Almond and cherry braid
Puff pastry is very popular in Israel, for both savory and sweet baked goods. It replaces phyllo and ...
Antipasti quiche
Ashkenazi cholent – Shabbat overnight stew
When I was growing up in Israel, every shabbat afternoon was spent at my Polish grandmother’s, Rachel. ...
Braised brisket with root vegetables & prunes
Ashkenazi Jews specialize in making the best out of cheap cuts of beef (tongue, anyone?) and brisket ...
Bukharian rice dish with herbs and beef (bakhsh)
Bukhara is an ancient city in today's Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Jews have lived there for about a milenia ...
Bukharian rice, meat and dried fruit stew for Shabbat (Oshisavo)
Oshisavo (or Yoshi save or Âsh-i Sabbâh, according to Max Malkiel, an expert on Jewish cuisine of ...
Bulgarian / Romanian rustic vegetable stew (guvech)
Looking for a Shabbat dinner centerpiece or a hearty midweek meal? Picture cubes of eggplant, zucchini, ...
Bulgarian feta noodle kugel
This may look like any noodle kugel, but the use of feta in this Bulgarian-Jewish dish, adds a kick ...
Butternut Squash, Chicken and Harissa Rice
A fall variation of a classic Palestinian upside-down rice dish, originally made with layers of eggplant ...
Cauliflower and cheese pashtida (kugel)
Israelis love pashidot (plurals of pashtida, which is a crustless pie, or a casserole, or simply put, ...
Cauliflower, Water Cress and Feta Salad with Green Goddess Dressing
It’s true that at this point most of us are tired of winter, snow and root vegetables and that we’re ...
Celery root and parsnip soup
Fall veggies are excellent for making the most creamy soups without the help of cream, keeping the cool ...
Challah rolls
Challah rolls are fun to make and great to eat. You can make them as large or small as you like, and ...
Chicken liver stuffed matzo balls
Matzo balls, the beloved Ashkenazi dumplings, need no introduction here. This version, which I've seen ...
Chicken, potato and eggplant in pomegranate and date syrup
This recipe is influenced by traditional the Persian cuisine's use of sour pomegranate syrup in cooking, ...
Chopped liver
I can't think of anything more indulgent, more comforting, than freshly made, still warm, chopped liver ...
Classic tzimmes
Tzimmes, the classic sweet carrot dish, started as a very meaty dish of carrots and beef cooked in goose ...
Crunchy almond French toast
As delicious as simple French toast may be, there’s nothing wrong with striving to make it better. ...
Eggplant & cheese sambousak (Abouelafia style)
Every time I visit Israel I simply can’t stop admiring the food. The creative chefs of Tel Aviv; the ...
Eggplant stuffed with lamb, pomegranate and tamarind
Originally a Turkish recipe, my version here has a strong Persian influence by using pomegranate molasses ...
Egyptian fava beans (foul Moudamas)
To enjoy hummus, it's best to make it at home, especially if you're following this perfect hummus recipe. ...
Ethiopian Shabbat and holiday bread (dabo)
Dabo is an Ethiopian bread that is served by Ethiopian Jews during Shabbat and holidays as a challah. ...
Festive breads for Rosh Hashanah
Mtzlal Redie Wossihun still remembers her mother getting ready to bake the misowat (or masawayt), bread ...
Galician potato and yeast dough kugel (mandavortchinek or potatonik)
Mandavortchinek is a unique kugel from Galicia (a historic region in today’s Ukraine and Poland.) ...
Georgian cheese and egg pastry (Adjaruli Khachapuri)
Khachapuri is a general name for a family of Georgian cheese stuffed pastries. Boat shaped Adjaruli ...
Georgian kidney beans and walnut stew (Lobio Nigvzit)
This is a quick (speedy!) version of the Georgian classic stew of kidney beans with walnuts. It ...
Grape leaves, olive and kaskaval babka
Take the popular Polish Jewish cake, add essential ingredients from Israel, olives and grape leaves, ...
Gravlax
Gravlax is cured salmon from Scandinavia, that can be sliced and served similarly to lox. Slice ...
Gravlax, leek and alfalfa sprouts
Make gravlax according to this recipe, and use it in this refreshing salad.
Halva and Chocolate babka
In 2018, Bon Appetit magazine declared that babka is the new bagel, meaning it is finely making its ...
Hamin macaroni
Hamin macaroni is a Sephardi Shabbat recipe from Jerusalem of macaroni and chicken cooked overnight ...
Hasidic challah (i.e. water challah)
Hasidic challah (known in the U.S. as water challah) has no eggs and very little fat. It is a vegan, ...
Honey, orange and hazelnut babka
either Russian-style simple roulade-shaped cakes, or the German-Austrian kugelhopf style pastries. Braided ...
Hungarian stuffed cabbage
Stuffed cabbage recipes are found all over Europe and the Middle East. Whether it’s the Hungarian ...
Iraqi meatballs in sweet and sour apricot-tomato sauce
My great-aunt Victoria (Toya) Levy was an incredible woman. Born in Baghdad in 1922, she moved to Israel ...
Iraqi stuffed onions and tomatoes
My grandmother Rachel was a gifted cook. After moving as a young mother from Baghdad to Tel Aviv in ...
Iraqi-Kurdish kubbeh (beef or vegan stuffed dumplings) in beet soup (plus video)
Kubbeh soups may be the highlight of the Iraqi cuisine. My grandmother used to make the dumplings in ...
Israeli Biscoff cookie cheesecake
One of the most popular cakes in Israel is a biscuit cookie cake. It's the simplest no-bake cake of ...
Israeli chocolate “balls”
Israeli chocolate "balls" are simple, no-bake cocoa, butter and tea biscuits cookies truffles rolled ...
Israeli chocolate (ok, Nutella) rugelach
Origins of rugelach, the favorite Jewish pastry, date back to the Hungarian kifli, Austrian kipfel and ...
Israeli Ice-cream Sundae with Tahini and Halva
This super quick dessert is a variation of a popular Israeli dessert.
Israeli Kinder chocolate and Nutella rolled cookies
After high school, Israeli kids go on to fulfill their compulsory military service for two to three ...
Israeli style pita bread
The history of flat bread starts around the year 4,000 BC in Egypt. And at this point in history, some ...
Israeli style schnitzel
Chicken breast schnitzel is Israeli kids' favorite dish, next to mashed potatoes and a bottle of ketchup. ...
Jerusalem Kugel
I’m not a kugel type of girl, but Jerusalem kugel, the peppery, caramelized, overnight version stole ...
Key shaped challah (shlissel challah)
Shlissel challah is a key-shaped bread prepared by Ashkenazi Jews for the first Shabbat after Passover. ...
Khoresht fesenjan – Persian chicken, pomegranate and walnut stew
Khoresht fesenjan is one of the most beloved stews from the Persian cuisine. Walnut with pomegranate ...
Kreplach (Ashkenazi dumplings)
Kreplach are Ashkenazi dumplings, similar to pierogi, stuffed with meat or potato and served in chicken ...
Kubaneh, Yemenite bread
Kubaneh is a Yemenite bread that traditionally is being baked overnight next to jachnoon (overnight ...
Kubbeh batata
From my grandmother’s Iraqi kitchen, fried potato patties filled with ground beef that she used to ...
Lamb shoulder with spring vegetables
"You shall have a perfect male lamb in its [first] year; you may take it either from the sheep or from ...
Lemon rosemary bundt cake
The classic cake gets a twist with fresh rosemary, and it's parve too.
Matcha & white chocolate babka
In search for more interesting babka ideas, I was inspired by everyone's favorite matcha latte and came ...
Meringue cream cake
Back in the 70's and 80's, this cake of shortbread bottom, instant-coffee-flavored cream and meringue ...
Moroccan carrot salad
A classic and well loved Moroccan salad, here with a little twist, using tamarind paste for extra intense ...
Moroccan chicken in olive, tomato and lemon
Chicken cooked in a rich sauce of tomatoes and olives is a traditional Moroccan dish. What makes it ...
Moroccan chickpea and meat Shabbat stew (adafina/s’heena)
Moroccan and Tunisian adafina (or dafina, t'feena, s’heena, s’cheena) is a dish of chickpea, meat ...
Moroccan eggplant salad (zaalouk)
Zaalouk is a member of the large family of Middle Eastern eggplant salads. In here, the eggplant is ...
Moroccan sweet couscous with chicken (tanziyah)
Tanziyah is a unique dish that combines chicken in a rich sweet-savory sauce of dried fruit and red ...
New tzimmes
A new take on ashkenazi tzimmes, with heavy Persian influence. The rainbow carrots are roasted ...
North African stuffed artichoke bottoms in red sauce
Stuffed artichoke bottoms are a traditional dish from the Moroccan, Tunisian and Libyan cuisine. Jews ...
Parsley Tahini Dip
Tahini and parsley dip is a full of flavor Arab recipe that’s very popular in Israel. It is prepared ...
Persian beef, herb, kidney bean and dried lime stew (ghormeh sabzi)
To make this delicious stew vegan, just omit the beef from the recipe and replace water with vegetable ...
Persian chickpea & chicken matzo ball soup (Gondi)
Gondi are dumplings of chickpea flour and ground chicken from the Persian cuisine that are very popular ...
Persian rice
Persian rice is known everywhere for how good it is, and the secret to a good Persian rice is the crispy ...
Potato salad with tuna and preserved lemon
This potato salad draws its inspiration from the Tunisian sandwich of preserved tuna, egg, preserved ...
Quick Almond and sour cherry rice
Use any combination of roasted nuts and dried fruit in this simple dish. Some nice combinations are ...
Rainbow trout over tomato, beans and arak salad
The tomato, cannellini beans and arak salad is excellent on its own. Use any fish fillet with skin on. ...
Rice paper feta & green onion burekas
In this recipe, a Turkish pastry, the borek, takes an Asian turn, using rice paper instead of the classic ...
Rice with fava bean and herb
Fresh fava beans are in season in spring, and so it is no surprise that it became part of the Passover ...
Roasted cauliflower florets
Here's a trick for making the beloved fried cauliflower florets, that's so popular in Israel, but with ...
Roasted eggplant in tomato and Serrano
There are many versions of eggplant salads in the Israeli repertoire, coming from Turkey, Romania, ...
Roasted salmon with preserved lemon & olives salsa
Preserved lemon works really well in most fish dishes, roasted salmon included. And as if the lemon’s ...
Rolled farina cookies with dates and nuts
These cookies are very popular in Israel, and are really an easier version of the classic Arab filled ...
Sambousak b’tawa (Iraqi chickpea-filled turnovers)
Sambousak is a filled fried turnover from the Iraqi cuisine (notice the similarity to the Indian samosa.) ...
Schnitzel and harissa in challah roll
The new it street food in Israel
Sephardi celery root and carrot in lemon (apio)
Celery root, or celeriac, is available in supermarkets year long, but is younger and fresher in fall. ...
Sephardi chestnut, rice and lamb plov
Cooler weather and falling leaves bring to mind quiet evenings in front of the fireplace, noshing warm ...
Sephardi chicken and potato stew (Sofrito)
In Latin America and Spain, sofrito is a tomato and garlic or onion base for many dishes. But for Israeli-Sephardi ...
Sephardi fish in lemon and egg sauce (Pescado con limon y huevo)
Pescado con lemon y huevo is a Sephardi fish in lemon-egg sauce, that is served year round, but is great ...
Sephardi Fritada de patata e kalavasa (Zucchini and potato frittata)
Kashkaval is a hard cheese from the Balkan. It’s available at Eastern European supermarkets. ...
Strawberry in pomegranate & arak soup
Fresh strawberries swim in a cold sweet-tart pomegranate soup (Or better yet, make it alcoholic by adding ...
Stuffed artichoke bottoms
Since Passover arrives in spring, it is customary to incorporate many spring vegetables on the Seder ...
Sweet potato and goat cheese Tarte Tatin
Swiss chard, sumac and feta spanakopita
Burekas or borek, Turkey-originated savory stuffed pastries, is probably Israel’s most popular snack. ...
Tbeet, a Jewish-Iraqi Shabbat overnight stew of chicken and rice
In her modest, shack-like home in southern Israel, my great aunt Toya served some of the best food I’ve ...
The biblical roots of Ethiopian sweet bread
The Ethiopian-Jewish community marks Sigd, a holiday of self-examination with prayers and fasting, broken ...
The crock-pot and the Shabbat stew
Slow cookers are back. Not the clunky ones your mother used to have, but shiny, multifunction contraptions ...
The long history of the modest hareesa
Or, why do we eat wheat berries on Beshalach Torah portion?
The Power of Couscous
Einat Admony is an Israeli chef known for her modern and irreverent interpretations of Middle Eastern ...
Tunisian fish in spicy sauce (chraimeh)
Chraimeh is a classic recipe from the Tunisian cuisine, and a favorite among Israelis of all origins. ...
Tunisian meat stuffed potato (mafroum, m’battan batata)
Mafroum is an irresistible dish of meat stuffed potato (like a sandwich,) fried and then cooked in tomato ...
Tunisian pumpkin salad (tirshi)
Let’s talk gourds. Jewish texts mention four types of gourds: cucumber, melon, watermelon and ...
Tunisian Swiss chard stew (pkaila)
Pkaila is a Jewish Tunisian dish that starts with the “essence” of slow-cooked Swiss chard (or spinach) ...
Tunisian wheat overnight stew (hareesa)
Hareesa is a Tunisian Shabbat overnight stew that started as an Arab overnight dish of wheat and meat. ...
Udon Noodles and Avocado in Japanese Style Tahini Sauce
Sesame paste sauces are common in Japanese cooking. But while Middle Eastern tahini uses hulled sesame ...
Vegan cholent
Cholent is that famous Ashkenazy Shabbat overnight stew of potatoes, white beans and kishka (stuffed ...
White beans with tomato and arak
The little arak added to the classic combo of white beans and tomato goes a long way, adding a kick ...
Yemenite multi – layered flatbread (malawach)
Jachnun is not the only Yemenite pastry to become a household item in Israeli cuisine. Malawach, its ...
Yemenite overnight pastry rolls (jachnun)
In 2023, Tel Aviv celebrated its first ever Jachnun Festival. Celebrity pastry chefs, jachnun joints ...
