador and you make the food.- Yeah.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54- That's a good combination. - I do what she wants.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56THEY LAUGH
0:40:56 > 0:40:58So, you have the Arab food?
0:40:58 > 0:41:03- They want us to cook Arab food. - You know, we start... - Who is they? Your customers?
0:41:03 > 0:41:06Yes, they said, "We come to eat Arab food.
0:41:06 > 0:41:07"Where is the Arab food?"
0:41:07 > 0:41:11They want the authentic. They want the... And I said,
0:41:11 > 0:41:15"OK, let's think." I ask my workers, "How do you make this?
0:41:15 > 0:41:19And they said, "OK, let's see", and they teach me, you know?
0:41:19 > 0:41:22- But you didn't change your menu to only Arab food.- No.- No.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25- You mix things.- She mix it together.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28This place has got all the cuisines
0:41:28 > 0:41:32of the Jewish Diaspora and Palestinian all under one roof.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36We also have, you know, chrain? It's called chazeret.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38Yeah, horseradish.
0:41:38 > 0:41:43We put it on every dish, you know, and people like it.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46And it's ridiculous because it's from the ghetto in Warsaw.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49This is the madness that you get here.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53'The restaurant is closed for the night,
0:41:53 > 0:41:56'but Michal is cooking a meal for her staff and some friends.
0:41:58 > 0:42:03'It's a chance to see some of her Arabic-influenced dishes first-hand.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05'She's made slow-cooked lamb and chicken stew,
0:42:05 > 0:42:08'with green olives picked by Yaakov.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11'She's also preparing shrimp falafels with chrain,
0:42:11 > 0:42:13'the beetroot and horseradish relish
0:42:13 > 0:42:15'she'd made so popular with her customers.'
0:42:15 > 0:42:19- Nice.- Really?- Yeah.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22'And kubbeh nayyeh, a traditional Lebanese dish,
0:42:22 > 0:42:24'usually prepared with raw meat, but here,
0:42:24 > 0:42:27'made by Michal with raw fish.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38'I'm making some salads.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41'Baby aubergines roasted with Moroccan spice mix
0:42:41 > 0:42:45'and then topped with sweet couscous and yoghurt
0:42:45 > 0:42:47'and sprinkled with sumac.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52'I'm also preparing a leek and beetroot salad
0:42:52 > 0:42:55'with a sharp walnut dressing.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02'It was a proper multicultural feast.'
0:43:02 > 0:43:06THEY SPEAK IN THEIR OWN DIALECT
0:43:12 > 0:43:14- Yay!- Bravo!
0:43:14 > 0:43:16APPLAUSE
0:43:24 > 0:43:30Actually, this meal is in itself a huge proof of what's going on here
0:43:30 > 0:43:31that is really remarkable,
0:43:31 > 0:43:36because the relationship with Michal and Yaakov that crosses religion
0:43:36 > 0:43:39is considered here a huge taboo. It's a massive, massive thing.
0:43:39 > 0:43:43I don't think anyone from the outside can realise how big a thing it is.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45And the fact that we have a table here
0:43:45 > 0:43:48that really has Arabs and Jews sitting together.
0:43:48 > 0:43:49Waiters, cooks,
0:43:49 > 0:43:52Michal and Yaakov herself, his family,
0:43:52 > 0:43:54that sit together and really enjoy,
0:43:54 > 0:43:58and there's no sense of division, it's just completely natural,
0:43:58 > 0:44:01shows that food can really bring people together
0:44:01 > 0:44:03in a way that nothing else could.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08'I only have a few days left in Jerusalem,
0:44:08 > 0:44:10'but there are two more places I have to see -
0:44:10 > 0:44:15'contemporary restaurants where the cross-cultural food revolution is taking off.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20'Arcadia is one of the city's finest restaurants.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24'Its owner and chef, Ezra Kedem, is a pioneer of the revolution.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27'In the '90s, when Israeli cuisine had turned its back
0:44:27 > 0:44:30'on indigenous food and was looking to Europe for inspiration,
0:44:30 > 0:44:33'he was one of the first to return to more traditional cooking,
0:44:33 > 0:44:35'both Arab and Jewish.'
0:44:35 > 0:44:37You know, when I went to the Old City,
0:44:37 > 0:44:41you speak to someone who makes hummus or someone who makes tahini
0:44:41 > 0:44:43or someone who makes kanafeh.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46It's one generation to the next generation to the next generation.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49Nobody thinks to break from tradition.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52What went wrong with us that they had something so fantastic
0:44:52 > 0:44:53and they gave it up?
0:44:53 > 0:44:57They were ashamed to take traditional food
0:44:57 > 0:45:00and to cook it in a chef's restaurant.
0:45:00 > 0:45:02That's the problem.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04When I started, you know, when I took lentils,
0:45:04 > 0:45:08they said, "What is it? This belongs to the chickens".
0:45:08 > 0:45:14But sometimes, I feel that tradition is a rude word in Hebrew
0:45:14 > 0:45:16and I stick to tradition.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19- OK. Let's go to... - Do you think the aubergine is ready?
0:45:19 > 0:45:21Yes, yes, yes, yes. Bring him.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23OK, so...
0:45:25 > 0:45:30- ..we need just to peel it. - You would expect the flesh, now,
0:45:30 > 0:45:32to have the very, very typical smokey flavour now.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36- Well, it's beautiful.- Smells so good. What you're doing now,
0:45:36 > 0:45:41- how different is it from what your grandmother used to do? - It's the same. It's the same flavour.
0:45:41 > 0:45:46What I did is just to arrange things on the plate.
0:45:46 > 0:45:51Then, you start to add a few things. Garlic is there and tahini is there
0:45:51 > 0:45:53and olive oil is there and pepper is there.
0:45:53 > 0:45:59- So, you have yoghurt?- Yes.- Tahini? - Tahini.- Raw. Just paste.- Yes.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02- Eh, some tomato flesh?- Yes.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04- And olive oil.- Yeah.- That's it.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07- What's that?- Lemon juice. - Lemon juice.- Yes.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12- Walnut. OK.- Walnut and aubergine -
0:46:12 > 0:46:17- that is a combination from Iran... - Yes.
0:46:17 > 0:46:19- ..Turkey...- Yes.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21- ..Georgia.- Yeah.
0:46:21 > 0:46:26So, this is a modern baba ghanoush spread on the plate. That's all.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29- So, we continue with... - What do you mean continue?
0:46:29 > 0:46:32- Am I not going to taste this? - Ah, you want to taste this?
0:46:32 > 0:46:34For God's sake, why am I here?
0:46:34 > 0:46:36HE LAUGHS
0:46:39 > 0:46:41- Wow.- Yeah?
0:46:41 > 0:46:47Yeah. The best baba ghanoush, seriously, I've ever had.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51- I could eat the whole thing, but I won't do that to you.- OK.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54What else are you going to show me?
0:46:54 > 0:46:58It's a jewel that I took from my tradition and I put it on the plate.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01- OK. So, what have you got here? - Potatoes.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03'Ezra wants to show me his contemporary twist
0:47:03 > 0:47:07'on the kubbeh batata. It's a potato cake
0:47:07 > 0:47:10'filled with mince, pine nuts, cinnamon and cumin.'
0:47:10 > 0:47:12- I'm OK so far?- Yeah.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15- Your mother or grandmother would approve?- Huh?
0:47:15 > 0:47:18They wouldn't approve of me, in general, but just about this.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20- They would approve?- Yeah.- OK, good.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24- A little bit less, but you're OK. - And then, you close it.- Yeah.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29- This is exciting. - Yeah, but then...- But then?
0:47:29 > 0:47:35- Take it here, and you start to... - Ah, OK.- To shape it.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38- This is what I wouldn't know. - Give it... And it's beautiful.
0:47:38 > 0:47:44- This is nice and elegant. - You make it in London.- For sure.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48And maybe I'll make it better than you, one day.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50Insha'Allah, insha'Allah.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53It seems like everything is kubbeh in this city.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57- Er, this is the capital of the kubbeh.- In the world.- Yeah.
0:47:57 > 0:48:01'The kubbeh, I dipped in beaten egg and then fried in oil.'
0:48:01 > 0:48:02Voila.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07Then, this is for you.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12- What is it?- The pollen. - Ah, the fennel pollen.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15- Yeah.- Cool.- OK.- So, we're going to flavour the oil with it.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18That's my little bonus for being so good.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23- OK.- Looks good.
0:48:26 > 0:48:31- So, maybe we will make, like, a salad? OK?- OK.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34- This is fennel from your allotment? - Yes, yes.
0:48:34 > 0:48:40- Salad is my middle name. You can trust me with your salad. - Salad is my first name.- Oh, OK.
0:48:40 > 0:48:42- So, you win, as usual.- OK.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45- So, I'm going to put the salad on the side of the plate.- Yes.
0:48:45 > 0:48:50- Cos, in the centre, I want the cake. - OK. Beautiful.
0:48:50 > 0:48:54- So, are we going to bring the, er... - Potato cakes?
0:48:54 > 0:48:56- Wow. They look good and they smell good.- Yes.
0:48:56 > 0:48:58You're going to make your mother proud.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06- OK.- OK? Maybe a touch of turmeric oil.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08By all means. Nice colour.
0:49:08 > 0:49:12- This is the first time in history that I dress a plate like that. - Yeah?- Yes.
0:49:12 > 0:49:17- Maybe some ketzakh. - Some nigella seeds.
0:49:17 > 0:49:22This is fancy stuff for me. I normally throw stuff on the plate.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26OK, and just for you...
0:49:29 > 0:49:30The fennel leaves?
0:49:30 > 0:49:34- Yeah.- Oh, wow.
0:49:36 > 0:49:41- That will give nice aroma.- When you bring the dish to the table.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45- I'm impressed with you.- OK.
0:49:50 > 0:49:54'Ezra's transformation of traditional dishes
0:49:54 > 0:49:57'into fine dining is impressive.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00'But I want to end my time here at one of Jerusalem's
0:50:00 > 0:50:03'most talked about new restaurants, Machneyuda,
0:50:03 > 0:50:05'in West Jerusalem,
0:50:05 > 0:50:09'where they're taking an altogether more anarchic and creative approach.'
0:50:13 > 0:50:17The restaurant is over here, next to the market and I live over here.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20'I met the co-owner, Yossi, in the market,
0:50:20 > 0:50:23'just a stone's throw from the restaurant.'
0:50:23 > 0:50:26I start every day at seven o'clock in the market
0:50:26 > 0:50:29to check what's new, fresh.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32'Yossi's adamant about sourcing all his produce from here
0:50:32 > 0:50:35'and using only local ingredients.
0:50:36 > 0:50:41'He's going to let me spend an evening working in his kitchen.'
0:50:41 > 0:50:44Yotam, Yotam Ottolenghi.
0:50:44 > 0:50:49- Hello, Daniella.- Hi. Hello.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52As you see, this is your kitchen.
0:50:52 > 0:50:54How early do they all start?
0:50:54 > 0:50:57'I want to understand how the blend of traditional and modern cooking
0:50:57 > 0:51:01'has made this Jerusalem's most exciting new restaurant.'
0:51:01 > 0:51:05What makes, you know, modern Israeli chefs so creative,
0:51:05 > 0:51:11so free in their ability to renew?
0:51:11 > 0:51:17People in Spain, in Italy, in France, even Palestinians
0:51:17 > 0:51:22have a tradition of hundreds and hundreds of years of cooking.
0:51:22 > 0:51:28And they're cooking almost the same as their grandparents were cooking.
0:51:28 > 0:51:35We? We are from different cultures, different places in the world.
0:51:35 > 0:51:40We had to invent, we had to create something that's different,
0:51:40 > 0:51:41that's new.
0:51:41 > 0:51:42So, actually, with the food,
0:51:42 > 0:51:44you're taking part in a bigger project,
0:51:44 > 0:51:48- which is the project of national identity.- Exactly, exactly.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52We are trying to build, actually, a new culture, a new Israeli cuisine.
0:51:52 > 0:51:59And I learn very, very much from my Palestinian friends,
0:51:59 > 0:52:02and if you want to live here,
0:52:02 > 0:52:05I believe that's the way to build something new.
0:52:05 > 0:52:12I'm taking it one step further, that's the way to make peace.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16'To experience this philosophy in action,
0:52:16 > 0:52:19'I needed to immerse myself in their kitchen.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22'Yossi had agreed to put one of my dishes on their menu,
0:52:22 > 0:52:25'and I'm cooking it for service tonight.'
0:52:27 > 0:52:33I'm making a crumble with almonds and pistachios
0:52:33 > 0:52:35that's going to go on the desserts.
0:52:35 > 0:52:39It feels very nice, because it's my old territory - pastry chef.
0:52:39 > 0:52:44So, I think... I hope it's going to be good. We'll see.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47'I've decided to make a dessert with nut streusel,
0:52:47 > 0:52:49'fresh fruit from the market,
0:52:49 > 0:52:52'and cream flavoured with herbs and spices.'
0:52:55 > 0:52:58I'm learning from Tina. Tina suggested to add za'atar.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00I want to add za'atar to the dessert.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02She wants to do it with a sugar sieve,
0:53:02 > 0:53:04I was going to throw it all in to the cream,
0:53:04 > 0:53:07so it's interesting to see that I'm already learning.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09It's a first for me.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15These are the most amazing peaches.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19We don't have peaches like that in London, I'll tell you that.
0:53:20 > 0:53:25And they're really, really ripe. We're going to cook them into a...
0:53:25 > 0:53:29Like a, kind of a compote that goes into the dessert.
0:53:35 > 0:53:40And we've got caster sugar and we've got mascarpone here.
0:53:42 > 0:53:47Za'atar, double cream and yoghurt. Not Greek yoghurt, Israeli yoghurt.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51Tina? Tina, where did you grow up?
0:53:51 > 0:53:53- In Russia.- In Russia?!
0:53:53 > 0:53:56When did you come here? How old were you?
0:53:56 > 0:53:59Two years old. So, you speak Russian at home
0:53:59 > 0:54:02- and Middle-Eastern in the street? - Yes.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05Be careful, man, she's a crazy woman.
0:54:05 > 0:54:11THEY SPEAK IN THEIR OWN DIALECT
0:54:11 > 0:54:15- That's very nice.- It's nice. - You taste the cardamom?
0:54:15 > 0:54:19I don't taste the za'atar. I'm going to put some more za'atar inside.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22- And some more cardamom. - Some more cardamom?
0:54:26 > 0:54:28It's really nice.
0:54:31 > 0:54:36They told me, "Are you ready to get pushed and shoved around?"
0:54:36 > 0:54:39I said, "Yeah, I'm happy to be pushed and shoved around,"
0:54:39 > 0:54:41so, this is coming.
0:54:52 > 0:54:58That's the peaches and the plum,
0:54:58 > 0:55:01and they are cooked with some sugar and lemon juice.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08That's my special cream. With the za'atar and cardamom.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10A little bit more of that.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21The za'atar is really, really good.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26It was a bit off the wall, it was a shot in the dark,
0:55:26 > 0:55:28but it works really well.
0:55:28 > 0:55:33And then, I've got this nutty, crumbly streusel.
0:55:35 > 0:55:39But that's basically my creation, here.
0:56:14 > 0:56:19If you leave aside all the rules, which obviously, that's what happens around here,
0:56:19 > 0:56:22because everybody's a bit mad, then you get really,
0:56:22 > 0:56:26really creative results. It's irreverence.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29You get polenta that goes in a kilner jar
0:56:29 > 0:56:33with asparagus and mushrooms. All these ingredients could be in an Italian dish,
0:56:33 > 0:56:34but this is not an Italian dish,
0:56:34 > 0:56:37this is a Machneyuda dish because it breaks the rules.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39It goes in a pickling jar.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41They don't care what other people do.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44They just do what they want to do and what's fun.
0:56:44 > 0:56:48THEY SHOUT
0:56:58 > 0:57:02This place is the pinnacle of the Jerusalem experience,
0:57:02 > 0:57:05or the current Jerusalem experience.
0:57:05 > 0:57:09It's got the Jerusalem feel, it's got the madness
0:57:09 > 0:57:11that you see everywhere in small doses,
0:57:11 > 0:57:13but this one's got it in massive doses.
0:57:13 > 0:57:15It's just complete madness.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19It's daring, it's ballsy, it's cheeky, its got chutzpah,
0:57:19 > 0:57:23what Yossi's so proud of. It's irreverent.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25YOSSI SCREAMS
0:57:25 > 0:57:27You're fired!
0:57:32 > 0:57:36'Ending up my journey here, in the midst of so much creative energy,
0:57:36 > 0:57:41'gives me a real sense of excitement about the future.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44'What Yossi, Ezra, Michal and others are doing
0:57:44 > 0:57:47'is building on all the many traditions that exist,
0:57:47 > 0:57:51'both Jewish and Palestinian, to make something new.
0:57:51 > 0:57:54'A new kind of food that makes more sense here.
0:57:54 > 0:57:56'That is better connected to this place.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59'And, perhaps, that's reason for hope.'
0:58:14 > 0:58:17Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:17 > 0:58:20E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk