Well, summer is almost over.
And seeing as it’s been one of the hottest I’ve ever experienced in Tel-Aviv, I for one am happy to say, “Goodbye Summer- And don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out!!”

However- my joy is tempered with sorrow, because almost to the day, the last of summer means the end of the shiso season..
For those of you who know me, and my garden, you know that among other treasures lurking in the green oasis, such as pandan leaves, galangal, sky-pointing chilies, kaffir lime leaf trees, and lotus lilies,

Our Oasis

there exists my most precious culinary jewel- the elusive, elite, and absolutely irreplaceable SHISO.

For many Authentic Japanese specialties, you just cannot make them unless you have fresh shiso leaves.
If you live in Japan, Asia, San Francisco, NY, or Paris (the only city in Europe I’ve ever seen them, although there may be others) getting fresh shiso won’t be a problem.
However, if you live in Tel-Aviv, you can forget all about it.
I found this out the hard way 11 years ago when I moved here, and decided to make a Japanese dinner.
Fat and happy, I waltzed to the market, thinking I would surely be able to get shiso leaves- Only to be met with blank stares of incomprehension, and later when I asked horticulturists and suppliers, that it is impossible to grow them here because of the climate.
Well, I didn’t accept that, no way.
I ordered seeds from Japan, and spent the next 4 years trying to grow them:
I froze the seeds for 3 months to simulate the harsh Japanese winters.
I warmed the soil on coffee-cup warmers.
I tried planting the seeds in every month of the year.
Inside.
Outside.
Using different soil mixtures.
In short, I drove Alon insane with my experiments. Nothing worked.
Finally, in defeat, I threw years worth of pots and their contents into a big pile of soil I planned on mixing with compost, and resolved to forget my hopeless dream.
Imagine my surprise in the Spring when dozens of little shiso seedlings popped up in the compost heap.
Since then, they grow by themselves every year, reseeding themselves.
They grow to towering size, and the first growth leaves are comically gigantic, like lettuce leaves.

giant first-growth of the season shiso leaves

I’ve used these giant first growth leaves like sheets of Nori to wrap maki rolls, spring rolls, and other things…
And people from all over the country gradually heard about my shiso and
come grovelling and begging me to share them.
Now usually, I share anything, either ingredients, or knowledge, with anyone who asks.
But my shiso is different.
I worked for years to grow it, and I am not going to fork it over to some
nick-nack coffee-house cowboys to shove in the frig for 3 days and then put inside some atrocious bastardization of a Japanese dish that I wouldn’t feed to my cats!! No way!!

To this day, the only chef I have ever shared my precious shiso with, is the mighty chef Oren Goldwasser, a true expert in Japanese cuisine, who once had the only truly authentic Japanese restaurant in Israel, “Tatami”, in Haifa.
Which unsurprisingly, he closed, due to no one knowing or appreciating REAL and AUTHENTIC Japanese food here.
If I had to guess, the reason he closed probably was he got sick and tired of hearing clients ask him why he didn’t have a deep-fried chicken shnitzel and cream cheese maki on the menu.
(I wish I was joking, but I’m not. The photo below ,which to make it clear, OBVIOUSLY is not mine!!!  is what I found when I googled
“cream cheese maki”. WTF.)

this digraceful nightmare is, apparently, "cream cheese maki" And to this I say, "WTF"

In any case- Oren, much to my sadness at his not still having his Japanese place, now has a great fresh pasta place, “Fiori”, down in the Shuk ha’Namal, and needless to say, he doesn’t have any use for shiso leaves there.

http://www.shukhanamal.co.il/?p=795

Nonetheless, if he ever has a personal special dinner and asks for them, I make sure he gets them!
As for anyone else: Dream On!!

watch?v=k6Qd9VR1gD8

Here, by the way, is a link to a photo album of my yearly Shiso Kaiseki Dinner,  photos by my friend, the talented clarinet musician Michal Beit Halachmi :

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150161428156723.299016.546006722&type=1

Now without further ado, let me share with you (let’s face it, this recipe will only be able to be used by those of you who don’t live in Israel.
Unless someone here other than Oren impresses me enough to share, but oh well. Life isn’t always fair!!)

FRESH SHRIMP in TEMPURA SHISO:

Ingredients:
12 extra large, live or almost live, whole fresh shrimp.

Peeled, heads cut off, keep the very last segment of the tail shell on, clean the sand vein by cutting through the back with a tournee (oh and believe me: fresh live shrimp have a lot of crap in them an it’s pretty gnarly job cleaning them. Make sure to rinse them well after cleaning the guts.)
Under no circumstances use frozen shrimp for this dish!!!!!

I ONLY buy fish and seafood from Moshe (Musi) Penster, who in addition to having THE BEST fish shop in town, ( 03-510-1863) is also like a brother to me and is one of the most hilarious guys you’ll ever meet, and a crazy perfectionist, too!!!
Here’s  a photo of him, plus me and Alon, at his shop one night when we had “Sushi Night” in the market!

http://www.rimaolvera.com/blog/night-shuk-sushi-bar-what-fun-we-had/

12 fresh shiso leaves

12 toothpicks

Tempura flour, 1 cup

Shichimi (togaroshi) japanese chili powder

Ice cold water

Canola oil

For ponzu dipping sauce:
Soy sauce, 1/4 cup
Yuzu juice, 4 TB
Mirin, 6 Tb
Lemon juice, juice from 1/2 fresh lemon

METHOD:

Mix all Ponzu sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Wrap each fresh shrimp in a shiso leaf as shown in photo. Secure with a toothpick.

In 2 bowls, split the tempura flour in equal parts.
Mix about 2/3 cup ice water with the flour in one of the bowls.
Make sure not to overmix, in fact, it should be lumpy, and look terrible and as if it isn’t mixed right.
It should be very thin, NOT a thick “pancake” batter, like most people here seem to think Tempura batter is suppposed to look like.

(Damn!! I’ve eaten “Fish n’Chips” in England with a more delicate batter than most tempura in Israel!! Ugh!!)

Heat a heavy bottomed pot filled halfway up with canola oil. Heat up gradually, on med-low heat, not quickly heating it on high heat. Test by adding a drop of the batter. It should sizzle
and float immediately.

Dredge the wrapped shrimp in the other bowl containing the reserved dry tempura flour, knock off excess by banging on your hand holding the shrimp, with your other hand (don’t touch the shrimp itself)

Dip the shrimp, in batches of 4, in the tempura batter, amd shake off excess. It should look very light and you should see the shrimp and leaves colours very clearly, if the batter looks like it is covering it too thickly, add more water.

Fry in batches of 4, turning once, for about 1 minute total, until just barely cooked and the leaf is crispy.

Remove to drain on paper towels, sprinkle with Shichimi pepper, serve immediately with the Ponzu sauce.
Oiishi!!!!! (delicious)

Sorry about the cleavage and no makeup, but it's my day off

Manga Alon!

Blue is waiting in vain for some

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Well, I guess I don’t need to point out that I am not a typical girl-
I mean, I love shoes, and don’t mind a nice session of vicious gossip with my friends (99% of whom are a bunch of cooks- Men cooks I might add)
but that’s about the end of the similarities between me and a normal girl.

Itamar Davidov, Bishara Hinnawi, Mena Strum, Nitzan Raz

For one thing, I don’t own any jewelry, I drool over high-performance sportscars, I adore really aggressive sports and go out of my way to involve myself in truly nasty debates and discussions- and the more hostile they get, the better I like it.

The Gang

Bishara the "Meat Man"

But I guess the thing that really makes me doubt whether my chromosomes are in order, is my obsessive passion for KNIVES!!!!

Me and my Knives!!!

Now to be fair, I have been in the kitchen for 27 years, so it’s only natural that I should have accumulated a few knives over the years. But this goes way beyond a normal set of professional knives that every chef should own.

My knives are truly my most valuable possessions, and every chance I have to add to my collection- I do!
Alon has caught this disease as well now, and he is just as likely as me to be the one busting out the “beaucoup d’argent” for a really special one..

Alon cuts up a $700 fish with a Spanish fish knife!!!

When we are in Europe or elsewhere we always make sure to go to a few really top- end knife shops, and we usually discover a few hidden gems of our own, too!

Like the handmade, teflon-coated filleting knife from Finland we bought at
“Cotelleria Galli”, Via Spada 36R, in Firenze, Italia!

Now, I could really waste endless time on this subject, but bragging aside, I think it’s a damn shame that so many home cooks, even ones who are quite accomplished, and quite a few professional chefs too, NEGLECT their knives, or worse yet, don’t even bother to own a really varied set and don’t appreciate just how much better their experience in the kitchen will be when you are using the EXACT knife meant for the EXACT job!! 

This Maguro Tuna was swiming 12 hours ago, Thanks for airplanes!

Nothing gets on my nerves more that seeing someone sawing away at a tomato with a dull kitchen knife! Or trying in vain to thinly slice a piece of raw fish using a damn boning knife or worse yet a Chef’s knife, instead of a razor-sharp, Japanese slicer!!! Sacrilege!!!

Now, I can hear what you guys are saying right now: “What’s the @#$! big deal?! a Knife is a knife! as long as it’s sharp, there just isn’t that much difference!”

Moshe might look like a mass murderer here, but I assure you he is a nice guy!!!

NONSENSE!!!
Just as you wouldn’t wear a pair of 6” Christian Louboutin stiletto heels on the tennis court, using a knife for a purpose other than what it was intended for ruins both the ingredient you are working with, and your pleasure in the kitchen as well.

I will describe here a few general and specific types of knives, and why I think they are worth owning- and I sincerely hope you will take my advice and stop being cheap and lazy when it comes to knives! You will thank me!!

First of all- everyone needs a Chef’s knife.
This is the most versatile and necessary knife in the kitchen, and even though it’s true as with anything else ‘You Get What You Pay For”, in this case, you can actually buy a very effective and high-quality Chef’s knife which won’t make you have to take out a second mortgage, (unlike the really esoteric Japanese sushi and sashimi knives)

My Shun sashimi knife

For example, “Wusthof” (Germany) makes exceptional knives, and their new series “Culinar” is not only beautiful, but great fun to use, too.
http://wusthof.com//desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-74/52_view-99/categories-99 
I just bough a fish slicer in Prague a few months ago, and ever since then, all my cooks try to stael it every chance they get!!
Wusthof’s “Classic Ikon” series is also stellar and I tell everyone, if you can afford just one top-end knife, get this series’ Chef knife to start.
OVERALL GRADE:A

Wusthof "Culinar" series fish filleting knife I love it!!!

Zwilling J.A. Henckels makes many series of knives, and in fact I’ve been using Henckels knives for over 20 years, they are probably my overall favourite knife company.
http://www.zwilling.com/en-WW/Product-Range–sortiment/Knives–knives/Series-overview–serien.html
And up until recently, their “FiveStar” series was my top choice. That is, until they premiered their new “Cermax” series.
Made for Henckels, in Japan, by a centuries- old Japanese knifemaking firm, this is the god damn Ferrari Scuderia 16M Spider of knives!

The Cermax of cars!!!

 
It’s the wet-dream generator for all knife freaks!!! In short, it ABSOLUTELY SETS THE WORLD STANDARD for quality and performance. It blows any other knife I have ever used out of the water!!!! Made from high-tech Japanese MicroCarbide Powder Steel. It’s as sharp as a scalpel!!
However- it’s frighteningly expensive, extremely high-maintenance, and unless you are someone like me who needs a knife that won’t give me blisters after using it for 9 or 10 hours straight- this probably isn’t the right knife for everyone.

Cermax : The best knife I own

I don’t use mine that often, as I use it mainly as a tool to dominate and lord over other cooks, once in a while letting them test it to slice a green onion or something, after which they leave my kitchen, stifling sobs of jealousy and rage, and go home to throw all their knives in the trash in disgust!!!!!
However, their “Miyabi” series is similar in feel and precision, and at less than half the price, it is also an EXCEPTIONAL knife.
I own one, and it sure won’t be the last!

I used it for the very first time on camera shooting an episode of “Duet” with Chef Zdenek Pohlreich in Prague, and it cut through a huge chunk of meat like it was butter!
The director made us do the shot again because I said “Fuck!! This is GREAT!!”
OVERALL GRADE:A+

“Global” Knives: No doubt you have heard of this brand, because it has been overhyped and aggressively marketed to the point that every amateur cook, housewife, and many chefs seem to think this is supposed to be the world’s best knife.
To this i say, HAH!!
They are no better than a “Trophy Wife”- that is to say, it looks beautiful, but their annoying and superficial characteristics do not justify the investment in owning one.

I myself own a few, and if I make the mistake of using them to cut anything tougher than a bunch of parsley and the job takes longer than 10 mins, I have a nasty blister and a bad attitude.

I use them for NOTHING except chiffonading herbs, and I keep them razor-sharp, which helps. 
They are made from Molybdenum-Vanadium, which is a metal I  love, but not in these knives.. I must admit I find them beautiful, but …
OVERALL GRADE: C-

JAPANESE KNIVES:
Obviously, this is a category which could go on for hundreds of pages.
In general, Japanese knives for professionals are made from Damascus, or layered, high-carbon steel, and are fully or partially handmade.
They are precision tools for top professionals and are horribly easy to damage, very high-maintenance, and useless to anyone other than a specialized chef who really needs these tools.

This being said- I cannot live without my Shun yanagiba, my Masamoto sashimi knife, my “Takobiki”, and my Saiku vegetable knife.

however- I have decided life is not worth living until I get my hands on THIS:
A handmade, Suminagashi Deba ( called“ink on water”- because of the beautiful patterns of the dozens of layers of folded and pounded steel)

Suminagashi Deba : My next big life goal-to own this!!!

Now, as you probably have figured out.. I could beat this subject like a proverbial Dead Horse.
So before Alon beats me, for staying up all night writing about knives…I will leave you with the hope that I have at least given you a desire to go out and improve your knife collection.. And consider yourself warned!!! Once you start down this path of knife obsession.. There’s no going back!!!!!

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If there’s one thing I simply cannot get enough of- it’s oysters!!

Freddy eats an oyster at our wedding

The season has just started this week, so I thought, what better time to write about the celestial joys of the noble Ostreidae ?!
 

First of all- I find it a crying shame that many people here in Israel have never tried an oyster.
It’s a crime! A sin! It’s inexcusable!
I’ve heard people say things like: “You want me to.. eat that thing?!”
But it’s..alive!!” “it’s slippery… slimy!”   “it’s fishy!”
And you know what I say to this?! “NONSENSE!!”

www.rimaolvera.com
( See my blog updates www.rimaolvera.com/blog )

A really fresh oyster is one of the most sublime of culinary delights-
The first of it’s surprises is it’s ability to transport one back in time, to places of happy memory- 
in my case,  I grew up always next to the sea- and some of my happiest times were when I was wading through tide-pools with my dad, him showing me the infinite worlds contained in these saline microcosms- salt spray from the breakers beyond the cliffs misting over us from below, the clean, salty, air full of freshness and life-

THAT is the scent of a really fresh oyster- the ONLY scent, by the way, it should have- If it has even the remotest hint of , let’s say, *ahem*, the beach in Jaffa in summer, or anything similar or worse- Throw it away!

here is a link to Monterey Bay Aquarium- It’s an incredible place, like no where else in the world..
This is the place where I grew up, and my dad, a marine biologist, did a lot of research in this area in the 60’s.
They have one of the world’s top Ocean Research and Conservation Centers there, and I strongly urge you to read about Sustainable Seafood-
Your choices in what you eat from the sea impact the fate of the world’s oceans!

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx

The second of it’s gifts is the delicacy of it’s texture- There is nothing slimy about a fresh oyster! it has a crisp, yet delicate feel, like a perfectly cooked al-dente pasta!

Each type varies in flavour and colour depending on where they are from, the temperature of the water (the colder the water, the better. That’s why the season ends at the first of the warm months, and begins at the end of them.) what type of material it feeds on, and the salinity of the water.

And perhaps the very best of the sensory treasures the oyster will bestow on you, is the unmistakable Frisson of feeling absolutely decadent and privileged when you are eating them!

We are lucky now to be able to get good oysters in Israel- you just have to know where to get them!
I order mine from Moshe Penster, in the Shuk ha’ Carmel- you remember- the guy I recently had the “Night Shuk Sushi Bar” with?!
Here’s his number: 03-510-1863. Make sure you tell him I sent you!
and make sure to specify that you want them only on the day they arrive here from France!

2 Yoezer Ish Habira St.
Jaffa (near the clock)
03-6839115

And make sure to ask Shaul Avron, the charming, sophisticated, and knowledgeable owner, to choose for you an Aligote  (A lovely Bourgogne white wine!) to accompany them!

I had a 2004 Aligote over there recently (by the way, 2004 and 2007 are two of the very best vintages for Aligote in recent years..) which blew my mind!
it actually TASTED like a plate of fresh oysters! Whoah!!

Another wine which goes great with oysters (besides Champagne,obviously.. And I mean CHAMPAGNE, not Cava!!) is Sancerre, as I mentioned before.
It is just perfect.
And a really top-notch French Rose (NOT Israeli- sorry- not dry enough at all)  is excellent, too. As a matter of fact, there is a Rose de Sancerre!

As for different kinds- well, that would take a whole separate post to really get into-
and as usual- this post has gotten out of hand!
so let’s say I will continue this tomorrow.. and include lots more details, links, and places to go.. both in France, and in California..  so see you tomorrow!!!

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Whoah!! It was the Night Shuk at the Carmel market on Monday and Tuesday- and we decided to turn Moshe’s Fish shop into “Moshe Sushi Bar”-

And man alive!  did we have fun!!

I must admit- business was a little slow at first- I don’t think the, ahem, “clientele”, was prepared to see a sushi bar in the middle of the Carmel! With a crazy American with a wild hair-style and some scary knives, making sushi!

But finally- we came up with a great plan! Give everyone sake!  so that’s exactly what we did, and by the end of the second night, we had all the guys from the bastas in the place!  Everyone standing around, drinking sake and vodka, eating sushi, commenting on everything from politics to what hot girls were walking by! I tell you- it was the place to be!  We had great fresh locus, antias, salmon, fresh shrimps, tobiko, and shiso from my garden! people were going nuts!

and of course, Moshe cracking up everyone with his outrageous stories!! then  Alon jumped in and started helping me make sushi! And of course, more importantly, helping by keeping my glass filled!!

Maybe we ate more sushi than we sold- Maybe we drank most of the sake, too! But we sure had a great time at the Night Shuk Sushi Bar!!  see you there next time!

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Guys-

I think it’s very symbolic that my very first blog post coincides with the fact that this Monday is the very first time that Shuk ha’Carmel is starting the Night Shuk- and I will be at Monterey Bay Aquarium– MAKING SUSHI! and pouring sake! and having fun with one of my best friends, Moshe..

All of you who know me know that is the ONLY place i will buy fish.. and also coincidentally,  because of Moshe and his exquisite fish.. I ended up becoming his friend, and did i tell you he held up one corner of my “Chuppah” when we got married??

And his beautiful speech reduced everyone there to tears??!

well- in any case- I am looking forward with joy to a great Monday night over at the Carmel market… and i am even going to bring some of my precious shiso leaves from my garden! The only ones in Israel!

and remember.. It’s traditional to send the sushi chef a cup of sake to say thanks.. hehehe… so- See you all there!!  7pm-11pm Monday night..

And by the way.. my show, “Duet” is premiering here in Israel on “Arutz ha’Ochel” this Wed. Aug 26 at 10pm..

so I hope you will watch, and let me know (honestly!) what you think …

From the album:
“תכניות חדשות באוגוסט 2009 בערוץ האוכל” by Israel FOOD channel

דואט – Duet הפקת מקור חדשה! בשפה האנגלית!
ימי רביעי, החל ב-26 באוגוסט בשעה 22:00
סדרת יוקרה חדשה מבית היוצר של ענני-תקשורת. שפית-העל רימה אולברה פוצחת באודיסיאה קולינרית חובקת עולם ומתחקה אחר מיטב השפים ומאכליהם. במסגרת בילויים משותפים בני יממה תתלווה אולברה אל אשפי בישול מקומיים שידריכו אותה בנבכי המטבח של ארצם ואף יספקו לה הזדמנות לבשל כמה מן המנות המקומיות בעצמה. בטורקיה תחבור אולברה אל השף ודאט בסארן, בעל מסעדת “פרייה” הנחשבת לאחד המוסדות הקולינריים החשובים באזור. שמו של בסארן יצא למרחוק כמי שאמון על שימורם של מתכונים עות’מאניים אותנטיים וכמומחה לשחזור המדויק של המטבח העות’מאני על שלל תבשיליו המסורתיים. בניס תתלווה אולברה אל השף כריסטיאן פלומייל, בעל מסעדת L’UNIVERS, המחזיקה בכוכב מישלן. אולברה תבלה את היום כולו עם פלומייל, החל מביקור בשוק המקומי, הילוות אל תחנת הרדיו בה מגיש פלומייל את תכניתו הקבועה וכלה בבישול ארוחת יום הולדת ליום הולדתה ה-60 של אימו. אולברה תמשיך בסיוריה הקולינריים-הגלובליים, כאשר תתלווה בהודו אל השף סנג’יב קאפור, הכוכב האולטימטיבי של המטבח ההודי המחזיק ב-15 מסעדות ברחבי העולם, ובאיטליה תתוודע אל השף אליה ריצו ובנו – מתיאו, שניהם מנהלים את מסעדת ‘איל דסקו’, אחת המסעדות הידועות בורונה, המחזיקה בשני כוכבי מישלן.
רימה אולברה מחזיקה כיום בחברת קייטרינג פרטית הפועלת בישראל ובסן פרנסיסקו. בין לקוחותיה של אולברה נמנים ד”ר קארל דג’ראסי ממציא הגלולה למניעת הריון וחתן פרס נובל, וטביתה סורן, כתבת MTV לשעבר. כמו כן תפקדה במהלך ארבע שנים כשפית ראשית במסעדת אנריקוס הקליפורנית בעלת 180 מושבים שהתמחתה בבישול ים תיכוני איכותי.

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