COMFORT ON A PLATE

from Jewish Life Now Sept Oct 2023

Jewish Life Now Sept Oct 2023

cuisine. I love that a Jewish meal can mean bourekas and harira, kneidlach and gefilte fish, gondi and tahdig, schnitzel and salatim, or a fish masala and malpua. Perhaps the one meal I would cook would attempt to include many of these dishes.

That said, if I were to cook one meal that was an example of my own Jewish lineage and family’s story it would be a feast of challah and brown bread, borscht, smoked fish, latkes, and honey cake served with fruit preserves.

JLN: Which all sounds amazing, if not a bit intimidating for a novice chef. What would you recommend as a “starter Jewish meal” for anyone who might be a bit overwhelmed by such a deep and delicious history?

SS: I think one of the best meals a novice chef can master is chicken soup. It’s endlessly versatile and foundational to so many Jewish folks. It’s also very hard to mess up. Once you learn to make a basic chicken soup, you can start building from there – add-on noodles, matzo balls, and eventually even homemade kreplach.

I also think challah is a wonderful gateway bread if you’re learning to bake. It’s far more forgiving and simpler than many other bread recipes, and even if your loaf ends up a little misshapen or under-proofed, or any number of “imperfections”, everyone is always thrilled to share a homebaked braided bread.

JLN: If only I had enough stomachs to eat everything we’ve talked about! Since we’re coming up on the New Year, who would be sitting around your table at your dream Rosh Hashanah dinner?

SS: Rosh Hashanah is my favorite holiday, and almost every year my table is filled with friends and family; some are Jewish, some are not, some are local, and some come to visit from afar.

If I could invite anyone on the planet to join our annual gathering it would be Mel Brooks, Ina and Jeffrey Garten, and Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. ♦