Mimouna is the joyous Moroccan celebration of springtime, friends, family and good fortune. Marking the end of Passover and the beginning of the agricultural season, the doors of people’s homes are thrown wide open and everyone is greeted with the Judeo-Arabic blessing “Tirbah u’tissad,” may you prosper and succeed. The mimouna table overflows with sweet…
Passover is one of the most cherished dates of the Jewish calendar. It is a celebration of our redemption from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. We are commanded to tell the story of the Exodus to our children. We read the haggadah, we sing, we drink four cups of wine. We point…
Cauliflower is having a moment. The cruciferous darling of the culinary scene is starring on restaurant menus all over the world — and Israeli chefs can take the credit. The craze started with celebrity chef Eyal Shani’s much-loved and lauded whole roasted cauliflower. Then mega-star chef Yotam Ottolenghi took it to the next level with…
Many years ago, there was an authentic Yemenite restaurant on Pico Boulevard. At the Magic Carpet, you could order the crispiest malawach, the freshest salads and the spiciest s’chug. Recently, we were reminiscing about the delicious Yemenite soup the restaurant served and how it was the thing we craved the most when we were pregnant…
In the five years that SEC FOOD (a project of the Sephardic Educational Center) has been featured on Facebook, our posts on Moroccan Dafina (meaning “covered”) and Iraqi T’bit (meaning “of the house”) have elicited the most likes, comments and shares. There’s something about the smell and taste of these Shabbat hamins that evoke love, memory and sentiment. Sheff’s family…
For our grandmothers, Purim didn’t mean matching mishloach manot to the theme of the family Purim costumes. Or a basket filled with Israeli wafers, chocolates and candy, mini bottles of grape juice and the ubiquitous grogger all wrapped in cellophane and tied with a big, plastic bow. For our grandmothers, Purim meant baking recipes handed…
