Imagine an Indian samosa but with meaty ground chickpeas and caramelized onion perfectly seasoned with cumin and curry powder surrounded by a fluffy, crispy dough. Many Shabbat afternoons of my childhood were spent at the Bondi apartment of my great uncle Nuri and his wife Auntie Tina. We were in Sydney, Australia but we may…
Il Bronzino’s magnificent portrait of Marie de Medici hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. As a 12- year-old girl, I stood in front of this painting of a young woman. The famous Mannerist artist immortalized her with luminous ivory skin, large blue eyes, sensuous coral lips and a striking widows peak. Befitting her…
There is nothing more Sephardic than rice. When Tamar Rothenberg left her book “Cancer Diet For The Newly Diagnosed” in my front courtyard, my son Ariel brought it into the house with a raised eyebrow. “What is this?” he asked with a touch of worry in his voice. “Just a beautiful recipe book,” I reassured him. …
Rachel and I have lots in common — culture, friends and philosophy. But there’s one thing we really differ on. Rachel will host a big Friday night dinner and then she will host thirty people for an epic Sunday brunch. Much as I love Sunday brunch, I’m too tired from all the Shabbat cooking and…
Is there anything like the sweet torture of the aroma of bread baking in the oven? Old South Head Road from Bondi Junction you will go down a steep hill lined with tall trees and grand apartment buildings. At the bottom of the hill, you will see the rolling greens of the Royal Sydney Golf…
For David Suissa’s mother, the last day of Pesach is the day she serves solda, an old-school Moroccan dish that transforms leftover matzah into comfort food. By the eighth day of Passover, most of us have grown weary of matzah. It is truly the unleavened bread of affliction (and indigestion). But for David Suissa’s mother,…
Mimouna is when the doors of Moroccan Jewish homes are thrown wide open to friendship and everyone is welcome to partake in the festivities. Mimouna is a joyous celebration of love, hope, faith and springtime. It’s the happy ritual that marks the end of Passover. Mimouna is when the doors of Moroccan Jewish homes are…
Whatever customs your family follows at the Seder, just know that you are creating moments of joy and pride and lasting memories From my earliest memories of the Passover Seder, the most dramatic and meaningful part was when my father would walk around the table carrying the ke’arat Ha’Haggadah. All of us would be singing Bib’hilu yatzanu…
Stuffed Artichokes for Sukkot — The Sephardic Spice Girls Way This year we will celebrate Sukkot with our wonderful friends and family here in Los Angeles. We will bring the flavors of the Shuk into the kitchen. My son Ariel called me from Jerusalem this week. He told me that he and his wife Rachel…
Whenever I’m invited for a meal and I ask the hostess what she’d like me to bring, the answer is usually “Chocolate Torte, please!” Being the flower girl at the wedding of my mother’s younger sister Rebecca to Anthony was probably the most exciting night of my five-year-old life. I wore a long white dress…
In the Song of Songs, an allegory of the love between God and Israel, King Solomon extols the fruit of the land — apples, figs, pomegranates, dates, grapes, walnuts, cinnamon and wine. And while there are many recipes for charoset, they all include some of the ripe, luscious fruits of Solomon’s verses. Symbolic of the…
When Brooklyn-born brothers Gary and Errol Winkler came to Southern California in 1973, they dreamed of bringing refreshing Coney Island-style Italian ices to the sunny West Coast. They opened several brick-and-mortar stores called Brothers Italian Ices Cafe. While the ices sold well, they found themselves devoting more and more of their time creating Italian ices…
Chef Shimi told us how he regularly skipped school to be with his grandmother in her kitchen. He told us how they made kubbah (meat-stuffed dumplings) together. He told us how she gave him an education in spices and a love of feeding people. He told us that she never revealed the secret of his…
Ba’ba tamar are the best treat you’ve probably never had—a thin four inch round cookie made with a crispy, unsweetened dough and a soft, chewy date filling. “Sharon! Your grandmother’s cookies!!” was the excited direct message from our friend Ruth when she saw our Instagram post about the upcoming Sephardic Spice Girls Iraqi Master Bake…
Some of the most precious memories that our good friend Mona has from her childhood are the summers she spent with her grandmother Mamamohtaram in Tehran. Her grandmother lived on the ground floor of a three-story building with high walls and a large garden.Her elder son and his family lived on the middle floor and…
My great-aunts would reminisce about youthful afternoons whiled away at my grandparents home. And all the goodies that would appear from their underground cellar that was filled to the brim with dried dates, nuts, jams, cheeses and other delicacies. My first memory of my grandmother Savta Rosa is at the wedding of her youngest son…
What began as an ode to our mothers and grandmothers has become an important effort to preserve our family recipes and the culinary traditions of the Sephardic and Mizrahi lands for the next generation. Princess Lalla Hasna was the honoree at the Gala called Salute to Morocco: Honoring a Dynasty of Tolerance. The sister of…
When my family and I moved to Los Angeles, I learned to eat the classic American after-school treats—peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies and a tall glass of milk.By I so fondly remember those sunny Casablanca afternoons when my mother and aunt Clara would pick me up from school. My aunt drove…
Nowadays, crispy, golden delicious schnitzel is one of the most popular items in the Israeli kitchen and on restaurant menus. When I was 14 years old, my parents sent my older brother Rafi and I to Israel for our summer vacation. Of course, our Australian summer was smack dab in the middle of Israel’s winter…
Cheese burekas are the perfect package—the short crust pastry has just the right amount of crispy flakiness and the filling combines the rich salty, buttery tang of feta and the sharp, intricate flavor of Parmesan with the comforting creaminess of mashed potato. When Rachel’s husband Neil was eight years old, his maternal grandmother passed away….
Sweet and nutty, this rich, creamy soup has the smooth, airy texture of soufflé. The most surprising thing that happened at our recent Sephardic Spice Girl cooking demonstration at Beth Jacob Congregation? The reaction to our Winter Harvest Squash Soup! We were worried that the audience was getting hungry and restless, so we sent out cups…
