Creating a list of iconic Jewish recipes is an almost impossible undertaking. How do you define “Jewish food”? And which Jewish community’s dishes are you celebrating? In the Ashkenazi world, gefilte fish, brisket, and matzo ball soup are essential. For Sephardim, the Shabbat stew adafina, pastries like bourekas, and stuffed vegetables are vital. Ethiopian Jews often celebrate Shabbat with the spiced chicken dish doro wat, Bukharians are known for the herb-laced dish bahksh, and Roman’s for their artichokes.
These are only a smattering of the dishes that are important to the global Jewish community, most of which has lived in a Diaspora for 2,000 years. As Jewish families settled in places as far apart as modern-day Poland, India, Brazil, Morocco, and New York, cooks adopted and adapted recipes from neighbors making them kosher. And, at the same time, they developed unique dishes.
Jewish cuisine is constantly evolving. So too, will this collection. Each season, we’ll update it to highlight recipes from Jewish cooks around the world, so you can always find something delicious. A note: You won’t find charoset, hamantaschen, latkes, or other foods that are typically associated with just one holiday here. For those, check out our holiday collections.
