The only reason to go out for听 dinner, according to my husband Alan, is to give me a break from the kitchen. He insists that he loves my cooking the most.
I, on the other hand, love eating in restaurants. I love people watching, and it鈥檚 always such a treat to eat food that I haven鈥檛 prepared.
Let鈥檚 call it 鈥渞esearch.鈥� How else can the Sephardic Spice Girls find inspiration for what to cook next!?!
As it happens, Rachel and I recently had a date night with our husbands, Neil and Alan, at the fairly new, Mediterranean-fusion, dairy Popular Encino (part of the Tel Aviv Grill and Tel Aviv Tapas family of restaurants.)
The restaurant itself is gorgeous, with a refined, modern aesthetic. Think blond wood, cream walls, caramel leather chairs and the soft glow of rattan pendant lighting.
The evening started with signature cocktails at the stunning, vibrant bar. And then we literally tried everything on the menu and let me tell you, it was worth the calories!
This is some of what we ate 鈥� branzino with butter, garlic and a pickled lemon harissa, creamy mushroom gnocchi, a three cheese tortellini, hummus, tempura branzino tacos and white sweet potatoes bathed in a savory tomato sauce.
If I had to eat only one food for the rest of my life I think it would be sushi. It鈥檚 literally my favorite food and the sushi here was so fresh and fabulous. Like, melt in your mouth deliciousness.
Then there were the skewers that caught our attention. We loved the chefs technique of perfectly roasted, uniform pieces of wild King oyster mushrooms skewers and white cabbage skewers.
Rachel and I knew that would be our recipe to share with you.
As it happens, Alan and I left for Florida a few days later. On our first night at the Marriott Boca Raton, we were so excited that there was a kosher restaurant just steps away. At Mamush, a fancy Mediterranean grill, we ate ribeye skewers and chicken skewers, alongside mejaddera, Israeli salad, schug and tehina.
The next night, we picked up our daughter Alexandra at the Fort Lauderdale airport and headed to Aventura for dinner at the very cool and trendy Asiatiko. There we had lots of sushi rolls, a delicious pot of veggies and rice and perfectly roasted Korean barbecue steak skewers.
On our last night in Florida, Alan, Alexandra and I attended the wedding of our family friends’ daughter, the beautiful, sweet Maya, to her handsome groom, Daniel.
Guess what, the smorgasbord featured beef, chicken and mushroom skewers too!
Another sign that we should share a recipe featuring skewers.
There is a benefit of roasting food on skewers, 脿 la shish kebab. By cutting meat and vegetables into smaller uniform pieces, the marinade coats more and the food cooks evenly.
This maximizes the savory Maillard crust, which breaks down and rearranges molecules, adding that tempting barbecue aroma, as well as the sweet caramel notes and the rich, deep, meaty umami flavor.
The first step here is to cut the ribeye, the shiitake mushrooms and Japanese eggplant into even pieces and then thread onto the skewers. Drizzle with your favorite marinade (we share a recipe for a sweet lemon sumac sauce) and then onto the grill. Serve with your favorite dipping sauces.
鈥掷丑补谤辞苍
Roasted Skewers Marinade
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
3 Tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp granulated garlic powder
2 tsp onion salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp sumac
Whisk together all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
1 lb ribeye, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 lb shiitake mushrooms, cut in half
1 Japanese eggplant, cut into 2 inch slices
Red, orange and yellow mini peppers
Heirloom cherry tomatoes
Vegetable oil, for grilling
Preheat grill to medium heat.
Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes before use.
Thread meat, mushrooms, eggplant and veggies onto individual skewers, being sure not to pack too tightly. Marinate meat and vegetables for five minutes.
Use vegetable oil to cover the grates, to prevent sticking. Place skewers directly over the heat and flip every 2 to 3 minutes. Eggplant may require slightly longer time on the grill.
Once cooked, move skewers onto a platter and loosely cover with foil. Leave to rest for five minutes before serving.
Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff have been friends since high school. Their cooking and storytelling project has grown into a devoted following on Instagram @sephardicspicegirls and on Facebook at Sephardic Spice SEC Food. .
