First Time in Israel Part 2

Alon and I drove around the northern countryside of Israel, passed through one small village after another and occasionally came across old ruins like Roman aqua ducts on the side of the roads.  I am obsessed with ancient cultures and this was an amazing treat for me.  I had never seen anything Roman before and felt like crying from the magic of it all.  I felt a strange comfort.  We eventually stopped at this small shop that sold home made olive oil and olive oil products like charming handmade soaps.  Outside the shop there was an old Arab woman selling homemade lubne and flatbread sandwiches.  She was probably in her late 70’s, her face with deep lines that told us she probably had many amazing stories.  The woman did not have many teeth left behind her smiling lips but her grin was so cute you almost didn’t notice.  She made the dough and grilled the bread in front of you on this dome-shaped griddle over an open fire burning some kind of animal dung.  The lubne was thick, creamy, very sour and a bit salty.  The old woman rolled it up like a burrito and handed each of us one.  i can still taste the fresh lubne and flat bread melt in my mouth...  and I crave one to this day when I think about it.

On the drive back to Karmiel, we stopped at a fiend’s house to say hi.  Alon’s friend Ami was hanging out in the small kitchen while his bubbly mother was making pickled watermelon.  I had never heard of pickling watermelon until that day.  It’s watermelon rind and the meat of the fruit pickled in vinegar, sugar, hot chilies, spices and salt.  They are a bit messy to eat but nonetheless amazing and I ate them the whole day I was there.  In Israel watermelon in general is very refreshing and popular, especially when eaten with feta cheese.  Ami’s family immigrated to Israel from Poland after the war, where pickled watermelon is a traditional food.  The pickled watermelon recipe Ami’s mother made was a sweet and spicy pickle, not as sweet as a traditional Polish pickled watermelon.  I am including the recipe she gave me that day, I hope you enjoy the pickles as much as I did!

keep eating!

Here is the recipe my friend Ami’s mother gave me:

For boiling the watermelon rinds:

8 cup water

2 tbls. salt

Pickling juice:

1⁄4 cup kosher salt
1⁄4 cup sugar
3⁄4 tsp. cayenne
1⁄2 tsp. distilled white vinegar
8 cloves peeled garlic, smashed
1⁄2 bunch dill, roots trimmed

 5 whole cloves

1 medium size piece of ginger, lightly peeled and sliced into thick chunks

3 tbls. red chili flakes or 5-6 whole dried chilies
1 2-lb. piece watermelon, rind left on,
 cut into 1"-thick wedges

Method:

Bring water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil over high heat.  Add rind pieces of watermelon and boil for 15 minutes.  Strain and set aside in a bowl.

In a separate saucepan, combine ingredients except watermelon and bring to a boil over med-high heat.  Remove from heat and pour over watermelon and watermelon rinds.  Spoon into a hot sterilized jar leaving about ½ inch space at the top and then seal the jar.  Process the jar in boiling water for 10 minutes.  The pickles should be ready to eat after 24 hours.