Before I left for my trip to Israel with Steven, I had a meeting with the California Pistachio Board. They were planning a lunch at my restaurant Chi Spacca to showcase recipes I was developing that highlighted pistachios. I told them I would soon be on my way to Israel and would return with at least one Israeli recipe to add to the mix because I knew that the pistachio was the peanut of not only Israel but the entire Middle East. Indeed, pistachios were sold at nearly every market I visited in Israel and were widely deployed—and enjoyed—in many dishes. This particular recipe was inspired by the falafel I ate at the wonderful Arab market in Akko. It was so striking that after asking the falafel man what spices were involved, I went to the spice guy at the same market and requested that he recreate the blend. I was a bit concerned that he would not be able to duplicate the mix. But it turned out that my request was not unique. He quickly began grinding away as if he had done this a thousand times. My request was merely the one thousand first.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 6–10 servings

　　1 tablespoon ground cumin

　　1 tablespoon ground coriander

　　1 tablespoon dried ground basil

　　1 tablespoon dried ground marjoram

　　1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary

　　2 1/2 teaspoons turmeric

　　2 cups (300 g) whole peeled garlic cloves

　　2 cups (475 ml) olive oil

　　6 dried hot red chilies, such as chilies de árbol or pequin chilies

　　4 cups (500 g) unsalted pistachios in the shell

　　1 teaspoon salt

　　

Step 1

Combine the first six ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside the "falafel" spice.

　　

Step 2

Line a plate with paper towels, Using a mandolin with a safety attachment to protect your fingers, cut the garlic cloves into paper-thin slices. Pour olive oil into a medium-size heavy skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add the garlic slices and cook until crisp and light golden brown; do not burn or the garlic and oil will be unusable. Remove from the heat. Using a slotted utensil, immediately transfer the garlic chips to the prepared plate to drain. Reserve the garlic-cooking oil.

　　

Step 3

Add the chilies and 2 tablespoons of the reserved garlic-cooking oil (save the remainder for another use) to a large heavy skillet. Set over medium-high heat. Add the pistachios and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the "falafel" spice and salt and stir until the pistachios are coated with spice and heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer the pistachios and chilies to a serving bowl. Add the garlic chips and toss well. Serve warm or at room temperature.

　　Text and photograph by Steven Rothfeld from Israel Eats © 2016 by Steven Rothfeld. Buy the full book from Amazon.Reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith.