With the weather getting cold, I was in the mood for meat. So for inspiration I looked toward two young chefs, Nadav Netzer and Elad Levy, who opened a restaurant called Meat Kitchen a few months ago. The two of them wanted to create a kosher meat restaurant that serves a variety of classical European-style meat, mixed in with Middle East delicacies. The following are three of their favorites. The first one, an appetizer, is a salad with sirloin and pomegranate seeds or figs. The second is leg of lamb and pomegranate seeds, and the third is spicy lamb chops. These dishes are not difficult to prepare, but they do require a long cooking time in the oven. In other words, the oven does the hard work while we get to rest. I suggest cooking the meat in aesthetic pans so that they can be brought straight from the oven to the table. Once you've selected a choice piece of meat, the next step is to let it soak up a marinade in the fridge for a few hours. In the meantime, you can prepare the vegetables and the spice rub which will impart flavor and allow the meat to become crispy and achieve a beautiful hue. Then you can rub the spice mixture into the meat, place the vegetables around the meat in the tray, cover it, and voilà! It's ready for the oven. This dish makes quite an impression when you bring it to the table. These dishes go superbly with rice or potatoes and a nice crisp salad. Bon appetit! Salad with sirloin and pomegranate seeds or figs Makes 8-10 servings Ingredients: ■ 300 gr. fresh sirloin ■ 1 Tbsp. olive oil ■ ½ tsp. black pepper ■ 1 Tbsp. coarse salt ■ ¾ cup pomegranate seeds or 8 figs cut into quarters ■ 1 package baby leaf mix ■ 8 yellow cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters ■ 8 red cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters ■ 10 micro basil leaves or micro peas ■ 5 basil leaves ■ 6 radishes, cut into quarters ■1 shallot, cut into thin rings ■ 4 Tbsp. olive oil ■ Juice from a medium lemon ■ 1 tsp. salt ■ 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar Directions: To prepare the sirloin, heat a frying pan over a high flame. Rub olive oil into the meat and then season with salt and pepper. Sear the meat on each side for two minutes, then remove it from the pan and let it cool down for one hour. After it has cooled, slice it into 1 cm. thin slices. To prepare the salad, add all the ingredients except for the meat and the vinegar in a large bowl and mix. On a large serving platter, arrange the salad and then on top place the meat slices and vegetables. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and decorate with pomegranate seeds and figs. Leg of lamb and pomegranate seeds Makes 8-10 servings Ingredients: ■ 3-5 kg. fresh leg of lamb ■ 10 shallots, whole and peeled ■ 2 parsley roots, cut lengthwise ■ 2 celery roots, cut into large pieces ■ 2 sweet potatoes, cut into large cubes or slices For marinade: ■ ½ cup silan (date syrup) ■ 4 garlic cloves, crushed ■ 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves ■ ½ bunch fresh basil leaves, chopped finely ■ 1 Tbsp. coarse salt ■ 1 tsp. black pepper ■ 2 Tbsp. pomegranate concentrate For sauce: ■ 2 cups dry red wine ■ Seeds of ½ pomegranate ■ 1 stick of cinnamon For garnish: ■ ¼ cup pomegranate seeds Directions: To prepare marinade, mix ingredients in a large bowl. Add the lamb and massage with marinade. Cover and let lamb marinate for three hours. To prepare the sauce, pour the wine, pomegranate seeds, and cinnamon stick into a small pan. Bring to a boil and then lower flame and continue cooking for 15 minutes, mixing every few minutes. If you prefer to have a smooth sauce, you can remove pomegranate seeds. To prepare the meat, place lamb and marinade in a large, wide pan, and then arrange the cut vegetables around the meat. Pour on the sauce, cover with baking paper and then close with aluminum foil. Bake at150˚ for 3½ hours. About 15 minutes before it's done, remove the foil and baking paper and turn up the temperature to 200˚. Serve lamb straight from the oven. Spicy lamb chops Makes 8-10 servings Ingredients: ■ 5 kg. whole lamb breast from the butcher (this cut includes bones, which is why you need so much) For the marinade: ■ 2 red chili peppers, finely chopped ■ 2 Tbsp. garlic, crushed ■ 6 Tbsp. pitted dates, finely chopped (you can leave a few halved) ■ 2 Tbsp. honey ■ 1 cup olive oil ■ 1 Tbsp. ground black pepper ■ 2 Tbsp. coarse salt ■ 4 Tbsp. Dijon mustard with seeds ■ 2 Tbsp. thyme leaves For garnish: ■ ½ cup micro peas ■ ½ cup micro basil Directions: Prepare the marinade, mix all the ingredients in a wide bowl until smooth. Place the lamb in a deep dish and then cover with marinade. Cover with baking paper and then aluminum, and seal well so that it's airtight. Bake at 150˚ for 3 hours. Remove from oven and take off foil and baking paper. Adorn with micro peas and micro basil and serve. Pear, maple and cinnamon crumble If you're tired of apple crumble, making a pie with pears and maple syrup can be a nice change. It's very easy – all you have to do is cover the fruit with a crispy crumble. Use a 24-cm. tart pan or individual cupcake pans. Ingredients: For the crumble: ■ 200 gr. white flour, sifted ■ 200 gr. margarine or butter, room temperature, cut into cubes ■ ¼ tsp. salt ■ 100 gr. light brown sugar ■ 2 Tbsp. oatmeal ■ ½ cup pecans For pears: ■ 50 gr. margarine or butter, cut into cubes ■ 7 pears, peeled and cut into large cubes ■ 1 tsp lemon juice ■ ½ tsp. cinnamon ■ ¹⁄3 cup maple syrup ■ 1 tsp. lemon zest, grated ■ 2 Tbsp. candied ginger, chopped Serving suggestion: ■ Parve vanilla ice-cream Directions: To prepare the crumble, put the flour, butter, salt and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer, and pulse until mixed. Add the oatmeal and pecans and continue to pulse. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. To prepare the pears, melt the margarine or butter in a frying pan and fry the pears for a few minutes. Add the lemon juice, cinnamon, maple syrup, lemon zest and ginger. Stir it for a minute or two until the sugar dissolves and covers the pears. Turn off the flame. Pour pears into an oven-proof dish and flatten. Sprinkle crumble mixture on top. Bake at 180˚ C for 20 minutes until golden brown and pears are bubbling. Serve pear crumble with a scoop of ice cream. Translated by Hannah Hochner
Salad with sirloin and pomegranate seeds or figs(photo credit: PASCALE PEREZ-RUBIN)