Around Our Table

Produced and curated: Jewish Food Society

Photography: Armando Rafael Moutela

Food and prop styling: Mariana Velasquez

Headnotes and recipe development: Rebecca Firsker

Design: Studio Ira Ginzburg

Our family recipes – memorized and carried over the sea, cut from yellowed newspapers, scribbled in a multitude of languages – are imbued with the many simchas and sorrows of Jewish life.

As we prepare them, we relive celebrations and cozy Shabbat dinners, we mourn for lost loved ones and lands left behind – and, perhaps most importantly, we nourish our families and make new memories.

This cookbook is the result of an ambitious partnership between two organizations whose values align with those nearest to my own heart: a responsibility to honor the memories of the people and traditions that came before us, and a passion for vibrant, diverse Jewish life.

Together, Momentum and the Jewish Food Society have collaborated to preserve and celebrate the cultural and culinary heritage of the global Momentum community. Each delicious recipe tells a story of joy and love, resilience and remembrance. May they inspire you, fuel you, and keep you in good health.

B’teyavon Bon appetit!

Debbie Hochberg

Board President, Momentum Unlimited Board Member, The Jewish Food Society

Bumuelos

A Celebration of Global Jewish Cuisine, Culture and Community

Vereniki Rosh Hashanah Halwa

Harira

Vada

Recipe Roots: Mumbai, India Israel

Batata Vada

Shared by Riki Shai

When Riki Shai’s parents migrated to Israel from Mumbai, they brought their love of Indian flavors and colors, much of which made its way into their recipes. Batata vada, a vegetarian fritter, is a popular street food in the state of Maharashtra, though it’s found in other parts of India as well. In Riki’s family, the potato-based, chickpea flour batter-coated fritters made appearances at childhood Shabbat meals, as well as many other happy occasions.

“Making these takes some time but [they are] absolutely worth it,” Riki shared. The original recipe came from her grandmother, and Riki has made some of her own adaptations through the years to arrive at the recipe on the next page. “Vadas are best enjoyed when they are served hot with a spicy green chutney or dry garlic chutney. We also love to have them along with masala chai as an evening snack.” When Riki makes the batata vada, she feels connected to both her Indian and Jewish heritage: “I invite everyone to come and taste and enjoy batata vada and all the Indian dishes that do good to body and soul.”

The righteous person eats to satisfy their soul

Batata Vada Ingredients

20 fritters 1 hour 20 minutes

2 pounds russet potatoes

Kosher salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small yellow onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, chopped 1-inch piece ginger, minced

1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric, divided Pinch ground cardamom Pinch ground coriander

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup chickpea flour

1 egg

½ to ¾ cups water

1 ½ cups chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

1.

5.

Fill a large saucepan halfway with water. Peel the potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks and place into the pot. Add more water as needed to cover the potatoes, then salt the water generously.

2. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pot off the heat. While hot, use a fork or potato masher to mash the potatoes until smooth.

3.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium. Saute the onion, garlic, and ginger until the onion is translucent. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the turmeric, cardamom and coriander, then season with salt and pepper. Let cook for 30 seconds until fragrant, then remove from the heat and let cool.

4.

Whisk together the chickpea flour, remaining ½ teaspoon turmeric, a pinch of salt, and egg in a medium bowl until smooth. Slowly add ½ cup water until a thick batter forms. If the batter is very thick at this point, add the additional ¼ cup by the tablespoon until it reaches the consistency of thick pancake batter.

Line a sheet pan with paper towels. Fill a medium heavy bottom pot, such as a Dutch oven, with 3 inches of oil. Heat the oil over medium until it reaches 365ºF.

6. While the oil is heating, stir the onion mixture and the cilantro into the potatoes until combined. Taste mixture for salt and pepper and adjust to taste. Shape the potato mixture into about 20 golf ballsized (1 ½-inch) balls.

7. When the oil comes to temperature, working with 4 or 5 balls at a time, dunk the balls into the chickpea flour batter, then gently lift one at a time with tongs or a slotted spoon and let some of the batter drip back into the bowl. Carefully transfer to the hot oil. Adjust the heat as needed to maintain the oil temperature.

8. Fry until the batata vada are golden brown, about 5 minutes per batch, then remove to the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with remaining potatoes and batter. Serve immediately.

Recipe Roots: Iraq Israel

Beet Kubbeh

Shared by Pnina Shasha

Kubbeh, also known as kibbeh and kubbe, (among many other spellings), is a style of stuffed dumpling made most typically of ground meat wrapped in a grain-based — typically semolina or bulgar — dough. Popular in Mizrahi and Sepharic Jewish communities across Levantine countries, kubbeh can be fried in oil or poached in soup (as is the case in this recipe, submitted by Pnina Shasha). Pnina’s family’s Iraqi kubbeh recipe has a ground beef and onion filling and a semolina flour dough; and the dumplings are cooked in a beet soup. Her grandma served the dish every Friday for lunch; today, Pnina often makes kubbe for her own children—though not quite as often as her grandmother, given the recipe’s time-consuming process.

However, Pnina’s family does now use a trick to save time: once kubbeh are formed, the dumplings can be frozen for months. “My mom spends some hours making hundreds of dumplings and putting them in the freezer, so that they will be ready to be put in a soup,” shared Pnina. Though her grandma’s kubbeh recipe was never formally written down, Pnina learned to make them from her mother and grandmother through verbal instruction. To write the below recipe, she made the dish again with her mother, ensuring she recorded each step. Pnina looks forward to continuing to share in the kubbe making tradition with her family for years to come.

Serves 8 to 10 2 hours

Beet Kubbeh Ingredients Preparation

For the kubbeh:

1 large yellow onion, very finely chopped ¾ pound ground beef

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon baharat ¼ cup chopped celery leaves (optional) 3 cups fine semolina flour, divided

1 ½ cups water, divided 1 tablespoons canola oil, divided

For the soup:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

3 large beets, peeled and cubed into 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 to 5 cups)

3 quarts water

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

4 teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided Chopped celery leaves (optional)

1.

Make the kubbeh filling: Place the 1 chopped onion in a clean kitchen towel. Working over the sink or a bowl, squeeze out and discard as much liquid as possible. Place the onions in a large bowl. Add the beef to the large bowl along with the salt, pepper, baharat, and chopped celery leaves if using. Mix with your hands until combined, then cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2.

Make the kubbeh patties: Working in batches as the dough can dry quickly, mix together 2 cups semolina, 1 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1½ teaspoons oil in a medium bowl until smooth. Knead the mixture in the bowl a few times to combine until it forms a dough that is moist but not sticky.

3.

Roll out the dough on a work surface, between 2 pieces of wax paper, into approximately a 12- by 15-inch, ⅛-inch thick rectangle. Cut out about 2 ½-inch rounds, re-rolling and cutting more until you have about 26 rounds.

4.

Line 1 to 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Remove the kubbeh filling from the refrigerator. Wetting your hands as needed to prevent the mixture from sticking, pinch off 1 teaspoon of the kubbeh filling and gently roll into a ball. Place the ball of kubbeh filling in a rolled out round of dough and pinch to seal the ends, rolling the patty to ensure the meat is sealed in the dough. Place on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat filling and shaping until the remaining kubbeh filling and rounds of dough have all been used. If planning to cook these kubbeh within 12 hours, place in the refrigerator; if waiting longer, freeze the patties on the sheet pan until solid, about 2 hours, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to cook. For this soup recipe, you’ll need one-third (about 26) kubbeh

5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 until all the dough and beef mixture have been used.

6.

Make the soup: In a large (at least 8-quart) stockpot, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Saute the 1 chopped onion until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the beets and saute until just barely softened, about 7 to 8 minutes. Add the water, half of the lemon juice, sugar, salt, pepper, and celery leaves if using, and bring the mixture to a boil. Gently drop in 26 of the kubbeh to the soup, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pot. Simmer until the kubbeh and the beets are cooked through, about 50 minutes.

7.

Season the soup with more salt and pepper to taste. Add remaining lemon juice and serve the soup with a few kubbeh per serving immediately. Cook’s note: This recipe makes about 80 kubbeh balls.

Recipe Roots: Hayos, Greece Egypt

Bumuelos

Shared by Einat Ben Yehuda

Bumuelos, also known as burmuelos and bormuelos, among other spellings, is a recipe that has been in Einat Ben Yehuda’s family for generations. A Passover recipe for fried or baked cheese-stuffed matzo rolls, it’s enjoyed by kids and adults alike at her family table.

The dish began with Einat’s maternal great-grandmother, Joya, who grew up in a Jewish community on an island called Hayos in Greece. Joya moved to Egypt, where she married a Turkish man, Marco. Einat’s grandmother, Dora, learned how to make bumuelos from Joya, who eventually taught Einat’s mother, Sara, who then taught Einat. Einat has, in turn, shared the recipe with her children—she was also the first to physically record the recipe. “It was always verbal, and I decided to write the recipe and put it in my notebook of recipes,” she shared. This recipe has a simple cheese and potato filling, but Einat will sometimes get a bit more creative, adding mushrooms, onions, or adjust the recipe and make ground meat fillings as well (omitting the cheese for a Kosher version.)

“Its preparation requires patience and investment in a number of stages, and special attention,” Einat adds. To her, making this labor-intensive dish is a sign of love and investment in her family.

This recipe makes 24 bumuelos, perfect for a holiday crowd; if you’re making them for a smaller group, the recipe is easily halved.

Rav Judah said in the name of Rav: Welcoming guests is greater than welcoming the Presence of God.

- Ethics of our Fathers 1

A Celebration of Global Jewish Cuisine, Culture and Community

Bumuelos

24 bumuleos 2 hours

Ingredients

2 medium (about 1 pound) potatoes, peeled Kosher salt

4 ounces yellow cheddar, shredded

4 ounces semi-hard salty cheese, such as Greek feta, Bulgarian Sirene, or Tzfat, crumbled or grated

3 ounces soft white cheese, such as ricotta or cream cheese

¼ cup chopped fresh tender herb leaves, such as mint, parsley, or dill

Freshly ground black pepper

12 matzo boards

2 to 4 eggs, plus more as needed

Vegetable oil, for frying

Preparation

1.

4.

Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water. Place the potatoes into the pot. Add more water as needed to cover the potatoes, then salt the water generously. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes, then let cool completely. Grate the potatoes on the large holes of a box grater into a large bowl. There should measure about 2 cups of grated potato.

2. Mix together the grated potato, cheddar, semi-hard cheese, then stir in the soft cheese, and herbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3.

Line a sheet pan with a clean kitchen towel. Fill a 9x13-inch baking dish with lukewarm water. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of salt in the water. Place 2 matzo boards in the water and let soak until just softened, about 1 minute, then place in a single layer on the prepared sheet pans. Cover the matzo with another clean kitchen towel. Soak another 2 matzo boards and place on top of the second kitchen towel. Cover that layer with a third kitchen towel. Let sit for 5 minutes. Place another sheet pan on top of the third kitchen towel, then flip over the sheet pans. The matzo should be bendable, but not mushy.

Cut a matzo board in half. Spoon a scant 2 tablespoons of filling onto the bottom of one matzo-half. Working from the bottom up, fold the matzo board twice into a 4 by 2 ½-inch log/packet. (Don’t worry if some pieces tear or crack. Once the packet is dipped in egg and fried it will hold together.) Set aside and repeat with remaining pieces of soaked matzo. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all the matzo boards have been soaked and filled.

5.

Line a sheet pan with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium. Beat 2 eggs in a shallow bowl. Working in batches (of about 3 depending on the size of your pan), coat the packets of matzo into the beaten egg on both sides, let excess drip off, then place in the pan. Fry until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Move the bumuelos to the prepared sheet pan. Add another 1 scant tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Beating more eggs as needed, dip the next 3 pieces of stuffed matzo into the egg, and fry. Repeat with the remaining pieces, and serve immediately.

Recipe Roots: Kovno, Lithuania Massachusetts, USA

Chopped Herring Dip

Shared by Jody Comins

This slightly unconventional but beloved recipe for chopped herring dip comes from Jody Comins’s great-grandmother Sarah, who was born in Kovno, Lithuania before raising her family in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Sarah shared the dip recipe with her daughter-in-law Lilyan, who passed it along to her daughter-in-law, Jody’s mother Barby—who made a few tweaks that are included in this version, including using the onions from the jar of pickled herring (instead of adding fresh).

Jody’s family loves to make this dish during Passover (but it was also a goto choice when bringing food to shivas). It was always on the table as an appetizer before seders throughout her childhood, and Jody has continued the tradition as an adult. She recalls fond memories of making the dip— and a mess—with her children at the kitchen counter: “my grinder was an attachment to my Kitchen-Aid and so it would spit the herring and spray us,” Jody recalls. “One of my kids would hold a paper plate in front of it to block it. We always laugh that we need a shower to wash off the herring after we make it.”

Though Jody says the sweet and briny fish dip can be a divisive flavor, it remains a beloved family recipe—her mother’s food-stained recipe card proves just how often it’s been used. At the end of the day, those who love this chopped herring dip really love it, especially, as Jody suggests, slathered on an everything-spice-seasoned matzo cracker.

God says to Israel, “My children, whenever you give sustenance to the poor, I ascribe it to you as though you gave sustenance to Me.” Does God then eat and drink? No, but whenever you give food to the poor, God accounts it to you as if you gave food to God.

- Midrash Tannaim on Numbers 28:2

Chopped Herring Dip

6 cups 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 12-ounce jar pickled herring with onions, pickling liquid reserved

7 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and roughly chopped

1 pound (3 to 4) medium sweet-crisp apples, such as Fuji or Gala, apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

6-8 ounces prepared sponge cake (store-bought or homemade), roughly broken up Crackers, for serving

Preparation

1. Puree the herring and onions, eggs, apple, and sponge cake in a food processor until smooth, thinning the mixture with pickling liquid until it reaches your desired texture.

2. Serve immediately with crackers. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Recipe Roots: Morocco

Moroccan Fish

Shared by Anna Masica

Anna Masica’s family has been making this fish dish for generations, in a tradition that started in Morocco. For as far back as she can remember, Anna’s family would eat this fish dish on Friday nights, as it’s often the customary protein in Sephardic Jewish households on Shabbat, alongside another dish made with chickpeas. “As my mom used to say, this is a dish that has all the nutrients in it.” Anna told us. “She also would say that is to test everybody’s spiciness tolerance. Sometimes this dish was so spicy when my mom made it.” If you’re not a fan of spicy food, don’t worry: you can still make this recipe—just seed the jalapeño before slicing it (or skip it entirely and use half a green bell pepper instead.)

Anna always helped her late mother make this fish—she uses salmon, but a flaky white fish would also work—and eventually Anna wrote down the recipe when her kids became old enough to cook for themselves. Starting as a simple vegetable saute, the mixture is seasoned with paprika, cumin, and turmeric, then poured over the fish. It’s baked until just cooked, then served warm. Every time Anna makes this dish, she feels it brings her closer to her mother, and helps keep her memory alive.

Moroccan Fish Ingredients

4 to 5 servings 50 minutes (25 minutes active, 25 minutes cooking)

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 large jalapeño, thinly sliced and seeded if desired

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 lemon, rind and pith removed, thinly sliced into rounds

1 bunch cilantro (leaves and all stems), chopped

½ teaspoon hot, sweet, or smoked paprika

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 to 3 pounds salmon or white fish like red snapper, striped bass, cod or halibut, skin-on filets

1.

3.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Heat the oil in a large skillet, then saute the peppers until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and lemon, and cook until the vegetables soften, 5 to 7 minutes, then stir in the cilantro. Stir in the paprika, cumin, turmeric, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Remove from the heat.

2.

Place the fish, skin side down, in a large glass or ceramic baking dish. Generously salt and pepper the fish, then pour the vegetable mixture over. Cover the baking dish loosely with foil. Bake until the fish is nearly cooked through at its thickest part, and flakes apart when pulled at with a fork on the thinner parts, about 20 minutes.

Preparation Notes

Remove the foil. Turn on the broiler to high and cook for an additional 2 to 4 minutes to char the vegetables. Pull the fish from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes–the residual heat will finish cooking the fish. Serve immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Recipe Roots: Fez, Morocco Israel Montreal, Canada Savannah, Georgia, US

Moroccan Harira

Shared by Yael Elfassy

When Yael Elfassy thinks of breaking the Yom Kippur fast, she thinks of harira. This hearty Moroccan soup was a staple on her mother’s side of the family, where the soup was made every year in Fez, Morocco. Though Yael has been eating this soup since she was a baby, and the tradition of making it has been passed down in her family for years, each generation’s version is a bit different, as it’s typically made by intuition, as well as visual and flavor cues, as opposed to strict measurements. Yael grew up watching her mother make this dish, who in turn grew up watching her mother make it. To that end, should you make this recipe, consider it more of a guideline than a rulebook.

The hearty soup, which can be made with chicken broth or totally vegetarian, gets its heft from chickpeas and lentils. You can cook the chickpeas from dry if you’d like, but canned will do just fine if you’re in a hurry. Don’t skip the dry lentils though: they cook right in the simmering soup in just about 20 minutes. Though she’s made it dozens of times, Yael never tires of the soup. It typically only makes an appearance on her table once a year, on this important Jewish holiday, and therefore remains extremely significant. “This recipe to me signifies the start of the new year,” added Yael. “There is no Yom Kippur”.

- Deuteronomy 8:3

Not by bread alone do humans live, but by all that comes from the mouth of God.

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or heavy bottom pot, such as a Dutch oven, over medium heat until it shimmers. Saute the onion, celery and carrots until the onion and celery are translucent and all vegetables are slightly brown, 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the tumeric, cumin, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and harissa if using. Cook for about 30 seconds, until the spices are fragrant, then stir in the tomatoes and stock. Increase the heat as needed to bring the mixture to a boil.

3. Stir in the dry lentils and cooked chickpeas, lower the heat to medium low and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper to taste and reduce the heat to low.

4. Whisk the flour, lemon juice, and water in a small bowl until the flour is dissolved. Stir into the soup. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add more lemon juice to taste if desired. Serve immediately, with cilantro sprinkled over each serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Recipe Roots: Russia Greenwood, Mississippi USA

Passover Tsimmes

Shared by Sylvia Goodman and Evalina Smith

Sylvia Goodman, who contributed this recipe, believes it started with her maternal grandmother, Mary Davidson, who immigrated to Greenwood, Mississippi from Russia. The dish is a take on the Ashkenazi Jewish stew tsimmes, also known as tzimmes, a sweet dish of root vegetables (typically carrots and/or sweet potatoes; dried fruit like prunes, dates, or raisins; and sometimes, chunks of meat). This variation is more of a casserole than a stew, and includes a baked matzo ball of sorts in the center. It was a Passover staple in Sylvia’s childhood home, who believes her mother, Fannie Davidson Klumok, taught the family’s cook, Evalina Smith, how to prepare Mary’s version of the dish. From here, Evalina made it for the family regularly.

The dish represented a special time for the family in the context of Judaism. “Since my mother kept a strictly Kosher for Passover home, the matzo meal for the dish was shipped from Rosen’s Delicatessen in Memphis, Tennessee as were all of our Passover foods,” Sylvia shared. “They came by Greyhound bus in a large shipment before Passover started and then in daily bus runs during Passover.”

Sylvia knows this version of tsimmes is unique and has never seen it prepared similarly outside of her family. When she got married and wanted to make the dish herself, she watched Evalina make it, writing down what she observed. “Evalina never measured anything that she cooked, yet she was the best cook I have ever known and could cook for a hundred people as easily as for four.”

“It is a symbol of my mother’s efforts to maintain a Jewish home in a tiny town where we were only one of three Jewish families,” added Sylvia. She hopes that by sharing the recipe here, other families will make it a part of their own holiday traditions.

Passover Tsimmes

4 servings 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

½ cup Matzo meal

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 eggs

1 pound brisket or chuck roast, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 1 ½ cups)

½ cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided

4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced (about 2 cups)

1 ½ pounds (about 2 medium) sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 3 cups)

1 ½ cups dried prunes

1 ½ cups chicken broth

Preparation

1.

Mix matzo meal and salt in a medium bowl with a fork. Stir in 2 tablespoons of water and combine until the mixture forms a shaggy mass. Stir in the eggs until combined. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (dough will be loose, forming a mound rather than a tight, round ball).

2. Place the chunks of meat, ¼ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon of salt, and 2 cups of water in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender, 45 to 55 minutes, occasionally skimming the pot to remove the scum and some of the fat that rises to the surface. Remove the meat to a large plate or sheet pan, and reserve the pot’s liquid in a small bowl.

3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

4.

In the same pot, combine the sliced carrots with ¼ cup of sugar and cover the pot until the carrots are glazed and tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the carrots to the large plate or sheet pan with the meat. Add the sweet potatoes to the pot with 2 tablespoons of sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cover the pot and simmer in the

sugar syrup until the potatoes start to get tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the sweet potatoes to the plate using the slotted spoon, then add the prunes, remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar, and remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. If the sugar in the pot is becoming very caramelized, add 1 tablespoon of water. Cook the prunes until softened, about 10 minutes, then remove to a separate plate.

5. Place the prepared matzo dough in the center of a 3-quart baking dish. Arrange the meat, carrots, and sweet potatoes around the matzo dough. Whisk the brisket-cooking liquid into the pot to release the caramelized sugar, then pour this mixture and the chicken broth over the meat and vegetables.

6. Bake until the matzo dough is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Add the stewed prunes and bake for ten more minutes. Serve immediately.

Recipe Roots: İzmir, Turkey Cali, Colombia Panama

Potato & Swiss Chard Fritters

Shared by Raquel Esquenazi de Heres

This recipe for potato fritters came to Raquel Esquenazi de Heres via her grandmother Raquel Cheres de Esquenazi, who was born in İzmir, Turkey, and grew up with the recipe. After marrying in 1926, she introduced her husband José’s family to the fritter recipe, and it traveled with them as they established their home in Cali, Colombia. De Heres’ mother, Noemi, made it a part of her family’s repertoire as well. The recipe makes an appearance once a year, during Passover, and is served after reading the haggadah. “This tradition is followed by other cousins in the family,” Raquel told us. “I hope my sons and daughter will keep it going for many generations.”

These crispy fritters, a common recipe in Turkey, can be made with potatoes alone, or with a mix of potatoes and Swiss chard. To complement the savory dish, Raquel serves them with a raisin “honey” (a sweet syrup made from soaked and boiled raisins and sugar), just as her mother and grandmother did. While the recipe is written out below, Raquel notes that the measurements can always be flexible to suit one’s preference: “Our grandmothers used to cook with the intuition for flavor.”

This recipe calls for a special nonstick or cast iron pan with holes, such as an Aebleskiver pan, which can be purchased online or at a specialty cooking store. If you’re not able to use this style of pan, use any large nonstick or cast iron skillet and cook heaping tablespoon-sized fitters.

The holy Rabbi Elimelech, the Rabbi of Lizhensk, was approached by a gifted young Torah scholar, who was seeking to learn about spiritual greatness. Rabbi Elimelech pointed to the bowl of fruit displayed before them on the table.

“When you want to eat an apple, do you make a blessing?”

“I certainly do!” the visiting scholar answered.

“Ah – there’s a subtle but meaningful difference! You see, many who want to eat an apple, make a blessing. Spiritual greatness can flip it so that when one seeks to make a blessing, one eats an apple.”

Potato & Swiss Chard Fritters

6-8 servings 9 hours 15 minutes (1 hour 15 min plus 8 hour soaking time)

Ingredients Preparation

1.

1 (8-ounce) box raisins

2 cups water

1 cup granulated sugar

2 ½ pounds Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes - cut amount in half

1 bunch (about ½ pound) Swiss chard, ribs removed, blanched in salted water and finely chopped (optional)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

4 eggs, separated Canola oil

Make the raisin “honey”: Place the raisins in an airtight 1-quart container and cover with the water. Cover and let sit for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

2. Place the soaked raisins and the soaking water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until the raisins have softened. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

3. Transfer the mixture to a blender and run the blender just a bit, until the raisins are shredded further but not pureed.

4. Return the raisin mixture to the saucepan and stir in the sugar. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until it becomes glossy and thickens into a consistency similar to maple syrup or honey (it will thicken further as it cools). Store in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve.

5.

Make the fritters: Fill a large saucepan halfway with water. Peel the potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks and place into the pot. Add more water as needed to cover the potatoes, then salt the water generously.

2.

Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pot off the heat. While hot, use a fork or potato masher to mash the potatoes until smooth. If using the cooked chard, stir it into the mashed potatoes. Season the mixture with more salt to taste. Beat 1 whole egg and 3 egg yolks in a small bowl. Stirring constantly, mix a few spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the yolks to temper them, then pour the egg mixture into the rest of the potato mixture and stir until combined.

4.

In a medium bowl, beat 3 egg whites to medium peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the potato mixture.

5.

Line a sheet pan with paper towels. Heat a nonstick or cast iron Aebleskiver skillet over medium heat. Grease each hole of the skillet with 1 teaspoon canola oil. If using a regular nonstick or cast iron skillet, grease with about 3 tablespoons of oil.

6.

Spoon heaping tablespoons (about the size of a golf ball) into each hole in the skillet; if using a regular skillet, flatten the balls into patties. Cook until golden brown on the bottom, then use a chopstick or a spoon to flip and cook until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the fritters to the prepared sheet pan, season with salt, and repeat with remaining batter. Serve immediately with the raisin honey.

Recipe Roots: Iran Israel

Stuffed Grape Leaves

Shared by Mali Even-Hen

Stuffed grape leaves, often known as dolmas, are a style of dish that’s present in many cultures throughout the Middle East, Mediterranean and Levant. They can be filled with everything from ground meat to grains. This version, shared by Mali Even-Hen, is prepared in the Kurdish Jewish tradition with Persian influences (her mother was born in Iran), and has been passed down for generations. The vegetarian dolma are stuffed with lemony rice and tender herbs, and wrapped in brine-packed grape leaves.

“This is a festive dish that is prepared for special events and Shavuot,” Mali noted. The process is labor-intensive, but the recipe makes a large batch, which is ideal for feeding crowds during a holiday. “Because of the much work involved in rolling the leaves, one by one,” explains Mali, those who understand the labor involved in the dish only appreciate it further. “In our family and also among friends, people really look forward to this dish that disappears in an instant.”

Stuffed Grape Leaves

60 rolls 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

Grape Leaves:

1 cups long-grain white rice

Cold water

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon plus ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar, divided

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 cup finely chopped parsley leaves (from about 1 bunch)

1 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves (from about 1 bunch)

1 cup finely chopped dill fronds (from about 1 bunch)

1 bunch (6 to 8) scallions, thinly sliced

1 (32-ounce) jar brine-packed grape leaves

Yogurt Sauce:

1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt

1 cup full-fat quark (or cottage cheese, ricotta, or sour cream)

1 clove garlic, grated

4 to 5 teaspoons finely chopped fresh dill Kosher salt

Preparation

1.

6.

Make the stuffed grape leaves: Place the rice in a medium bowl, cover with cold water, and soak for 20 minutes. Drain the rice into a sieve and rinse until water runs clear. Place the grape leaves in a large bowl of cold water and soak for a few minutes, then drain to remove some of the salty brine. Repeat, then pat the leaves dry with kitchen or paper towels.

2.

Combine 1/3 cup of the oil, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and stir to combine. Stir in the drained rice and let this mixture soak for 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the chopped onion, parsley, cilantro, dill, and scallions to the bowl with the rice mixture and let sit for another 10 minutes.

4. Lay a few rinsed grape leaves, vein side up, on a work surface. Remove the stems with kitchen shears or a knife.

5. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of the rice mixture at the base of a grape leaf. Fold the stem end of the leaf over the filling, fold in both sides of the leaf, then roll up (not too tightly) into a cigar. Repeat with the remaining filling and grape leaves.

Arrange the filled grape leaves, seam-side down, in a single layer in a large heavy bottom pot, such as a Dutch oven, or wide saucepan with high sides. Arrange a second (or third) layer if needed, placing a pot lid or heat-proof dinner plate on top of each layer to weigh down the one below it.

7. Combine 4 cups of water, the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, and the remaining ¼ teaspoon sugar in a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup. Pour this mixture over the grape leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer until the rice inside the grape leaves is fully cooked and the leaves are tender, about 60 minutes. (Test this by slicing open and tasting a stuffed grape leaf)

8. Make the yogurt sauce: While the grape leaves cook, combine the yogurt, quark, garlic, and 4 teaspoons dill in a medium bowl. Taste and season with a small pinch of salt and the rest of the dill if desired. Chill until ready to serve.

9. Cool the grape leaves to room temperature. Serve with the yogurt sauce. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Recipe Roots: Russia and Ukraine

Vereniki

Shared by Liz Salsberg

Vereniki, a type of dumpling often synonymous with pierogi, hail from the Russian and Ukrainian culinary tradition. This recipe was contributed by Liz Salsberg, handed down from her great-grandmother to her grandmother, then to her mom and aunt. Whenever anyone in the family plans to make vereniki, the air in the kitchen fills with excitement. “Just the thought of them getting ready for the big day of rolling out the dough—making the filling, and just the precise way to fill the dough, and pinch them together in a half-moon shape—evokes wonderful childhood memories,” shared Liz, who feels not enough recipes today are made with schmaltz. Luckily, these potato-filled dumplings are tethered together with plenty, not to mention tossed with the fat again before serving.

You’ll also see the recipe calls for gribenes, which are delightfully crisp chicken skin cracklings fried with onions. Schmaltz can be purchased at kosher butchers and grocers, but it can also be made at home along with the gribenes (see note on page 29)..

Try to turn the fulfillment of your physical needs to a spiritual experience. There are people who eat to gain strength for learning the word of God. Others, who are more spiritually conscious, learn God’s word to know how to eat. Avoid, as much as possible, eating in a rush, even in your home, don’t swallow your food too quickly. Eating is a holy act and it requires a clear mindset.

- Attributed to Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

Vereniki Ingredients

18 1 hour 40 minutes

2 cups all-purpose flour

Kosher salt

2 eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup water, plus more as needed

1 pound Russet potatoes

3 teaspoons schmaltz, divided (store-bought or homemade, see headnote)

2 tablespoons finely chopped see headnote)

Freshly ground black pepper 1 egg

1 teaspoon water

potatoes, then salt the water generously. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pot off the heat. While hot, use a fork or potato masher to mash the potatoes until smooth. Stir in 2 teaspoons of the schmaltz and the gribenes if using, and season with pepper to taste.

3. Roll out the dough to ⅛-inch-thick circle and punch out 3-inch circles. Combine the dough scraps and reroll out the dough, then punch out more circles. Continue until all the dough is rolled and punched out.

4.

Beat the remaining egg and water in a small bowl. Place 2 teaspoons of the potato mixture into the lower half of a dough round, leaving a small border. Brush some egg mixture around the upper edge of the dough round. Fold the round in half to form a crescent, pinching the edges together with your thumb and forefinger to seal the dough. Place each formed vareniki on the work surface and repeat until all the dough rounds are filled.

5.

Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium. Season generously with salt. Working in batches if needed to avoid crowding the pot, boil the vareniki for 8 minutes or until cooked through and tender. Remove the dumplings from the pot with a slotted spoon and place in a colander.

6.

Drain the water from the pot and turn off the heat. Return the pot to the stove and add remaining 1 teaspoon schmaltz to the pot to melt in the residual heat. Return the varenikis to the pot and gently shake to coat in the schmaltz. Alternatively, if you’d like, heat the 1 teaspoon schmaltz in a cast iron skillet and brown the varenikis on both sides, then season with salt. Serve immediately.

* To make schmaltz and gribenes: Cut ½ pound (or more) chicken skin and fat into small pieces. Thinly ½ medium onion. Place chicken pieces and onion in a cast iron skillet and season with a pinch of salt. Heat over medium until the fat starts rendering. Reduce the heat to low. Using tongs, occasionally flip the pieces of skin. As the fat accumulates, pour it off into a heatproof bowl. Continue cooking until the skin has shriveled and turned a deep golden brown. Save the rendered fat (aka schmaltz) and gribenes (aka pieces of chicken skin) separately.

Excess schmaltz can be used in place of oil to cook vegetables or meat. Excess gribenes can be eaten as a snack, used in place of croutons in salad, or ground into powder and used as a seasoning.

Recipe Roots: Yemen Israel

Yemenite Soup

Shared by Hilla Segev

For as long as Hilla Segev can remember, she has eaten this soup for Shabbat as a main dish. Known as marak temani (Yemenite Soup) this is a traditional recipe made by Jews who settled in Yemen. Today, traditional Yemenite Jewish dishes remain quite similar to their original versions as a method of preserving the culture. This soup is rich in flavor and texture, fragrant with spices, and warming from the inside out. Marak temani is made typically with either chicken or beef with mixed vegetables.

When Hilla was young, her family would go to her grandparents’ house on Friday nights to share the Shabbat meal. Though her grandmother never wrote down the recipe for her soup, Hilla watched her make it every week. As she started cooking for herself as an adult, she made the soup over and over, mimicking what her grandmother did in the kitchen, until it tasted familiar: below, you’ll find that adapted recipe. The soup was served as an entree following a few vegetable and meat dishes: a salad of cucumbers, tomato, lettuce, onion, and parsley; fried cauliflower with lemon; and a roasted meat dish Hilla knows as “ shawi.” The soup was always eaten with lachuch, a Yemenite style of flatbread, and hilbe, a fenugreek-based paste. This soup gets its most prominent flavor and golden hue from hawaij, (also spelled hawayej and hawayij, among transliterations) a bold spice mix of turmeric, cumin, black pepper, coriander, and cloves. In certain markets, it’s common to see both pre-mixed the former “soup hawaij” as well as “sweet hawaij,” which contains cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon, and ginger. If the hawaij container doesn’t specify which style it is, inquire about the ingredients list, as the two blends are quite different in flavor.

Avoid eating when you are not hungry… Avoid eating until your belly is completely full, rather stop a little before you are full.

- Rambam, Mishna Torah, Hilchot Deot 4:1-2

Yemenite Soup

3 ½ qts, 8 to 10 servings 1 hour 5 minutes (Active: 35 minutes plus 50 minutes simmering)

Ingredients

1 (3 ½ to 4 pound) chicken, cut into pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt

2 large Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped

1 large carrot, roughly chopped

1 large zucchini, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces

1 large Beefsteak tomato, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove

1 to 2 teaspoons soup hawaij

Chopped fresh parsley or cilantro leaves, for serving

Lachuch (Yemenite flatbread) or another flatbread, for serving

Hilbe (Yemenite fenugreek paste), for serving

Preparation

1.

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottom pot, such as a Dutch oven, over medium until it shimmers. Working in batches if needed, place the pieces of chicken in a single layer, skin-side down, in the pot. Season the chicken with a few pinches of salt and sear until the chicken skin is deeply golden, 8 to 12 minutes. Flip, season with a few pinches of salt, and cook the other side for 5 to 6 minutes, until the meat easily releases from the pot. (If searing in batches, remove the meat to a sheet pan or large plate and repeat with remaining chicken.) Return all the chicken back into the pot and add enough water to just cover the chicken, (8-10 cups) then bring to a boil over high heat.

2. Reduce the heat to a low and simmer for 20 minutes, until the chicken is very tender. Remove the chicken breasts from the pot and place on a cutting board. Continue cooking the rest of the chicken for another 10 minutes, then remove to the cutting board. When the chicken is cool, remove and discard the skin and bones from the meat, then chop or pull the meat into bite-sized pieces. (Alternatively, serve whole, bone-in, skin-on pieces of meat in bowls of soup). Set aside.

3. Stir in the potatoes, onion, carrot, zucchini, tomato, garlic, and 2 teaspoons of salt, then continue cooking until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

4. Return the pulled or chopped chicken to the pot. Stir in 1 teaspoon hawaij.Taste and add more hawaij and/or salt to taste.

5. Serve immediately. Garnish the soup with parsley or cilantro and serve with lachuch or hilbe if desired. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Grandma Tzotza’s Linzer Torte

Shared by Michal Nassi

This linzer torte recipe comes from Michal Nassi’s grandmother, and is consistently made by the women in their family. Michal’s grandmother’s family came from a small village in Transylvania, a Central European region that has ping-ponged between belonging to Hungary and Romania. Today, it is part of the latter, but Michal notes Hungarian influences were “were strong in the family's life,” even when they moved away. Though the dessert technically has roots in Austrian baking, it’s made throughout bordering countries in Central Europe, from Germany to Switzerland to (as in this case,) Hungary. “You could say that the cake migrated from Hungary to Romania to Israel,” Michal noted.

The treat is a simple press-in shortbread crust filled with jam and baked until golden. The lemon-scented crust is made with all-purpose flour and almond meal, which keeps it tender and rich. Though raspberry and apricot are common linzer fillings in the linzer torte tradition, the family would fill their torte with whichever fruit had been made into jam that season.

Michal has been eating the cake for as long as she can remember, eventually learning to make it herself from the older women in the family: “From them I learned to cook and bake, from them I learned our family customs. Every scent, every taste, each holiday and family event connects me to them,” added Michael. “At every family gathering and holiday I make sure there is something of theirs so that we all feel close and do not forget the tastes of childhood.”

As long as the Temple stood the altar atoned for Israel.

But now a person’s table atones for us.

- Talmud, Berachot 55a

Grandma Tzotza’s Linzer Torte

1 10-inch tart 3 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

14 tablespoons (1 ¾ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

3 egg yolks

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of ½ lemon

1 ¾ cups almond flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Neutral oil or baking spray, for greasing pan

1 ¼ cups seedless raspberry or apricot jam

Preparation

1. Pulse together the butter and sugar in a food processor or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Blend in 2 egg yolks and keep blending until the mixture lightens in color. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and almond flour and mix well. Pulse in the flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined.

2. Grease a 10-inch removable-bottom tart pan with oil or baking spray. Press 2/3 of the dough into the prepared pan in an even layer. Place the tart pan in the refrigerator for about 2 hours until the dough is firm.

3. Form the remaining 1/3 of the dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap or a reusable bag. Refrigerate the dough disk for about 2 hours until the dough is firm.

4.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Beat remaining egg yolk with a splash of water in a small bowl. Spread the jam over the tart bottom. Place the chilled dough disk between two pieces of waxed or parchment paper. Roll out into a rough circle about ¼-inchthick. Remove the paper and cut the dough into ¾-inch strips. Lay the strips of dough over the jam in a cross-cross pattern. Brush the exposed strips with the egg wash.

5. Bake the tart for 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Let cool completely, then remove from the tart pan.

Recipe Roots: Canada

Imberlach (Matzo Brittle)

Shared by Nina Manolson

This recipe for imberlach, contributed by Nina Manolson, was a favorite of her uncle’s, often made by her mother. It made its way into their family’s repertoire from a spiral-bound Jewish cookbook. A traditional Passover treat, imberlach is a spicy-sweet candy (imber in Yiddish translates to “ginger”) that can take on a few different forms. Nina’s family’s version was always a brittle made of matzo and ginger tethered together by caramel. “One of my jobs at Passover time has been to make this wonderfully sweet candy that’s only eaten at Passover. It’s a favorite family tradition.” Nina shared. “For over 30 years, I’ve experimented with this recipe, making it better and better every year.”

As the recipe has evolved to suit personal preferences and dietary restrictions, today, Nina likes to start the caramel with a mixture of honey and unrefined granulated sugar, such as maple, date, or coconut sugar. She’ll then stir in dried fruit, grated fresh ginger, matzo farfel, and, her favorite part, toasted nuts. “The roasting and chopping of the nuts, the beginning of the imberlach process, marks the beginning of all the energy that goes into making Passover happen in our household,” Nina added. “It’s a labor of love. It signifies that this is a special moment and deserves special attention.” (Though of course you could use pre-toasted nuts in a pinch.)

Before serving the set imberlach, Nina breaks the candy into pieces and dips each in melted chocolate. The result? A bite that means far more than just another item on the dessert table. “Making imberlach is a tradition that’s been going on for decades. I hope it will continue when I’m long gone. Special holiday foods are a way of cultivating a cultural legacy.”

Imberlach (Matzo Brittle)

1 (9 by 12-inch) rectangle 1 hour

Ingredients

¾ cup granulated unrefined sugar, such as maple, date, or coconut sugar

½ cup honey

1 cup chopped toasted almonds, pecans, walnuts or a mix

½ cup chopped dried apricots, prunes, or a mix

1 cup raisins, dried cherries, or a mix

2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger

¾ cup matzo farfel (not matzo meal) or about 1 matzo board, crumbled

Melted dark or milk chocolate, for dipping (optional)

Preparation

1.

2.

Line a quarter sheet pan (9x13-inch) with parchment paper. Bring the honey and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Continue boiling, not stirring the mixture but swirling the saucepan occasionally, until the mixture turns dark amber, about 16 to 20 minutes, and registers between 300 to 310ºF on a candy thermometer— this is known as the “hard crack stage.” (If you don’t have a thermometer, once the mixture turns dark amber, remove the pot from the heat and drop a spoonful of the mixture into a cup of cold water. Remove the hardened candy from the water and try to bend it—if it snaps, the mixture is ready; if it bends, continue boiling the mixture for another 1 to 2 minutes and perform the water test again.)

Using a wooden spoon or heat-proof spatula, stir in the nuts, fruit, ginger and farfel. Immediately spread out the mixture onto the prepared sheet pan, using the spoon, spatula, or a piece of parchment placed on top of the mixture and your hands to press into an even surface.

3.

Let the imberlach cool completely until firm, about 40 minutes. Break into rough 1-inch pieces. If desired, dip whole pieces or parts of the imberlach into chocolate, then let set. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Recipe Roots: Ukraine Israel

Leben Levivot (White Fritters)

Shared by Edna Rabenu

Though Edna Rabenu’s maternal grandmother passed away before she was born, her recipe for Leben Levivot made a firm impression. Edna’s mother would make the small, unsweetened pancakes or fritters and recount her mother’s life story. The levivot recipe traveled with Edna’s grandmother from Ukraine to Israel, following the Polish-Ukrainian War, when she was just 14 years old. She lost most of her immediate family to a pogrom, and settled into life in Israel as, as Edna calls her, “a pioneer.” She met Edna’s grandfather, and they helped establish the village Moshav Ramat Zvi in the Jezreel Valley. These levivot, also known as “pancakes,” “latkes,” or “fritters,” come together as a quick batter of flour, egg, and cultured dairy. Though quite different from potato latkes, they are a Hanukkah tradition in Edna’s family. Still, as Edna shared, “it is a favorite dish and easy to prepare, so it is served on many occasions,” recounting the levivot’s presence on the table at her parents’ house the first time they shared a meal with her in-laws. She also has fond memories of making batches of levivot for Hanukkah parties when each of her four children were in elementary school. These levivot are unsweetened, so they can be served alongside savory dishes; but for a sweet treat, dust them in powdered sugar and serve them alongside a fruit jam.

Leben Levivot (White Fritters)

about 20 fritters 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup cultured milk, such as buttermilk, kefir, leben, or eshel

1 egg Canola oil

Powdered sugar, for serving

Fruit jams, for serving

Preparation

1. Line a sheet pan with paper towels and set aside. Fill a large heavy bottom pot such as a Dutch oven, with 1 - 1 ½ inches of oil. Heat the oil over medium until its sizzling.

2. While the oil is heating, stir together the flour and salt in a large bowl, then add the milk and egg. Let sit for 5 minutes.

3.

Fry the levivot: Place 1 tablespoon of the batter into the hot oil. Fry the fritter until its golden on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove the fritters to the sheet pan. Fry remaining levivot, 4 to 5 at a time to avoid crowding the pot, keeping an eye on the oil temperature. Dust the levivot with powdered sugar, and serve with fruit jam. Serve immediately.

Recipe Roots: Poland Brooklyn, NY

Noodle Pudding (Sweet Kugel)

Shared by Carrie Firestone Baum

This noodle pudding, also known as kugel, is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish. A casserole of egg noodles (or potato), egg, and dairy-based custard, kugels can slant sweet or savory. This version, contributed by Carrie Firestone Baum, is sweet, featuring apricot nectar and preserves, cream cheese, and a crunchy, buttery, corn flake and cinnamon topping. The recipe comes from Yeta Arlinsky, Carrie’s great-aunt. Born in Poland in the early 1900s, Yeta moved to Brooklyn with her parents and siblings (one of her brothers being Carrie’s grandfather) around 1925. Her noodle pudding recipe came with them, and has been passed down in the family for generations.

“I have eaten this dish as long as I can remember,” Carrie told us. It typically made an appearance to break the Yom Kippur fast, “but my mom started making it for me when I wanted comfort food, or when I would come home from college.” Carrie’s mom, Dodee Firestone, kept the recipe for this noodle pudding in a binder of family recipes to safely house the dishes they make over and over. “This dish is a quintessential Jewish dish; sweet, hearty and full of love,” Carrie added. “[It] can be used as a compliment to a bigger dish or stand strongly on its own.”

Noodle Pudding (Sweet Kugel)

12 servings 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound wide egg noodles

10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened, divided

4 eggs

3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided

1 cup apricot nectar

1 cup whole milk

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons apricot preserves

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups cornflakes, roughly crushed

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preparation

1.

Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Preheat the oven to 325ºF if using a glass baking dish (if using a metal or ceramic baking dish, preheat the oven to 350ºF).

2.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Par-cook the noodles, about 5 minutes, then drain. Transfer the noodles to the prepared baking dish.

3. Combine 8 tablespoons of the butter, eggs, ½ cup of the sugar, apricot nectar, milk, cream cheese, apricot preserves, and vanilla in a blender. Puree until smooth. Pour this mixture evenly over the noodles.

4. Stir together the cornflakes, cinnamon, and the remaining ¼ cup sugar in a medium bowl. Sprinkle over the noodle mixture. Dot the topping with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the noodles are fully cooked, and the custard has thickened. Let cool slightly or completely before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Recipe

Roots: Lithuania Canada

Old-Fashioned Plum Cake

Shared by Laurie Zuckerman

When Laurie Zuckerman was in her late teens and early twenties, she spent weekends in the kitchen with her grandmother, Hannah. An exceptional cook and baker, “she had a very deep, warm voice and would guide me through her recipes,” Laurie shared, “I always listened so intently.” One of Hannah’s specialties was her plum cake, a sticky-sweet, colorful treat made during Rosh Hashanah. As apple cakes tended to be more popular when Laurie was growing up, especially during the High Holidays, the uniqueness of Hannah’s plum cake only further endears her family to this recipe. “It feels like it elevates the holiday, because it’s bringing my family history into my current Rosh Hashanah celebrations,” added Laurie.

This simple butter cake manages to have multiple textures and flavors in one pan: The batter is topped with sweet-tart plums—any variety or color of the fruit will do—and then sprinkled with a buttery brown sugar topping, and, if you’d like, after it bakes, drizzled with a sweet glaze. Reminiscent of a moist, light coffee cake, this treat is just as welcome for an afternoon treat as it is after an evening meal.

When her grandmother passed away, Laurie came to own Hannah’s Mixmaster stand mixer. “I used it for another 17 years, until the motor stopped working.” Every time she pulls a plum cake out of the oven, Laurie fondly remembers those weekends in the kitchen with Grandma Hannah.

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked to cover them? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily, your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of Adonai shall be your guard. If you shall pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness…and Adonai will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones strong, and you shall be like a watered garden.

Old-Fashioned Plum Cake

1 (9-inch) cake 1 hour 20 mins

Ingredients

Baking spray, for greasing pan

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, divided

½ cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Kosher salt (optional)

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, separated

1 pound prune plums, pitted and halved; or 2 cups sliced black or red plums

Glaze (Optional): ¾ cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1.

6.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch springform pan with baking spray.

2.

Make the brown sugar mixture: Place 4 tablespoons of the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and a pinch of salt (if using) into a small bowl. Mix the ingredients with a fork to form a clumpy mixture. Set aside.

3.

Make the flour mixture: Sift the flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt (if using) into a small bowl. Set aside.

4.

Make the milk mixture: Stir the milk and vanilla in another small bowl. Set aside.

5.

Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter, granulated sugar, and egg yolks into a large bowl. Mix the ingredients together with a whisk or an electric mixer on medium speed until light, creamed, and fluffy Add half of the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated. Add the milk mixture into the bowl and mix. Then add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Place the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixture with a whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on medium speed to form stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter until barely any streaks of white remain.

7.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, then arrange plums in one layer over the top. Sprinkle the surface with the brown sugar mixture. Bake for 45 minutes, until the cake is golden, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool slightly, then run a small offset spatula or knife around the edges of the pan. Release the cake from the pan and cool further on a wire rack.

8. Make the glaze (optional): In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle the cake with glaze (use as little or as much as you’d like) when it’s still warm.

9.

Serve immediately or let the cake cool completely. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Recipe Roots: Mumbai, India United Kingdom

Rosh Hashanah Halwa

Shared by Shamira Malekar

The terms “ halva” and “ halwa” (and many other spellings) refer to a large variety of sweet treats made from a solidified sweetened paste. The paste can be made from a wide range of ingredients, from ground nuts or seeds to a wheat- or corn-based starch, oil, and sugar or honey. A popular treat in Israel, Greece, Iran, Turkey, the United States, and India—where this version comes from—among others, any variety of halwa or halva is a welcome accompaniment to savory dishes or served alongside other sweets.

This creamy cornstarch and coconut milk-based halwa is a Pareve recipe indigenous to Bene Israel Indian Jews. Shamira Malekar, who shared this recipe, grew up preparing this dish, noting that it’s made annually during Rosh Hashanah and Simchat Torah. “In Mumbai every year, this dish was prepared in all homes and shared with friends and families,” Shamira explained. “As kids we had a specific task of stirring the pots, as it was stirred for a long time—at least 2 hours.” Shamira, who is currently based in the UK, likes to serve this halwa alongside a meat or chicken dish to welcome a sweet new year.

Note: Saffron can be quite expensive, and is often sold in very small quantities. We found that as little as ⅛ teaspoon adds a lovely golden color and subtly sweet floral flavor to the halwa, but if you’d prefer a more pronounced color and flavor, add up to ½ teaspoon.

Rosh Hashanah Halwa

about 75 pieces 3 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

Cooking spray, oil, margarine, or butter, for greasing cake pans

2 ¼ cups cornstarch

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, plus more as needed

5 cans (about 8 cups) full-fat coconut milk

½ cup chopped toasted almonds, pistachios, and/or cashews

¼ cup raisins

⅛ to ½ teaspoon saffron threads

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preparation

1. Grease 3 8-inch cake pans and set aside.

2.

Whisk together the cornstarch and sugar in a medium saucepan until combined, then whisk in the coconut milk. Whisking constantly, heat the mixture over medium until warmed through and the sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes (the mixture may be a bit lumpy). Stir in the nuts, raisins, saffron, cardamom, nutmeg, and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of buttercream frosting, about 25 minutes more.

3. Continue cooking the mixture, stirring often, until you start to see bubbles rising from the surface and the mixture starts to turn a bit translucent and solidify, about 10 minutes more. Immediately divide the mixture between the prepared cake pans, pressing gently with the palm of your hand, (or if too hot, lay on a piece of parchment first) to smooth the halwa into the pan.

4.

Let cool to room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator and cool completely, at least 2 hours. Cut each pan into about 24 pieces and serve immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days (the nuts will soften).

Recipe Roots: Poland Minneapolis, MN

Polly’s Secret Chocolate Chip Kmish Bread (Mandelbrot)

Shared by Sheri Yarosh

Sheri Yarosh’s late mother Polly grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota to parents who immigrated from Poland and Austria-Hungary. They lived a Jewish lifestyle, and while there was a close-knit community around them, Sheri noted that Minneapolis was quite an antisemitic place at the time—though that only seemed to fuel the family’s desire to connect with their Jewish heritage. “Family was everything to my parents,” Sheri shared. “We grew up with a ton of cousins and we celebrated every occasion and holiday together. When my mom brought something to share, I cannot recall that she brought anything but this kmish bread.”

Also known as kamish bread, mandel bread, and mandelbrot, kmish bread is a twice-baked oblong cookie (this one is packed with chocolate chips) with roots in Eastern-European Jewish cuisine. Similar to Italian biscotti, the dough is first formed into a log and baked whole until it’s cooked through. It’s cooled and sliced into thin, long cookies; then baked again until crisp.

“Every holiday, B'nai Mitzvah, birthday party, or even shiva we ate this kmish bread as part of dessert or it was part of a more elaborate sweet table,” added Sheri. Though the cookies were beloved, Polly never gave out the recipe. Sheri told us that her mother would only say, “it’s my special secret recipe.” There was, however, seemingly one exception. When a beloved cousin of Sheri’s, Judy, passed away from cancer, another cousin was gifted Judy’s recipe box; whereupon she found a recipe card for Aunty Polly’s Kmish Bread. “My mom must have loved Judy so much or knew she was ill, and shared it with her, but no one else.” Now that they have the written recipe, Sheri and her family try to make Polly’s kmish bread as often as they can—and, noting that her kids now make the recipe too, it’s l'dor v'dor, passed from generation to generation. “It makes us think warmly of these two wonderful women who we loved and continue to be remembered through this sweet recipe.”

When God created the first human, God showed him all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him, ‘See my works, how beautiful and praiseworthy they are. Everything that I created, I created it for you. Be careful not to spoil or destroy my worldfor if you do, there will be nobody (but you) to repair it.’

- Midrash Kohelet

Rabbah

Polly’s Secret Chocolate Chip Kmish Bread (Mandelbrot)

20 servings 9 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Beat the eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium or a whisk (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment). Beat in the sugar, oil, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the flour and chocolate chips with a wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough overnight (for at least 8 hours).

2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and position two oven racks in the upper and lower third of the oven. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

3. Divide the dough in half. Place one half of the dough on one sheet pan and shape into a flat log about 3 to 4 inches wide. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Bake the logs at the same time, with each tray on its own oven rack, switching their oven rack positions halfway through, until lightly golden, about 25 minutes.

4. Remove the logs from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 250ºF. When the logs are cool enough to touch (about 15 minutes), place on a cutting board and slice both into 1-inch-thick cookies. Arrange the cookies evenly on their sides on the two sheet pans. Bake both trays of cookies at the same time, with each sheet pan on its own oven rack, switching their oven rack positions halfway through, until golden, 30 to 40 minutes. Let the cookies cool then serve immediately. Store leftovers in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Recipe Roots: Tel Aviv, Israel Los Angeles, California

Sufganiyot (Israeli Doughnuts)

Shared by Sivan Kobi

Sivan Kobi comes from a family of bakers. Her sufganiyot recipe was adapted from a recipe of her late father, a pastry chef and artisan bread baker. He was born in Tel Aviv, and learned the trade of baking from his own father. Holocaust survivors who ran a couple bakeries in Israel, Sivan’s father’s parents encouraged him to join the family business at a young age. In 1980, in his 20s, he moved his wife and two children, including 4-yearold Sivan, to Los Angeles. There, he opened his first of three bakeries over the next 25 years, Sherman’s Bakery.

“He was a very well-known name in the Jewish community, the Israeli community, and even the non-Jewish community. He made cakes for all holidays,” Sivan noted. “We were kosher-style. He was always known for his challahs and of course, the sufganiyot.”

Sivan recalls that during every year during Hanukkah, her father would reek of fry oil after the long hours he worked to meet the demand for his jelly doughnuts. “I remember it being a very happy time, I love the holiday.” Though her father passed away at just 57 years old, Sivan has been able to keep his memory alive through baking his recipes, all of which her mother saved. She regularly features the recipes, revised for home cooks, on her Instagram, @sivanskitchen. She makes the sufganiyot every year, starting about a month before Hanukkah, and regularly riffs on the classic: “I’ve tried sour cream in them, I’ve tried baking them, Air-Frying them… but nothing compares to the fried.” All four of Sivan’s children enjoy eating her sufganiyot, but her youngest daughter loves to help with the baking. They fill and top the doughnuts with traditional jelly and powdered sugar, but sometimes also with custard, chocolate, and other creative options.

“As a Jew, sufganiyot are a staple of Hanukkah,” Sivan says, and making jelly doughnuts and latkes is just as important to her as lighting candles or spinning the dreidel. As she honors her father’s memory, the doughnuts have only become more significant to her family—and others in her community. “Still today, people stop me and say “Sherman’s sufganiyot are like no one else’s, I still have the taste in my mouth, if only I could eat them again,” Sivan added. Luckily, they—and you—can make Sivan’s adapted recipe at home for the next-best option.

Sufganiyot (Israeli Doughnuts)

about 18 2 hours 50 mins

Ingredients

5 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons dry active yeast

Pinch kosher salt

1 large egg

2 cups lukewarm water

4 tablespoons (½ stick) margarine, cut into pieces, at room temperature

Vegetable oil, such as canola

2 cups seedless jam, such as strawberry or apricot, or smooth chocolate spread, such as Nutella, for filling

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preparation

1.

4.

Mix flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook on low speed to combine. With the mixer unning, pour in the water and the egg, mixing well after each addition. Continue mixing, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the dough is cohesive but still a bit sticky, about 3 minutes. Add the margarine and mix to fully incorporate it into the dough. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, 7 to 9 minutes. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Set the dough in a warm place and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

2. Cut 18 (3- to 4-inch) squares of parchment paper and place on a clean work surface. Once the dough has risen, lightly oil your hands and pinch off 18 balls (each should weigh about 65 grams). Place each ball on a parchment square. Cover the dough balls with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 25 minutes, until puffy and almost doubled in size.

3.

While the doughnuts are rising, line 2 sheet pans with paper towels. Fill a medium or large heavy bottom pot, such as a Dutch oven, with 2 inches of oil. Heat the oil over medium until it reaches 365ºF.

Fry the doughnuts: Working in batches of 2 or 3 doughnuts at a time (depending on whether your pot is medium or large), carefully drop the doughnuts on the parchment paper into oil. The parchment will slide off immediately: carefully remove it with a spider or tongs. Adjusting the heat as needed to maintain oil temperature, fry the doughnuts until puffed and golden brown, flipping with a spider or slotted spatula, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the doughnuts to the prepared sheet pans and let cool completely.

5.

Use a chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon to poke a hole (but not all the way through) on the side of each doughnut. Fill a piping bag with the jam or chocolate spread, then fill each doughnut. Place doughnuts on a wire rack placed over a sheet pan and dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Wasp Nests (Darázsfészek)

Shared by Eva Moreimi

Eva Moreimi documented a number of significant family recipes in her book Hidden Recipes, A Holocaust Memoir. The book details her mother Elena’s (referred to as Ica in the book) experience in the Auschwitz concentration camp. “Both in Auschwitz and in the Hessisch Lichtenau munitions factory the women were starving, and in the evenings they huddled together in the barracks and talked about food,” Eva shared. “In the munitions factory my mother was able to pilfer paper and a pencil. In the evenings when they returned to the barracks, the women talked about food and shared recipes. Ica wrote down the recipes the women shared with her and on some of them she even wrote the name of the person who gave her the recipe.” This recipe for wasp nest pastry (or “darázsfészek,” in Hungarian), came from one of those women, Piri. This dish is similar in technique to cinnamon rolls: a yeast-based dough is rolled out into a large rectangle, spread with a buttery filling, rolled up like a jelly-roll, sliced into buns, then baked in one pan. Darázsfészek is made with a walnut filling, but Eva notes it can be made without nuts by simply omitting them from the ingredients and swapping in a splash of vanilla extract.

Eva’s mother’s friend Piri’s story ended tragically, losing her life at the hands of an SS guard “only days before the women were liberated,” noted Eva. But Elena shared Piri’s legacy by making darázsfészek for Eva as a child in Czechoslovakia, who has continued making it throughout her life. After leaving Czechoslovakia in 1969 and eventually settling in Minnesota, in the US, darázsfészek still makes an appearance every year for Eva’s family gatherings during Shavuot.

Recipe Roots: Hungary Hessisch Lichtenau, Germany Czechoslovakia Minneapolis, Minnesota

It is gratefulness which makes the soul great.

- Abraham Joshua Heschel, Man’s Quest for God

Wasp Nests (Darázsfészek)

1 10- or 12-inch pan; 14 servings 3 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

¾ cup unsalted butter (6 ounces, 1½ sticks), softened, divided

1 (¼-ounce) envelope dry active yeast

1 ½ cups whole milk, lukewarm, divided

3½ cups plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for rolling out

¾ cup plus ½ tsp granulated sugar, divided

½ teaspoon kosher salt

3 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups (12 ounces) ground walnuts or walnut meal

½ tsp cinnamon

Preparation

1.

5.

Grease a 10-inch round Bundt or springform pan with 2 tablesoons of butter.

2. Make the yeast mixture: Whisk together the yeast and ¾ cup of milk in a small bowl until dissolved. Stir in 1 teaspoon of flour and ½ teaspoon of sugar. Cover the bowl and let the yeast activate for 5 to 10 minutes, until foamy air bubbles appear on the surface.

3.

Make the dough: Mix the remaining 3 ½ cups of flour, egg yolks, vanilla, remaining ¾ cup of milk and the rested yeast mixture in a large bowl until it forms a very soft, light dough. Cover and let it proof for 30 to 45 minutes, until the dough has risen slightly (it will not double in size.)

4.

Mix the remaining 10 tablespoons of softened butter and ¾ cup of sugar together in a medium bowl until smooth. In a small bowl, mix together the walnuts and cinnamon. Turn out the tough onto a well-floured surface (it will be very sticky). Roll the dough into approximately a 12- by 18-inch, 1/4-inch-thick rectangle. Spread the butter mixture over the surface of the dough with a spatula, then sprinkle over the walnut mixture.

Working from the longer edge, tightly roll the dough into a spiral. Cut into 1½-inch-thick slices. Place each roll into the cake pan, spiral-side up. Repeat with remaining slices of dough in a single layer in the cake pan. If necessary, start a second layer on top of the first. Cover and let rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until the rolls have doubled in size.

6. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

7.

Bake until golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes (rolls will bake longer in a Bundt than a springform pan). Remove from the oven and immediately flip the pan over onto a serving plate. Serve immediately, cutting or breaking apart while the rolls are still warm.

Recipe Index

Our family recipes – memorized and carried over the sea, cut from yellowed newspapers, scribbled in a multitude of languages – are imbued with the many simchas and sorrows of Jewish life.

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