Oh, I could go on about Israeli food all day…
Israeli food has been influenced a lot by Europe and other countries because Israel is a immigrant state and also, a lot of Europeans fleeing from the Nazis came to Israel at the end of WWII.
What I consider to be a classic Israeli food definitley has European origins: Breaded Chicken Shnitzel with couse-couse. Variations of this include shnitzel with pttitim; a type of pasta made up of small grains much like rice, or farfalleh; similar to pttitim but with a more porridge-like texture to it.
I can think of no better meal, and this dish in paticular excites me - it is a personal favourite and is very special to me.
Another well-known dish is Fallouwach - a thin, multi-layered pancake of dough, usually served with a sauce of pulped tomatoes.
These two are more like fast food than the others, but I think they deserve a mention:
Falafel - small balls made of chickpeas
Shawarma - Shavings of meat served in a pitta bread with salad. It’s popular throughout the Middle East.
Finally I have to mention a food that is not an Israeli dish but the obvious favourite of every Jewish grandmother - chicken soup! Usually loaded with dill and served with either kneidlach or noodles, this makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
These are my own opinions on what I think are some of most predominant foods in Israel, even though some of them certainly arent unique to the place. I haven’t mentioned a national dish bcause I’m not sure what it is. I’ve used my own spelling, and “ch” is pronounced as in “Chaim”.
By the way, my brother says that if Israel has a national food, it is Hummus, which I completely forgot about. The chick pea paste is extremely popular both at day-to-day meals and at special occasions.