THE TORONTO STAR Wednesday, July 1O, 1996 E7 Israeli cuisine comes of age at last ..in turn use to re-invent dishes from other lands. As Maiberg explains, "If you take avocados and make a soup out of them, omitting coriander and adding hyssop (an indigenous and biblical herb), the result is no longer Mexican but Israeli." The new chefs of Israel will argue that a dish created with Israeli ingredients becomes Israeli. To that end, these new chefs have come to rely on quail, lamb, fish from the Mediterranean Sea, figs, dates, raisins, almonds and Israel's coveted foie gras. Other-chefs, such as Moshe Basson who owns The Eucalyptus Restaurant in Jerusalem, search through the Bible and the Talmud for clues that will lead to authentic dishes. It's accepted that food plays a powerful role in the symbolic language of these books. Basson also interviewed older Palestinian and Druze families for further insight. At his restaurant, Basson creates traditional casseroles which in conservative Jewish kitchens suit dietary kosher laws. Basson says casseroles, specifically dishes which require a full night of cooking, are a mainstay of Israeli cuisine. These dishes suit the strict Sabbath roles because they go into the oven on Friday night to be consumed on Saturday when the use of electricity, or lighting fires, is forbidden. Basson uses the chubeisah leaf (a weed that grows wild inside the walls of old Jerusalem) for a variety of dishes in his restaurant. He uses them like grape leaves for stuffing. He simmers them into soups. He creates vegetarian meatballs with them. He chops the leaves and adds oil, onion and garlic for an authentic Israeli dip.