Self-taught restaurateur Haya Molcho and her sons created an empire within just a few years. She has long been on everyone’s lips with her Israeli dishes. There are now twelve NENI restaurants in Europe, as well as a number of cookbooks and delicacies that are available in supermarkets. Molcho is a true power woman. If the day has been particularly strenuous, then there is only one thing for her: Shakshuka. It’s one of her favorite comfort foods. Here she reveals her recipe for that little extra power.
Chef Haya Molcho reinterprets the Israeli national dish and gives it a special twist. In this recipe, the tomatoes are replaced by concentrated green power in the form of spinach, leeks and peas! The chef’s special tip – wild garlic: “It grows everywhere now. Just pick it and add it.”
The shopping list for 4-6 portions
100 g leek30 g butter250 g leaf spinach25 g parsley25 ml creamSea salt1 small fennel bulb2 spring onions1 tbsp olive oil plus oil for drizzling50 g kashkawal or alternatively butter cheese20 g Parmesan (plus Parmesan for garnish)6 eggsSourdough bread for serving
Halve the leek lengthwise and clean. Then cut into one centimeter wide strips. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the leek and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes until soft. Remove from heat and let cool.
Clean spinach and remove thick stems. Set aside about 50g of the leaves. Blanch the remaining spinach with parsley (including the stems) in boiling salted water for ten seconds, strain and rinse immediately with ice-cold water. Then express carefully.
Puree the leek, spinach-parsley mixture, cream and 75 ml water with a hand blender or in a stand mixer until creamy. Season with salt.
Halve the fennel, remove the stalk and cut the bulb into thin slices. Clean the spring onions and cut them in half crosswise. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and lightly fry spring onions and fennel for three minutes. Salt and set aside on a plate.
In the same pan, add the spinach that has been set aside and add one to two tablespoons of water. Salt and first distribute the spinach mixture, then the fennel and spring onions evenly on top. Grate the Kashkawal cheese and Parmesan coarsely and sprinkle over the vegetables.
Form six wells with a spoon and crack an egg into each well. Add salt, especially the yolks, and cook, covered, for four to five minutes, until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny (like a poached egg).
Grate more Parmesan over the eggs. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with fresh bread.
The recipe for Green Shakshuka is from Haya Molcho’s cookbook “Tel Aviv. Food–People–Stories”, published by Brandstätter Verlag.
