Category: shabbat

Sephardic Pumpkin Challah: It’s Not Just for Thanksgivukkah

Remember Thanksgivukkah? Back in 2013, Thanksgiving fell on the first day of Hanukkah (or vice versa, depending on how you look at it), and the internet went crazy. Pumpkin latkes, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin challah . . . you name it, someone pumpkin’d it.

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When an Ashkenazi Vegetable Meets a Sephardic Staple: Sorrel Hummus

For years, I was desperate to try sorrel. I think I first became aware of it from Gil Marks’s magisterial Olive Trees and Honey, back in the early days of my interest in Jewish food history, and the concept of a lemony spinach-like green had me absolutely entranced. I adore lemon, I’m pretty solid with […]

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Hazon Food Conference 2018 Recap and Zoodles with No-Cook Tomato Sauce

Earlier this month, I headed up to northwestern Connecticut for Hazon Food Conference (aka adult summer camp for Jewish foodies), at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village.

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plov bukharan jewish rice

Plov: Bukharan Rice Pilaf with Raisins and Almonds

A couple months ago, I read a fascinating article in the New York Times about the Jewish community in contemporary Bukhara. This ancient Silk Road city, located in what is today Uzbekistan, is home to one of the world’s oldest and formerly largest Jewish communities.

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Spice Up Your Life: Aromatic Indian Coconut Rice

This fragrant spiced coconut rice, which makes for a delightfully different pareve side (and also serves as a great vegan main) hails from a Jewish community with a positively Shakespearean origin story.

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aquafaba challah

Aquafabulous Vegan Challah: Smarter than Your Average Water Challah

What if you could bake an egg-free vegan challah with the texture of the eggy kind? Thanks to the wonders of aquafaba challah, now you can!

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avicas con prassa

Avicas con Prassa: Sephardic White Beans with Leeks

Okay, it’s time for another post-holiday detox for me. And so, in the spirit of healthy eating, I bring you avicas con prassa, a super-creamy Sephardic white bean and leek stew in a tomato sauce.

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tunisian dill bread from uri scheft

Breads Bakery’s Djerban Dairy Dill Bread for Shavuot

When Uri Scheft, the baking mastermind behind Tel Aviv’s Lehamim Bakery and, more recently, New York City’s renowned Breads Bakery (which devoted Poppy and Prune readers may recall as the winner of my 2018 NYC hamantaschen challenge), was researching his excellent cookbook Breaking Breads, he visited the island of Djerba, Tunisia.

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A Simple and Healthy Sephardic Okra Dish: Bamia

I’m still on my post-Pesach detox, and today I have a great, healthy, simple dish—bamia—featuring a vegetable that doesn’t get enough love: okra!

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moroccan carrot salad

An Easy and Delicious Moroccan Carrot Salad

Anyone else in need of a post-Pesach reset this week? I love cooking (and eating!) for Passover, but it’s always heavy on the eggs, dairy, sugar—oh yeah, and matzah. By the end of the holiday, I’m ready for a change. I’m also ready to stop spending quite so much time in the kitchen, much as […]

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