May is Jewish American Heritage Month! Here are some fantastic cookbooks to explore in your kitchen.
Modern Jewish Cooking: Recipes & Customs for Today's Kitchen by Leah Koenig
"From a leading voice of the new generation of young Jewish cooks who are reworking the food of their forebears, this take on the cuisine of the diaspora pays homage to tradition while reflecting the values of the modern-day food movement. Author Leah Koenig shares 175 recipes showcasing handmade, seasonal, vegetable-forward dishes. Classics of Jewish culinary culture—such as latkes, matzoh balls, challah, and hamantaschen—are updated with smart techniques and vibrant spices. Approachable recipes for everything from soups to sweets go beyond the traditional, incorporating regional influences from North Africa to Central Europe. Featuring holiday menus and rich photography, this collection is at once a guide to establishing traditions and a celebration of the way we eat now." Find copies of Modern Jewish Cooking here.
Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World by Gil Marks
"Traditions of Jewish vegetarian cooking span three millennia and the extraordinary geographical breadth of the Jewish diaspora—from Persia to Ethiopia, Romania to France. Acclaimed Judaic cooking expert, chef, and rabbi Gil Marks uncovers this vibrant culinary heritage for home cooks. Olive Trees and Honey is a magnificent treasury shedding light on the truly international palette of Jewish vegetarian cooking, with 300 recipes for soups, salads, grains, pastas, legumes, vegetable stews, egg dishes, savory pastries, and more. From Sephardic Bean Stew (Hamin) to Ashkenazic Mushroom Knishes, Italian Fried Artichokes to Hungarian Asparagus Soup, these dishes are suitable for any occasion on the Jewish calendar—festival and everyday meal alike. Marks's insights into the origins and evolution of the recipes, suggestions for holiday menus from Yom Kippur to Passover, and culture-rich discussion of key ingredients enhance this enchanting portrait of the Jewish diaspora's global legacy of vegetarian cooking." Find copies of Olive Trees and Honey here.
King Solomon's Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World by Joan Nathan
"Driven by a passion for discovery, the biblical King Solomon is said to have sent emissaries on land and sea to all corners of the ancient world, initiating a mass cross-pollination of culinary cultures that continues to bear fruit today. With Solomon’s appetites and explorations in mind, in these pages Joan Nathan gathers together more than 170 recipes, from Israel to Italy to India and beyond. Here are classics like Yemenite Chicken Soup with Dill, Cilantro, and Parsley; Slow-Cooked Brisket with Red Wine, Vinegar, and Mustard; and Apple Kuchen as well as contemporary riffs on traditional dishes such as Smoky Shakshuka with Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplant; Double-Lemon Roast Chicken; and Roman Ricotta Cheese Crostata. Here, too, are an array of dishes from the world over, from Socca (Chickpea Pancakes with Fennel, Onion, and Rosemary) and Sri Lankan Breakfast Buns with Onion Confit to Spanakit (Georgian Spinach Salad with Walnuts and Cilantro) and Keftes Garaz (Syrian Meatballs with Cherries and Tamarind)." Find copies of King Solomon's Table here.
Jewish Soul Food: From Minsk to Marrakesh, More Than 100 Unforgettable Dishes Updated for Today's Kitchen by Janna Gur
"For more than two thousand years, Jews all over the world developed cuisines that were suited to their needs (kashruth, holidays, Shabbat) but that also reflected the influences of their neighbors and that carried memories from their past wanderings. These cuisines may now be on the verge of extinction, however, because almost none of the Jewish communities in which they developed and thrived still exist. But they continue to be viable in Israel, where there are still cooks from the immigrant generations who know and love these dishes. Israel has become a living laboratory for this beloved and endangered Jewish food. The more than one hundred original, wide-ranging recipes in Jewish Soul Food—from Kubaneh, a surprising Yemenite version of a brioche, to Ushpa-lau, a hearty Bukharan pilaf—were chosen not by an editor or a chef but, rather, by what Janna Gur calls “natural selection.” These are the dishes that, though rooted in their original Diaspora provenance, have been embraced by Israelis and have become part of the country’s culinary landscape. The premise of Jewish Soul Food is that the only way to preserve traditional cuisine for future generations is to cook it, and Janna Gur gives us recipes that continue to charm with their practicality, relevance, and deliciousness. Here are the best of the best: recipes from a fascinatingly diverse food culture that will give you a chance to enrich your own cooking repertoire and to preserve a valuable element of the Jewish heritage and of its collective soul." Find copies of Jewish Soul Food here.
Modern Jewish Baker: Challah, Babka, Bagels & More by Shannon Sarna
"Jewish baked goods have brought families together around the table for centuries. In Modern Jewish Baker, Sarna pays homage to those traditions while reinvigorating them with modern flavors and new ideas. One kosher dough at a time, she offers the basics for challah, babka, bagels, hamantaschen, rugelach, pita, and matzah. Never one to shy away from innovation, Sarna sends her readers off on a bake-your-own adventure with twists on these classics. Detailed instructions, as well as notes on make-ahead strategies, ideas for using leftovers, and other practical tips will have even novice bakers braiding beautiful shiny loaves that will make any bubbe proud." Find copies of Modern Jewish Baker here.
52 Shabbats: Friday Night Dinners Inspired by a Global Jewish Kitchen by Faith Kramer
"Whether you are a longtime host of weekly Shabbat dinners or new to this global Jewish tradition, 52 Shabbats will spice up your Friday night in one way or another. This book offers a holistic scope of the Shabbat tradition for every reader, Jewish or otherwise. In it you’ll find: Over fifty primary recipes to anchor your menu More than twenty recipes for side dishes, accompaniments, and desserts Short essays that detail global foodways and histories explanation of the Shabbat ritual.
Faith Kramer outlines recipe pairings in a mix-and-match friendly format, incorporating easy substitutes throughout the cookbook to make Shabbat accessible for all lifestyles. From gefilte fish to challah, berbere lentils to cardamom cheesecakes, these seasonally organized recipes will never fail to inspire your weekly dinner menu." Find copies of 52 Shabbats here.
Totally Kosher: Tradition with a Twist! 150+ Recipes for the Holidays and Every Day by Chanie Apfelbaum
"Known for bringing a trendy edge to kosher meals, Chanie’s recipes are approachable, playful, and tasty, and introduce exciting global flavors to the kosher canon of Jewish-inspired dishes—such as Miso Matzo Ball Soup, Instant Pot Paprikash, and Brownie Bar Hamantaschen that marries brownies with the Purim cookie favorite. Chanie keeps cooking for family fun, fresh, and practical, too. She shares her secrets here, from kitchen hacks to favorite pantry ingredients that will transform your kosher cooking, as well as meal planning advice, make-ahead tips, and crowd-pleasing semi-homemade dinner spreads, like a serve-yourself Baked Potato Board or a festive Taco Board. Totally Kosher delivers more than 150 accessible, approachable ways to keeping kosher food exciting and delicious for the entire family." Find copies of Totally Kosher here.
Modern Jewish Comfort Food: 100 Fresh Recipes for Classic Dishes from Kugel to Kreplach by Shannon Sarna
"Comfort food varies from person to person, family to family, region to region. As the author of Modern Jewish Baker and editor of The Nosher, Shannon Sarna has always wanted to tell the story of the Jewish people through food and continues to do so here in her latest book. Modern Jewish Comfort Food showcases recipes and variations that have shaped Jewish cuisine from around the world―including immigration waves from Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, New York City, and beyond. Sarna shares many traditional dishes, and then provides exciting variations that will bring heartwarming comfort to the home kitchen. Her Basic Tomato & Pepper Shakshuka is cleverly interpreted into a deep-dish pizza; Classic Potato Latkes invite vegetable-focused variations such as Beet & Carrot and Summer Corn Zucchini; and a multitude of dumplings reflect the range of the Jewish diaspora. Sweets include two kinds of Israeli-Style Yeasted Rugelach, Funfetti Macaroons, and more―ready to complete the holiday dessert table. Modern Jewish Comfort Food will inspire home cooks to connect to Jewish foodways and explore the history of this diverse cuisine." Find copies of Modern Jewish Comfort Food here.
100 Best Jewish Recipes: Traditional and Contemporary Kosher Cuisine from around the World by Evelyn Rose
"Modern classics from everyday meals to special occasions. 100 Best Jewish Recipes is comprised of the highlights from Evelyn Rose's culinary life, which spanned several decades and earned her the recognition as one of the world’s foremost Jewish food writers. Packed with mouthwatering ideas for both family meals and those special occasions when you want to impress without spending hours in the kitchen, this book contains 100 fail-safe recipes for which the author is justly celebrated. Ideal for novices and experienced cooks alike, the easy-to-follow recipes showcase the diversity of Jewish cooking which draws influences from Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. From soups and appetizers to desserts, breads and baking, the recipes provide inspiration for everyday cooking as well as step-by step features on entertaining through the seasons. A guide to the major Jewish festivals, such as Passover, explains the whys and hows of much-loved symbolic dishes and provides menu plans for the special occasions. 100 Best Jewish Recipes is an essential book for anyone wanting to sink their teeth into traditional as well as contemporary Jewish cooking." Find copies of 100 Best Jewish Recipes here.
Jew-Ish: A Cookbook: Reinvented Recipes from a Modern Mensch by Jake Cohen
"When you think of Jewish food, a few classics come to mind: chicken soup with matzo balls, challah, maybe a babka if you’re feeling adventurous. But as food writer and nice Jewish boy Jake Cohen demonstrates in this stunning debut cookbook, Jewish food can be so much more. In Jew-ish, he reinvents the food of his Ashkenazi heritage and draws inspiration from his husband’s Persian-Iraqi traditions to offer recipes that are modern, fresh, and enticing for a whole new generation of readers. Imagine the components of an everything bagel wrapped into a flaky galette latkes dyed vibrant yellow with saffron for a Persian spin on the potato pancake, best-ever hybrid desserts like Macaroon Brownies and Pumpkin Spice Babka! Jew-ish is a brilliant collection of delicious recipes, but it’s much more than that. As Jake reconciles ancient traditions with our modern times, his recipes become a celebration of a rich and vibrant history, a love story of blending cultures, and an invitation to gather around the table and create new memories with family, friends, and loved ones." Find copies of Jew-Ish: A Cookbook here.
All synopses from the publisher.