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Cooking Class: Flavors of a Mediterranean Cocktail Party with Jennifer Abadi
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- 10 whole cardamom pods
- Aniseeds
- Dried rosebuds or petals (optional)
- ½ cup sugar
- Gin (Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, Beefeater)
- Rosewater
- Ice cubes
- Unflavored seltzer, chilled
- 1 Persian or Israeli cucumber (not waxed cucumber)
- Fresh mint leaves
- 1 large lemon
- 2 cups canned chickpeas (about one 19-ounce can),
- OR 1¼ cups dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water to (cover by 3 inches) mixed with ½ teaspoon baking soda for 12 hours or overnight in the refrigerator, drained
- 1 large head of garlic
- 2 large lemons (need ¼ cup juice)
- 1 jar tahini (sesame paste)
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 12 ounces feta cheese (whole blocks preferred for soaking)
- Kosher salt
- Dried mint leaves
- Sweet Hungarian paprika
- Smoked Spanish paprika
- Za’tar spice blend (green kind, not red with sumac added)
- Baking soda
- Pita bread
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Large chef’s/chopping knife and cutting board
- 2-sided jigger
- Mortar and pestle or rolling pin and small Ziploc bag, for crushing seeds
- Small saucepan, for preparing the syrup
- Small jar or air-tight container, for storing syrup
- Muddler, for crushing cucumbers with fresh mint leaves
- Zester/Microplane, for finely grating lemon and citrus squeezer
- Large glass or liquid measuring cup, for mixing a cocktail
- Metal strainer or small mesh cone strainer (small enough to sit over a cup or glass)
- 1 martini glass or small cocktail glass, for serving
- Medium saucepan (if cooking dried chickpeas)
- Food processor
- Rubber spatula
- Small bowl, for soaking feta cheese
- Small bowl or jar, for mixing olive oil and spices
- Pastry brush, for brushing oil on pita bread
- Large baking tray or cookie sheet, for baking chips
Jennifer Abadi is a native New Yorker, born, bred and raised on Manhattan's Upper West Side. She is half Sephardic (Aleppo, Syria) and half Ashkenazic (Riga, Latvia). She is a researcher, developer, and preserver of Judeo-Arabic and Sephardic recipes and food customs, focusing on the Jewish communities of the Middle East, Mediterranean, Central Asia, and North Africa. She is the author of two cookbooks: "Too Good To Passover: Sephardic & Judeo-Arabic Seder Menus and Memories from Africa, Asia and Europe" and "A Fistful of Lentils: Syrian-Jewish Recipes From Grandma Fritzie's Kitchen." Jennifer teaches cooking at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) and at the Jewish Community Center Manhattan (JCC), as well as privately. Jennifer has been providing Jewish Food & Culture tours on Manhattan's Lower East Side for Context Travel since 2012."
Not suitable for children under age 13 (sensitive content).
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.