Koenig writes that it can be served with warm challah or other breads for dipping. Then I spread it on toast, on crackers, and on fresh pita before rolling up chicken kebabs. I was so taken with the one from “Portico,” which offers the Libyan Italian version called Merduma - in the pot with tomatoes is garlic, a single red chile pepper, a little tomato paste, and a tiny amount of sugar - that I made it three times.

There are three recipes, all different, for a savory tomato spread, in which several pounds of chopped tomatoes are simmered until reduced to a thick, jammy consistency. “The Cook and The Rabbi: Recipes and Stories to Celebrate Jewish Holidays,” written by Susan Simon (the cook) and Zoe B Zak (the rabbi), who reside in New York’s Hudson Valley, is an ongoing conversation about rituals and specialties on the Jewish table. Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Leah Koenig writes in “Portico: Cooking and Feasting in Rome’s Jewish Kitchen” about three groups of Roman Jews: Italkim, who have lived there for 2,000 years, Sephardim, who arrived after the 15th-century Spanish Inquisition, and Libyan Jews who came in the late 20th century after living in Libya from antiquity. In “Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals from My Table to Yours,” Adeena Sussman, raised in Palo Alto, Calif., and now a Tel Aviv resident, weaves in recipes from her mother (whom she calls “Shabbat Queen”), along with many of the Jewish cultures who came to Israel in the last 75 years. Some, like London resident Silvia Nacamulli, author of “Jewish Flavours of Italy: A Family Cookbook,” rely on the dishes of her childhood in Rome. The four authors tell food stories quite differently, of course, because their backgrounds and cities vary. The reason for the huge diversity is similar to what we see in today’s immigrants worldwide: Wherever they settle, they adapt their cooking to the new region. Just as there isn’t one dish you can point to that defines what Jewish food is, there is no single explanation of what the cooking is. But there are many other communities that do not fall into either category. And it’s not matzo ball soup or chopped liver, because again, they stem from the Eastern European tradition of Ashkenazim.Īshkenazi Jews have roots in France, Germany, and Eastern Europe Sephardic Jews in Spain, Portugal, North Africa, and the Middle East. 15, because the bread is made primarily by Ashkenazi Jews, though some Sephardic families have adopted the tradition in recent years. It’s not challah, an eggy loaf that will be on many Jewish New Year tables when the holiday begins on the evening of Sept. Library Binding (December 23rd, 2003): $17.After poring over four new Jewish cookbooks in the last few weeks, I can confirm that there is no single universal Jewish dish.In addition to having illustrated all the Biscuit books, she is also the artist and author of He's Your Dog and Mouse Around. Pat Schories's engaging illustrations of the puppy Biscuit are modeled on her own dog.

She lives in a book-filled home in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. Alyssa Satin Capucilli is the author of the first story about Tulip and Rex, Tulip Loves Rex, as well as the bestselling Biscuit books and many other beloved children's books.

Author of biscuit books