Book of Jewish Food 800 Ashkenazi & Sephardi Recipes

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Description: In more than 800 glorious recipes interwoven with stories, reminiscences, and history, Claudia Roden traces the fascinating development of Jewish cooking over the centuries. The recipes -- many of them never before documented -- are the treasures garnered by the author during almost fifteen years of traveling around the world, tasting, watching, collecting recipes, talking to cooks and food sellers, and gathering the stories that spice this remarkable book. 

Beginning with a loving recollection of her childhood in Egypt and the food of the Jewish quarter of Cairo, Claudia Roden takes us on a journey through the entire Jewish Diaspora, from the inventive cooking of Ashkenazi Jews in Russia and Poland, Germany, England, France, and, of course, America, to the sensuous and colorful food of the Sephardim throughout the Orient, in Syria and Morocco, India and China, Bukhara, Greece, and Israel. 

Here are some of the delights she offers us, representing the many ways Jews are cooking today: 

• From the Ashkenazi world: traditional hallah bread and bagels, gefilte fish and tzimmes, blintzes, cholent, and kugel; cheese kreplach and savory chestnuts with onions, festive dishes of Alsatian roast squabs with chicken liver stuffing or whole salmon baked in foil with wine and cream dill sauce; and luscious desserts like German plum tart or Danish apple macaroon pie. 
• From the Sephardi world: a splendid array of stuffed delights to start -- borekas, empanadas, and Arab meat pies; zesty tabbouleh, falafel, and hummus; relishes and salads redolent of spicy Middle Eastern or fiery North African flavors; centerpiece dishes such as a Mediterranean fish soup from Livorno, duck with pomegranate and walnut sauce, and succulent lamb with prunes (or quinces). There are kibbeh and kofta and dafinas; a variety of fragrant couscous, rice, pasta, and other grain dishes; and deliciously sweet endings of mango or apricot granita or walnut and orange Passover cake. 

During her travels Claudia Roden wrote down her affectionate memories of the people behind the thousands of recipes she collected. She presents to us only the finest of her myriad dishes and leavens them throughout with tales of her travels, with intriguing history, with jokes and stories shared in communities all over the globe -- in tiny villages and in such once-great Jewish cultural centers as Aleppo and Salonika. 

The result is a cookbook unlike any other: a learned, loving, and delicious tribute to the variety and vivacity of Jewish culture the world over. An astonishing and hugely important work, it is sure to become the definitive book of Jewish cuisine, a must for every Jewish household and indispensable for anyone interested in culinary history. 

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Condition: Back cover dust jacket has a deep scratch. Further, good condition.