AI-generated image
Ziva
Cheese and olive pastry
Ziva (זיוה): flaky Yemenite-style pastry with salty cheese and olives
IsraeliZiva is a Tel Aviv café and bakery invention built on Yemenite malawach dough: flaky layers wrapped around salty white cheese and olives, baked until golden and served with grated tomato, zhug and a hard-boiled egg. You find it at weekend brunch in Jaffa and in the Yemenite Quarter, eaten with knife and fork. The pastry should shatter into buttery flakes against a soft, salty, melting centre. Feta and Bulgarian-style white cheeses are often made with animal rennet, so choose one labelled vegetarian if that matters to you. The usual mistake is overfilling, which makes the cheese leak and the base soggy. Chef's tip: use frozen ready-made malawach rounds straight from the freezer; they are much easier to fold while still firm.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the pastries
- 4 frozen malawach roundsor puff pastry squares of 20 cm
- 5 ½ oz feta or Bulgarian white cheesecrumbled; choose a vegetarian (non-animal-rennet) cheese
- 2 ⅞ oz grated mozzarellavegetarian rennet
- 2 ⅛ oz pitted green olivessliced
- 1 eggbeaten
- 1 tsp nigella seeds (optional)
To serve
- 3 ripe tomatoesgrated, skins discarded
- 1 pinch salt
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 400°F and line a tray. Mix 5 ½ oz feta or Bulgarian white cheese, 2 ⅞ oz grated mozzarella and 2 ⅛ oz pitted green olives.
Step 2: Lay a frozen 4 frozen malawach rounds round on the tray and leave for 2 minutes until just bendable. Put a quarter of the filling in the centre.
2 minStep 3: Fold the edges over the filling to make a square parcel, pressing the seams. Turn it seam side down. Repeat with the rest.
8 minStep 4: Brush with 1 egg and sprinkle with 1 tsp nigella seeds.
Step 5: Bake for 25–30 minutes, until puffed, deep golden and crisp on the base.
30 minStep 6: Season the grated 3 ripe tomatoes with 1 pinch salt. Serve the ziva hot with the tomato and 4 tsp zhug (green chilli sauce) on the side.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 18 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 38 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ziva take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of grated mozzarella?
- Provolone or a mild cheddar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of egg?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
SakarpadaSweet fried dough diamonds
Sakarpada (shakarpara) are little sweet diamonds of a rich dough made with ghee, milk and sugar, fried until golden and crunchy. They are a Diwali favourite with tea, and the cubes go into bhusu too. They keep for weeks in an air-tight tin.
Indian
Yaki onigiriGrilled rice balls
Yaki onigiri (焼きおにぎり) are rice balls grilled until they form a crisp, toasty crust, then brushed with soy sauce glaze. They are eaten all over Japan, at izakaya, at barbecues and from the freezer section, as a snack or with miso soup. The inside stays soft and steamy while the outside crackles. Best eaten hot, straight from the pan. Chef's tip: let the shaped rice balls dry for 10 minutes before they go in the pan. A drier surface forms a better crust and won't stick, and the glaze goes on only at the end so it doesn't burn.
Japanese
Taiwanese grilled corn
At Raohe and Shilin night markets the grilled-corn stalls are easy to find: look for the queue and the smoky, sweet smell. Cobs are par-cooked, then turned slowly over charcoal while the cook brushes them with a dark glaze of sacha sauce, thick soy paste, garlic and chilli, layer after layer, until the kernels are sticky, slightly charred and deeply savoury. It is eaten hot from a paper sleeve while walking the market. Sacha (shacha) sauce, a Taiwanese barbecue paste, usually contains dried fish and shrimp; vegetarian sacha is sold in Asian shops. Contains soy, wheat and fish. Chef's tip: brush thin coats and turn often; one thick coat burns before the corn chars.
Taiwanese