Category Archives: History / Historia
Q&A: Sodra, a Micro-regional Passover Dish Sub-par Excellence (but not without its dignity)
Sodra is broken-up matza soaked in chicken broth, with eggs and lemon added to the mix in typical Sephardic fashion, maybe dressed with some cheese or a little garlic. It’s an obscure dish, even among Sephardim, included in a couple … Continue reading
Q & A: Medieval Catalan Jewish Food (more familiar than you might imagine)
I just discovered, through DNA testing, that my ancestors lived in Girona. They left when the Alhambra Decree was issued. Do you have any recipes of Jewish specialties from Girona? Thank you. Ronit Sure, Ronit! It may well be you … Continue reading
Filed under History / Historia, Q & A / Preguntas, Recipes / Recetas
Me and my big ideas
Recently a reader questioned my theory about the origin of ensaimada, a traditional pastry from Mallorca made with lard that I believe began life as challa, or perhaps as rosca (see my post about the book ‘Dulce lo vivas’). Okay, … Continue reading
Filed under History / Historia
Sephardic food is simply exotic
Years ago my brother-in-law, who is a tall, blue-eyed, blond-haired WASP from Ohio, told my sister, who is a tall, brown-eyed, olive-skinned Jew from New York, that when he first laid eyes on her he was struck by her exotic looks. “Exotic!!?” she … Continue reading
Filed under History / Historia, Recipes / Recetas
Food really is love, and also a marker of shared experience
When interviewed by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum about his recollections of Sephardic life before World War II, Dr. Isaac Nehama described in detail the special characteristics of some of the special foods his mother used to make in their Athens home. Speaking … Continue reading
Filed under general / en general, History / Historia
Guevos Haminados / Huevos Jaminados (Glosario)
Hay un articulo nuevo hoy en el glosario castellano, sobre los “huevos haminados”. Se lo encuentra aquí.
About that rye bread… / Hablando de aquel pan de centeno…
(en castellano abajo) To get a sense of how profoundly important Jewish rye bread is in New York culinary culture (and in Ashkenazi culture in general), I give you this clip from the Seinfeld episode I mentioned below. Thanks to … Continue reading
Filed under Articulos en Castellano, History / Historia
An afterthought and a happy coincidence
In the post below about ‘Ashkenazi mina‘ I referred to the adaptability of Jewish cooking (which really means Jewish cooks), but in that particular case it would be more appropriate to describe the chopped liver mina as an example of culinary crossover. Seven years living in … Continue reading
