Ifat Kafry Hindes flies flag for tasty and healthy Israeli food in Hong Kong

Ifat Kafry Hindes makes deliciously healthy dinner or brunch dishes from her homeland, Israel. She will come to your home or diners can visit her two-storey Sai Kung home, nestled between the mountains and a small bay.

“I have an open kitchen set-up, and it’s easy to walk from the dining table to the kitchen,” Hindes says. “Most bookings are for Israeli brunches, so I create an Israeli-inspired brunch, a little different every time.”

Her inspired dishes come from her healthy lifestyle. We start with a gluten-free pizza, possibly the healthiest and tastiest I have ever tasted. It’s the first time she has made it. “We went to Israel this summer, to visit family, and I get a lot of inspiration from my roots.” The home-made gluten-free base is infused with garlic and pesto. She tops the base with mashed avocado, mesclun salad, Jerusalem artichokes, feta cheese, olives, parsley and balsamic vinaigrette - it is light, with a salt and sweet balance.

We try another of Hindes’ creations, shakshuka, made with spinach and cream sauce. “A traditional shakshuka is with tomato sauce, which I made, too. You cook the tomatoes, peppers and onions until it gets mushy. Then you add some seasoning, you break the eggs on top, and you bake it for about 15 minutes,” says Hindes, who started her culinary career baking gluten-free breads and pastries in an effort to help her husband eat healthier foods.

“We went for three weeks eating unprocessed foods, all gluten-free and as whole as possible. He lost a lot of weight, his dermatitis had almost disappeared, and he was feeling strong and energetic.”

Hindes then opened Hong Kong’s first gluten-free bakery and cafe - Choice Co-Operative and Choice Healthy Foods, which she later sold. “They were the top selling gluten-free products in Hong Kong in terms of baked goods, pastries and breads,” she says.

I prefer her spinach shakshuka creation to the original. The organic eggs enrich the sauce, both are filling dishes and Ido not miss eating meat. Her tabbouleh salad is tasty. Instead of using bulgar she minces cauliflower and adds tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley with a light olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper.

For dessert, no one wants to hear the word healthy, but Hindes magically makes her trifle of creamed coconut chia with home-made mango sherbet and wild berries into a favourite for this sweet lover. She tops the whole thing with wild berries and raw cocoa nibs. “The only sugar comes from the mango,” she says.