Mi Shebeirach - Prayer for Healing
Czech Apple-Filled Yeast Cake (Ceske’ Buchty)
This cake combines Czech culture with Jewish tradition, placing the symbolic holiday apple inside the traditional Czech dough and making it into a ring to symbolize a year of never-ending good.
Algerian Vegetable Melange in Pastry Shells
This simple but elegant holiday dish is served at the Aferiat home. Yolande Aferiat, from Oran, taught her daughter-in-law, Kathy, how to make it. Kathy, in turn, described it to me. Kathy’s use of peas rather than fava beans is a sign of the Americanization of Yolande’s traditional dish.
Sweet Potato-Spiced Sufganiyot (Gluten-Free)
Hanukkah Radish Salad Canapés
Chocolate Truffle "Gelt"
Although these filled truffles cannot be flattened like a coin, they can be individually wrapped in malleable gold foil to evoke the image of metallic coins.
Persian Nan o Paneer (Bread with Cheese)
A Persian cheese plate is a perfect starter for a hot summer meal. Persian Lighvan cheese made from sheep’s milk is traditionally used in this dish, but as it’s hard to find, feta cheese — especially Bulgarian feta — is a good substitute.
Fiori de Zucca Ripieni [Stuffed Zucchini Flowers]
Recipes that combine mozzarella and anchovies are most strongly associated with the cooking of the Roman Jewish ghetto of the 17th century.