Today we’re heading to Israel—a country where the culinary traditions of dozens of cultures intertwine. We’re making two dishes that have become symbols of Israeli cuisine: Yemeni Sabbath bread and Levantine meat croquettes.
Traditional Yemeni Jewish layered bread, slow-baked in the oven all night until golden brown. The texture is incredibly tender and buttery, reminiscent of puff pastry, but denser and slightly sweet.
Ingredients:
• All-purpose wheat flour — 500 g
• Warm water — 250 ml
• Salt — 1 tsp
• Sugar — 1 tbsp
• Clarified butter or margarine — 200 g (+ extra for greasing)
• Chicken eggs — 4 (for serving)
• Tomato paste — 100 g (for serving)
• Ground cumin — 1 tsp (for serving)
Method:
Step 1. Kneading the dough
In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Gradually pour in the warm water, kneading the dough with your hands. Knead for 10–12 minutes, until the dough is completely smooth, elastic, and no longer sticks to your hands. Cover with a damp towel and leave to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Step 2. Forming the balls
Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces (about 125 g each). Roll each piece into a perfectly smooth ball. Generously coat each ball on all sides with clarified butter, place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and leave to rest for another 1 hour. The dough should become very soft and pliable.
Step 3. Rolling out and shaping the rolls
On a work surface generously greased with clarified butter, take one ball. Stretch it with your hands from the center outward, forming an extremely thin rectangle roughly 30×40 cm—the dough should be translucent. Brush the entire surface with clarified butter (about 1 tbsp). Roll it tightly from the long side. Repeat with the remaining balls.
Step 4. Arranging in the pan
Take a deep baking dish with a lid (or use two baking trays, covering the top one with foil). Arrange the rolls upright in a spiral, packed tightly together. Carefully place raw eggs in their shells between the rolls (they will cook overnight and turn brown). Brush the tops of the rolls with the remaining butter.
Step 5. Overnight slow baking
Preheat the oven to 100°C. Seal the dish tightly with its lid or several layers of foil—an airtight seal matters. Put it in the oven for 12–14 hours (usually from Friday evening until Saturday morning). By morning, the jachnun will have taken on a deep caramel-brown color and become incredibly soft and layered.
Step 6. Making schug (spicy sauce)
While the jachnun cooks, mix the tomato paste with ground cumin, a pinch of salt, and 2 tbsp of water. This is the traditional sauce for serving.
Step 7. Serving
Take the jachnun out of the oven. It should be soft, its layers easy to unroll. Serve hot with boiled eggs (peel them—they will be creamy brown), tomato schug sauce, and grated tomatoes. Traditionally, it is eaten with your hands, tearing off the layers.
💡 Fact: Jachnun originated in Yemen as a solution to the ban on cooking during Shabbat. The dish was placed in the oven before sunset on Friday and left to cook slowly all night, so it would be ready for Saturday breakfast without breaking religious rules.
Levantine bulgur croquettes with a meat filling—crisp on the outside, juicy within. They are shaped like elongated torpedoes with pointed ends, turning golden brown after frying.
Ingredients:
For the shell:
• Fine bulgur — 300 g
• Lean beef or lamb (boneless meat) — 300 g
• Onion — 1 medium
• Salt — 1.5 tsp
• Ground black pepper — 0.5 tsp
• Ground cumin — 0.5 tsp
• Ice water — 100–150 ml
For the filling:
• Beef or lamb (ground) — 300 g
• Onion — 1 large
• Pine nuts or almonds — 50 g
• Vegetable oil — 2 tbsp
• Salt — 1 tsp
• Black pepper — 0.5 tsp
• Ground cinnamon — 0.25 tsp
• Allspice — 0.25 tsp
• Vegetable oil for deep-frying — 1 l
Method:
Step 1. Preparing the bulgur
Cover the bulgur with cold water and leave for 15–20 minutes, until swollen. Drain in a fine sieve, then squeeze out all excess moisture thoroughly with your hands—the bulgur should be damp, not wet. Transfer to a bowl.
Step 2. Making the shell mixture
Cut the meat for the shell into 2×2 cm cubes. Quarter the onion. Run the meat and onion through a meat grinder with a fine plate twice (or process in a food processor until paste-like). Combine with the bulgur, then add the salt, pepper, and cumin. Knead with your hands for 5–7 minutes, gradually adding ice water 1 tbsp at a time, until the mixture becomes uniform, smooth, and very pliable—like soft modeling clay. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Step 3. Making the filling
Dice the onion finely into 3×3 mm cubes. Heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onion until soft and translucent (5–6 minutes). Add the pine nuts and fry for 2 minutes, until golden. Turn the heat up high and add the ground meat. Break up any lumps with a spatula and fry for 7–8 minutes, until all the liquid has evaporated and the meat is crumbly and lightly browned. Add the spices and stir. Remove from the heat and cool completely.
Step 4. Shaping the kubeh
Prepare a bowl of ice water—for wetting your hands. Take 2 tbsp of the bulgur mixture (about 60 g), roll it into a ball, then shape it into an oval 8–9 cm long. Using a wet index finger, make an indentation from one end; rotate the piece as you form a hollow inside, stretching the walls until they are 3–4 mm thick. The shell should resemble a little cup with one pointed end. Fill it with the meat mixture (1.5 tbsp), pinch the open edge shut, shaping a second pointed end. Smooth the surface with wet hands until perfectly even. The classic shape is a torpedo with pointed ends.
Step 5. Deep-frying
Heat the oil in a deep pot to 170–175°C (test it: a piece of dough should immediately rise to the surface with vigorous sizzling). Lower the kubeh into the oil 4–5 at a time, without overcrowding the pot. Fry for 4–5 minutes, turning with tongs for even browning, until the shell is deep golden and absolutely crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels.
Step 6. Serving
Serve the kubeh hot with lemon wedges, hummus, tahini (sesame paste), and fresh vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, salad leaves). When cut open, the filling should be juicy, while the shell should be crisp outside and tender within.
💡 Fact: Kubeh is considered one of the oldest dishes in the Middle East—it was being made as far back as medieval Baghdad. Jews from Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon brought the recipe to Israel, and today it is a symbol of Levantine cuisine, made for every holiday.