Guests at the exclusive Carmel Forest Spa Resort on Mount Carmel first fall in
love with the quiet, relaxing atmosphere, the pampering rooms and spa, as well
as the clean air and magnificent views. But they soon learn to enjoy and look
forward to the innovative healthful dishes served at the resort’s
restaurant.
In charge of the culinary excellence are chef Amir Khalfon
and his capable staff, who are ever creating sumptuous new menu ideas. True to
the new trend of seasonal cuisine, they must change menus every few months and
create new delicacies for returning guests as well.
After receiving
numerous requests from their guests over the years who ask for the recipes, they
decided to publish a cookbook that not only offers the recipes for some of the
resort’s more popular dishes but also conveys the love the staff of Carmel
Forest Spa have for their Garden of Eden on the mountain, the inspiration they
get from the surrounding nature, the trees, the flowers, the fresh morning dew
and their herb garden.
This book is also about the people who make the
spa hotel what it is – the caring kitchen staff behind the steaming pots and hot
ovens, many of them Galilee locals who bring their cooking traditions from home
and combine them with modern techniques and healthful ideas.
The Carmel
Forest Resort’s chef faces a difficult daily challenge when creating his dishes.
The hotel is described as a health resort and spa, meaning that he not only has
to serve his guests top-quality food, but it should also be in accordance with
the dietician’s demands, low fat, low cholesterol, low sodium but high in
healthful nutrients.
The cookbook,
Ya’arot Hacarmel – Love Story (in
Hebrew), is divided into several sections: brunch, salads, starters, soups, main
courses, Druse cuisine, breads and desserts.
MILLION-DOLLAR SALAD Makes 6
servings
This
rich salad earned its nickname due to the quality ingredients.
Rich in herbs, nuts and seeds, it is seasoned with reddish-purple sumac,
a typical spice used in the local cuisine. When in season,
replace the cranberries with pomegranate seeds. The salad is sometimes
served
wrapped in a Druse pita (see photo).
✔ 2 cups 1-cm. slices of green onion
✔ 4 cups parsley leaves, chopped
✔ 2 cups mint, coarsely chopped
✔ 1 cup (100
gr.) roasted almonds, coarsely chopped
✔ 1 cup (100 gr.) roasted peanuts,
coarsely chopped
✔ 1⁄3 cup (50 gr.) roasted shelled sunflower seeds
✔ 1⁄3 cup
(50 gr.) roasted shelled pumpkin seeds
✔ 1 cup (100 gr.) dried cranberries
Dressing:
✔ 1⁄2 cup olive oil
✔ 1⁄3 cup lemon juice
✔ 1 Tbsp. sumac
✔ Salt and
freshly ground black pepper
In a jar with a screw-on lid, shake together all the
dressing ingredients well.
To assemble the salad: Place all the
ingredients in a large bowl, toss, pour 1⁄2 the dressing, toss and taste. Add
more dressing if necessary.
VEGETABLE SPRING ROLL Makes 6 
This starter is
delicious and easy to prepare and is great when entertaining.
The rice
sheets, once hard to find here, are now sold in many supermarkets.
They
keep well for a long time. All you need to do before preparing the dish is wet
them.
✔ 6 rice sheets
✔ 6 leaves of iceberg lettuce
✔ Chives (optional)
Vegetable filling:
✔ 200 gr. rice noodles, soaked in water
✔ 2 carrots, peeled
and julienned
✔ 1 cup Chinese sprouts
✔ 2 cucumbers, seeds removed, and
julienned
✔ 4 green onions, thinly sliced
✔ 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
✔ 10 mint leaves
✔ 10 basil leaves
✔ 1 cup (100 gr.) roasted and ground peanuts
✔ 1 tsp. dark
sesame oil
✔ Salt
✔ Freshly ground black pepper
✔ Pinch chili flakes
For the soy
dip: ✔ 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
✔ 1 Tbsp. sweet chili sauce
✔ 1 tsp. peanut butter
✔ 1
tsp. dark sesame oil
✔ 1 tsp. sugar
To prepare the dip: Mix all ingredients
together in a closed jar. Shake until blended.
To prepare the filling:
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
To assemble the dish: Soak
the rice sheets in water for 10-20 seconds until softened and pliable. Remove
from water and place on a clean towel. Place a lettuce leaf on the rice sheet,
add 1 Tbsp of the filling and roll.
Place on the side, covered with damp
towel to avoid drying. Prepare all the rolls.
When ready to serve: Slice
each roll into 3-cm. thick slices. Tie each slice with a chive (see photo).
Serve with the dip on the side.
If preparing a long time ahead of
serving, the chef suggests wrapping each slice with a lettuce leaf, to keep them
from drying up, and tie with a chive.
CRISPY TUNA IN TERIYAKI SAUCE Makes
4 
This dish is another hit among guests. It combines opposing tastes and
textures to create that Asian magic. The ingredients are readily available in
Asian and healthfood shops, as well as some supermarkets.
✔ 5 fresh
skinless tuna steaks (160 gr. each)
✔ 4 nori seaweed leaves
✔ 1 cup (240 ml.)
corn or canola oil, for frying
For the marinade: ✔ 2 Tbsp. white miso
✔ 1 Tbsp.
mirin (sweetened rice wine)
✔ 1 Tbsp. sake (rice wine)
✔ 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
✔ 2
Tbsp. water
✔ Pinch chili flakes For the crust:
✔ 1 cup (120 gr.) panko bread
crumbs
✔ 1 cup (140 gr.) flax seeds
✔ 1 cup (100 gr.) ground almonds
✔ 1 Tbsp.
sesame seeds
For the sauce: ✔ 4 geranium leaves
✔ 3 Tbsp. sugar
✔ Pinch chili flakes
✔ 1 cup
(240 ml.) dry white wine
✔ 2 Tbsp. mirin
✔ 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
✔ 2 Tbsp. water
✔ 6 Tbsp. soy sauce
✔ 1 Tbsp. corn starch mixed with 2-3 Tbsp. water
To prepare
marinade: Bring all the ingredients to a boil and cook, while mixing, until
smooth. Remove from heat and cool. When cold, place the fish in the
marinade, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
To prepare the sauce:
Caramelize the sugar in a pan, add chili and geranium leaves, add wine and cook
until reduced to half. Add the vinegar, water and soy sauce, bring to a boil and
reduce. If necessary, thicken with 1 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 3 Tbsp.
water.
Just before serving, place each tuna steak on one nori seaweed
leaf and roll like a cigar. Wet the outer side of the nori with the
marinade.
Mix the panko bread crumbs with the flax seeds and sesame
seeds. Dip each wrapped tuna steak in the crumb mixture.
Heat oil in a
skillet and fry the wrapped tuna steaks 2 minutes on each side or until
crunchy.
To serve: Slice each steak into 1-cm. slices and arrange
overlapping. Pour sauce on top. The chef suggests serving this dish with boiled
white rice.
CARMEL RESORT SPA GOULASH Makes 8-10 portions This warming
soup is really a complete meal. The secret to any good goulash, says the chef,
is to know the exact time to add the potatoes. The secret is to avoid
overcooking them, which results in the potatoes disintegrating in the soup, but
to make sure they’re cooked long enough so they absorb all the flavors. He says
the caraway seeds are a must.
✔ 2 large onions, chopped
✔ 3-4 Tbsp.
canola oil
✔ 1 carrot, peeled and diced
✔ 1 celery stick diced
✔ 4 cloves
garlic, minced
✔ 2 fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced
✔ 2 Tbsp. sweet paprika
✔ 1⁄2 kg. stewing beef, cubed*
✔ 100 gr. smoked goose breast, diced
✔ Salt and
freshly ground pepper
✔ 1 heaped Tbsp. tomato paste
✔ 3 liter chicken or
vegetable stock or water
✔ 1 tsp. ground caraway seeds
✔ 1 tsp. cumin
✔ 2-3
large potatoes (about 1⁄2 kg.), peeled and cut into 1 cm. cubes
Garnish: ✔ Lemon
zest
✔ 1⁄2 bunch chopped coriander
*Use shoulder No. 5 or cut No. 8
Heat oil in
a large pot and sauté onions for 8 minutes, until golden. Add celery and carrot
and continue cooking 3 more minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes and paprika and
continue cooking 3 more minutes, while stirring all the time. Be careful not to
burn the vegetables.
Add the meat and goose cubes, season with salt and
pepper, and brown the meat. The fat from the goose should melt, but you can add
a little oil if it is not enough. Add the tomato paste and continue cooking 1-2
minutes.
Pour the stock into the pot and bring to a boil. Season, cover
and cook for an hour and a half over low heat until meat is tender. Add
the potato and cook 30 more minutes or until ready. Taste and adjust the
seasoning.
Serve in soup bowls with chopped coriander leaves and a little
lemon zest.
CHICKEN STEW WITH FENNEL AND SAFFRON Makes 6 Before you
start, make sure to have Persian pickled lemon and saffron on hand – two
ingredients that are not always stocked in most kitchens but add unsurpassed
flavor.
Together with the root vegetables, this will soon become a
favorite winter chicken dish to be served for special guests.
✔ 4 chicken
thighs, divided
✔ 3 Tbsp. olive oil
✔ 2 onions, cubed
✔ 1 fennel bulb, diced
✔ 1
celery root, peeled and diced
✔ 1 parsley root, peeled and diced
✔ 2 carrots,
peeled and diced
✔ 1 celery stick, diced
✔ 4 cloves garlic, peeled
✔ 1 liter
chicken stock
✔ A few saffron strings, soaked in a little water
✔ 1 Tbsp. silan
✔ 2 Persian lemons, halved or punctured
✔ 2 bay leaves
✔ Salt and pepper
PINCH
CHILI FLAKES Heat oil in a wide pot and brown the chicken for 10 minutes,
turning so all sides brown. Add onion and cook until it is golden. Add the rest
of the vegetables and the garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt and
pepper. Pour the chicken stock and add the saffron, the silan, bay leaves and
Persian lemon. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour or
until done to your taste.
Serve with white rice or couscous.
AUNT
MIRIAM’S ENERGY ROLL 
There are many dessert ideas in the cookbook, but we chose
one that is very easy to make and is filled with goodness. Miriam is chef
Khalfon’s aunt.
✔ 750 gr. (1 and a half packages) vacuumpacked seedless
dates
✔ 1⁄2 cup honey
✔ 1 cup whole roasted hazelnuts
✔ 100 gr. roasted chopped
walnuts
✔ 100 gr. roasted pistachio nuts, chopped
✔ 100 gr. roasted almonds,
chopped
Coating: ✔ 3 Tbsp. oil
✔ 200 gr. roasted sesame seeds
Cook dates and honey in a small pot over medium heat until soft and
smooth.
Add nuts, mix well and remove from heat. Refrigerate for
two hours.
Oil a work surface. Divide the mixture into three and form
sausage-like lengths 31⁄2 cm. in diameter. Place the sesame seeds in a deep
plate and dip the rolls in the sesame until covered well.
Wrap the rolls
in aluminum foil and freeze.
To serve: Remove from freezer and slice into
1⁄2-cm. slices.
Variation: Make small balls from the mixture and dip in
either sesame or coconut flakes. They are a great substitute for chocolate
truffles.
Recipes and photos courtesy of Carmel Forest Spa
Resort.
The cookbook Ya’arot Hacarmel – Love Story costs NIS 128 and is
available at the Carmel Forest Spa Resort, the Royal Beach Eilat and the
Beresheet Hotel in Mitzpe Ramon, as well as by phone: (04) 830-7872.