Category: shabbat
Eggplant and Cheese Casserole: Almodrote de Berengena
April 2, 2018
Casseroles consisting of eggs, vegetables, and cheese are a mainstay of Sephardic cooking. They go by many names: fritada, sfoungato, quajado, cuajada, esponga, or, in Syria, sabanigh b’jiben. And, last but not least, almodrote. Hailing from Turkey, it can be made with eggplant, spinach or zucchini, and while all are delicious, I’m partial to this eggplant variety, since it’s the first […]
Rhubarb-Prune Tsimmes: A Spring-Inspired Take on an Ashkenazi Classic for Passover
March 29, 2018
At Passover, I’m all about celebrating the bounty of spring produce. There’s artichokes, asparagus, and above all rhubarb, that sour celery-looking vegetable masquerading as a fruit that’s, alas, rarely found outside pie in this country. But it doesn’t have to be that way. For example, you can put it in this rhubarb-prune tsimmes.
Fritada de Espinaca
January 8, 2018
The first time I met my friend R., we got to talking about our shared love of Passover cooking. When I asked him what his favorite dishes were, he said I probably wouldn’t know then because they were Turkish. “Oh yeah?” I said. “Try me.”
World Shabbat Breads: Berches, the First Braided Challah
December 26, 2017
Berches, a German Shabbat bread, is both like and unlike the challah we know and love in America today. Like challah, it’s braided. Unlike most contemporary American challah, it’s made with an eggless dough—and, in place of egg, often contains mashed potato for a softer texture. The resulting loaf is pleasingly light and chewy, with […]