Iron Chef- Israel Style

Iron Chef- Israel Style

Supplies:

·  Flour

·  Salt

·  Water

·  Sugar

·  Instant Yeast

·  Oil

·  Raisins

·  Pepper

·  Garlic

·  Honey

·  Lemon Juice

·  Tomatoes

·  Cucumbers

·  Red bell pepper

·  Olive Oil

·  Lemon Juice

·  Salt

·  Pepper

·  Grill

·  Aluminum Foil

·  Bowls for mixing

·  Spoons for mixing

·  Hummus

·  Plates

*Green denotes ingredient for the pita and Red denotes ingredient for the Israeli salad.

Overview:

As everyone enters the room, they will be split into groups of eight. The participants will have fifteen minutes to create their dough for the pita. After the dough has been made, we will take each group’s dough and grill them until they are ready to be served. While the pita is being cooked, the participants will make Israeli salad as a side item. We will then serve each group their pita with the homemade hummus, and the judges will taste each group’s pita to determine which group holds CLTC’s best chefs.

Possibility:

This program could also be made into an educational program on the laws of Kashrut and the typical Jewish foods along with their origins. We could start the program with about a ten-minute presentation on Jewish foods and cooking and then move into the Iron Chef activity itself.

Conclusion:

The program would last about forty-five minutes and be rather messy, but it would be a fun and interesting experience for the participants.

Recipes:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon sugar or honey

1 packet yeast (or, if from bulk, 2 teaspoons yeast)

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water, roughly at room temperature

2 tablespoons oil

Otherwise, mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the olive oil and 1 1/4 cup water and stir together with a wooden spoon. All of the ingredients should form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water. Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface, such as a cutting board, and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes (or until your hands get tired). (The purpose of kneading is to thoroughly combine the ingredients and to break down the flour so that the dough will become stretchy and elastic and rise well in the oven. A simple hand kneading technique is to firmly press down on the dough with the palm of your hand, fold the dough in half toward you like you are closing an envelope, rotate the dough 90 degrees and then repeat these steps, but whatever technique you are comfortable using should work.) When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. Send to the Grill! Grill at a medium heat until the pita is actually cooked.