Food & Wine USA – September 2019

112 SEPTEMBER 2019

TEL AVIV’S CARMEL MARKET, a ragtag assembly of tarp-covered stalls also simply

known as the shuk (meaning “market”), isn’t just my daily shopping routine;

it’s my community. When I relocated to Israel almost four years ago, I found an

instant home, one where vendors quickly came to know me as an early-hours

buyer with lots of questions—and an equal number of chuckle-inducing Hebrew-

language mistakes. I love the emptiness of the morning market and the bonus

that I’m inevitably someone’s siftach, or first sale, a transaction revered as a

talisman of good luck for the day of hand-to-hand commerce ahead. And in a

place that can sometimes focus more on division than unity, the shuk is a quiet

example of coexistence and the healthiest form of codependence. On Muslim

holidays many stalls stand empty, with some of my favorite familiar faces absent.

When they return, the energy of the shuk is at full tilt, proof that in Israel, the

sum is always greater than its parts.

That’s certainly the case during mishmish (apricot) season, when I like to

pick up the ephemeral stone fruit from my favorite vendors, both Jewish and

Arab. To protect the fragile fruit, they’re arranged in plastic bins and covered

with red netting, but my status as a regular grants me special privileges: I’m

allowed to hand-select, piece by piece, the fruit that will go into my mother’s

famous kuchen recipe. She always had some version of this easy dessert on

repeat. There’s something about the way the sweet crust, somewhere between

cobbler topping and a sugar cookie, melds with whatever filling you throw at

it that makes it irresistible. —Adeena Sussman, author of Sababa: Fresh, Sunny

Flavors from My Israeli Kitchen

FINDING A

HOME AT

THE SHUK

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift flour,^1 / 2 cup
   sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt
   into bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the
   paddle attachment. Add butter, and beat
   on medium speed until ingredients are
   mostly incorporated, about 1 minute. Add
   egg, and beat on medium-high speed until
   ingredients are completely incorporated
   and dough starts to form a ball, about 30
   seconds.


2. Transfer dough to a work surface, and
   gather into a ball. Press about 1^1 / 4 cups of
   the dough into a lightly greased 9- to
   10-inch tart pan with removable bottom,
   pressing evenly onto bottom and up
   fluted sides. (Use a straight-sided mea-
   suring cup or a small straight rolling pin
   lightly coated with cooking spray to make
   a smooth and even surface on bottom.)
   Wrap remaining dough in plastic wrap,
   and chill with dough in pan 15 minutes.
   Arrange apricots, cut sides up, on chilled
   tart dough in bottom of pan, pressing
   slightly. Unwrap remaining dough; divide
   into 8 portions. Shape each dough por-
   tion into a ball (about 1^1 / 2 teaspoons each),
   and arrange dough balls over apricots in
   pan. Sprinkle with remaining 2 table-
   spoons sugar.


3. Bake in preheated oven until golden
   and dough is crisp, about 35 minutes.
   Transfer tart to a wire rack, and let cool
   30 minutes.


4. Meanwhile, beat cream in a stand
   mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on
   medium-high speed until soft peaks form,
   about 1 minute. Add labneh and powdered
   sugar, and beat until just combined, about
   10 seconds.


5. Remove pan rim from tart, and cut into
   slices. Serve with labneh whipped cream.

Apricot Kuchen with Labneh

Whipped Cream

ACTIVE 35 MIN; TOTAL 1 HR 30 MIN

SERVES 8

This simple, sweet cake is studded with

juicy, tart apricots and served with a tangy

labneh whipped cream. Frozen apricot

halves will work when fresh are unavail-

able, as will many fruits as the seasons

change. Try grapes, apples, or nectarines.

11 /^4 cups all-purpose flour

(about 5^3 / 8 oz.)

(^1) / 2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar,
divided, plus more to taste if
apricots are tart
1 Tbsp. fine cornmeal or semolina
2 tsp. baking powder
(^1) / 4 tsp. fine sea salt
(^1) / 2 cup unsalted butter (4 oz.), at room
temperature
1 large egg
1 lb. fresh apricots (about 8 small or
6 medium), halved or quartered
(^2) / 3 cup heavy cream
(^1) / 2 cup labneh or plain whole-milk
Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar