Diet fads come and go, but nutritionists and others who make healthy eating their business agree that the Mediterranean diet is best.
Mediterranean is my favorite ethnic cuisine, so I was excited to attend a product demonstration at Melissa’s Produce last week with Daniella Soofer, representing digital marketing and ecommerce at Sadaf Foods, a line of products I have been using for years.
After the pandemic shuttered Melissa’s in-person food events, it was so good to be back. As usual, Melissa’s chef Tom Fraker presented an elaborate tasting menu, this time featuring Sadaf products alongside Melissa’s high-quality produce that we’ve become accustomed to.
Case in point: hummus made with Sadaf organic sesame tahini and a combination of Melissa’s steamed black-eyed peas and peeled and steamed chickpeas. Besides the usual suspects, the vegetable crudite presentation featured colorful yellow, orange and purple baby carrots and fresh Manzano cherry tomatoes. Chef Tom served chicken and beef skewers, Sadaf basmati rice, Tunisian beef stew, roasted chicken thighs and chicken pita, all seasoned with a variety of Sadaf spice mixtures.
The puff pastries with feta-strawberry filling featured here stole the show.
Feta spread is a new innovation for Sadaf, Soofer told us. “It has the flavor of feta cheese and spreads like cream cheese. You can use it in sweet or savory recipes.”
Sadaf is a family business.
“I’m part of the second generation of our family representing this legacy,” Soofer noted. “The company was started here in Los Angeles in 1982 when two brothers emigrated here. Their goal was to recreate the comforting meals and memories of their homeland, looking for a home-away-from-home through food. They combined traditional ingredients like fenugreek and cardamom with innovative products that have never been seen in the American market before, using our own recipes and homemade ingredients.
“Today we have over 1,000 products that we import from over 18 different countries, each selected for its culinary expertise, and then we also partner with farmers and manufacturers from all over the world, each an expert in their crop,” she added. “The products go through rigorous tests for quality, for authenticity, for taste – everything is grandma approved. We also have a lot of products that cater to dietary preferences, so we have non-GMO lines, organic lines, kosher, halal, just to make sure that all of our customers can purchase our products in confidence.”
As usual Melissa’s served a gorgeous fruit display containing some items I had never tasted before, such as rambutan and lychees, pink pineapple and the best mango I have ever tried.
Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.
PUFF PASTRIES WITH FETA-STRAWBERRY FILLING
From Chef Tom Fraker for Melissa’s Produce
Ingredients:
- 10 ripe strawberries, stems removed, diced small
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 package Sadaf Feta Spread Cheese
- 1 tablespoon Melissa’s Habanero Hot Honey
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon water
- Balsamic glaze, for drizzling
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In bowl, mix strawberries and sugar together and place in refrigerator. In another bowl mix together feta and honey. Set aside.
3. Cut puff pastry into 3-by-3-inch squares. Make a tablespoon-size hole in half of the puff pastries.
4. In small bowl, mix together eggs and water. Combine strawberry mixture and feta mixture.
5. Place 1 piece puff pastry (without the hole) on flat surface. Place a tablespoon of strawberry-feta mixture into center of pastry. Paint edges of pastry with egg mixture and place one of the pastries with a hole over it, crimping edges with a fork. Then brush top with some more egg mixture. Repeat with remaining puff pastry sheets. Place pastries on prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool on rack. To serve, place pastries on platter, drizzle with balsamic glaze, dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve.
