possible, after you visit mashda. it s a restaurant in what looks like an idyllic village in the judean hills about twenty minutes from jerusalem. it feels like an alternate universe for a number of reasons. anthony: michal balanes is of jewish. jakob bahrun is muslim from a nearby village. they re partners, co-owners of mashda and also married. they re unsurprisingly friend s of yotam. together, they grow and raise much of what s used in their kitchen. their food reflects both their different backgrounds and their commonalities. yotam: we re going to spoil you now. anthony: yeah, here we go. anthony: so you grew up in this town? jakob: yes, in this village.
like provence, it s like italy, and we say, no, it s in jaffa. yotam: you like cochrin? anthony: i do. roasted tomatoes, okra? yotam: onion and mint. and that s all it is. and what they do a lot here is just char the hell out of it. so it s like, it really is, it s really smoky just from being in the pan over very high heat. yotam: it s so good together. anthony: so generally speaking, who lives in this area? mostly arab, ethnically arab in this particular town? jakob: muslims, yes. dyotam: only muslim. jakob: just michal, jewish. only jewish here. yotam: michal is the only jewish in the village. anthony: and this? yotam: that s another zucchini that s been grilled, and then we use the dried yogurt so that s the sauce. so it s that intense goaty flavor. very typical for palestinian cooking, right?
fried eggs, sunny side up. anthony: farm eggs with peppers from your garden, tomato. that looks awesome, beyond words. it is incredibly beautiful here. i don t know why i didn t expect that. michal: you know, a lot of people come and say, it s like provence, it s like italy, and we say, no, it s in jaffa. yotam: you like okra? anthony: i do. roasted tomatoes, okra? yotam: onion and mint. and that s all it is. and what they do a lot here is just char the hell out of it. so it s like, it really is, it s really smoky just from being in the pan over very high heat. yotam: it s so good together. anthony: so generally speaking, who lives in this area? mostly arab, ethnically arab in this particular town? jakob: muslims, yes. yotam: only muslim.
kitchen. their food reflects both their different backgrounds and their commonalities. yotam: we re going to spoil you now. anthony: yeah, here we go. so you grew up in this town? jakob: yes, in this village. anthony: where did you grow up? netanya, near the beach. anthony: near the beach. not, not the neighborhood. jakob: but we met in the neighborhood. and we were together in hotel. anthony: how did that go down with the families? jakob: wonderful now. now, wonderful. anthony: now good. jakob: yes. very good. anthony: at the beginning not so much. jakob: started it yes, with the questions versus the answers, and start to understand that we love each other, and they can do nothing. so we continue. and they support us. yotam: this is your special
jakob: just michal, jewish. only jewish here. yotam: michal is the only jewish in the village. anthony: and this? yotam: that s another zucchini that s been grilled, and then we use the dried yogurt so that s the sauce. so it s that intense kind of goaty flavor. very typical for palestinian cooking, right? michal: yes. anthony: oh man, that s good. i just had this incredibly delicious meal, completely oblivious to the fact that it s entirely vegetarian. if any of the vegetarian restaurants in new york served food that tasted anywhere near this i would be, i would actually yotam: go there. anthony: well, i mean i m i d consider it. and this? michal: fresh zucchini with mint. yotam: and apricots. the little sweet apricots we had. anthony: now, all of this food is really intensely delicious. are you hopeful? michal: of course, i have my