Jews are the people of the Diaspora. Beginning in the first century, and then over and over again through the years and around the world, our people have been forced to leave their homes and scatter elsewhere. As a result, our rich culinary traditions have continued to evolve. 

While the laws of kashrut and our Jewish holidays form the pillars of our food culture, the places where we settled shaped those culinary traditions. Each new geographic location meant access to different fruits, vegetables, meats, herbs, spices and, just as important, new cuisines. 

There are three primary Jewish food traditions: Sephardic, Mizrahi and Ashkenazi. Each differs from the other two as a result of where our ancestors lived. Sephardic Jews lived in the countries along the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and parts of France, Italy, Greece and Turkey. But even among each of those Sephardic regions, there are profound culinary differences. 

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And as different as those traditions are from one another, so, too, are those of the Ashkenazi Jews, who settled in Eastern Europe, Russia and Germany, and the Mizrahi Jews, who settled in Middle Eastern countries such as Syria, Iran, Lebanon and Iraq.

It is not surprising, then, that while Jews all over the world this month will be reciting the same prayers on Rosh Hashanah, their holiday feasts, from bread to soup to main course to dessert, will be quite different. 

Two wonderful new cookbooks beautifully highlight this diversity.

Beejhy Barhany is the author of “Gursha: Timeless Recipes for Modern Kitchens from Ethiopia, Israel, Harlem and Beyond.” She is an Ethiopian Jew whose community is known as Beta Israel. “Gurkha” (“mouthful” in Amharic) is a lovely combination of her close-knit family’s history and the recipes for the foods they prepared. 

Barhany grew up in a village surrounded by local (and to us, exotic) fruit trees and fields full of African grains and vegetables. When she was 4 years old, her family began the process of making aliyah to Israel. Their dream was finally realized, along with more than 100,000 other Ethiopian Jews, with help from the Israel Defense Forces in collaboration with Mossad, the CIA, American Jewish organizations and Sudanese officials. 

Now, Barhany’s mother would continue to prepare their traditional meals, although sometimes having to substitute local ingredients. The family’s traditional Rosh Hashanah dishes included Qye Sur (Braised Beets), Beg Wot (Holiday Lamb Stew), Dabo (Spiced Whole Wheat Bread) and Dubba Wot (Pumpkin Stew with Date Honey, the recipe for which I have included below). 

Many of the vegetables and stews were seasoned with berbere, an Ethiopian spice blend made from paprika, cayenne pepper, black cardamom, ginger onion powder, coriander, cumin, black pepper, salt cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and fenugreek. My effort to make berbere using Barhany’s recipe was a challenge because even today, Ethiopian black cardamom is particularly difficult to find here.

Another family favorite was a Shabbat chicken stew wrapped in injera, the traditional spongy Ethiopian bread made from teff. As Barhany says in her book, once in Israel, “Making acceptable injera took many months, and we finally found a solution with some improvisation with a nonstick skillet and wheat flour.” 

Fast forward to the present. Barhany moved to the United States and lives in Harlem, where she and her husband own a highly regarded vegan restaurant called Tsion Café, (in Hebrew, “the ultimate spiritual place”). Their menu features a wonderful combination of the Ethiopian and Israeli food she grew up with, including shakshuka, shiro wat, sambusa and baklava. While I haven’t been to Barhany’s restaurant, I am truly enjoying cooking through her inspirational cookbook.

Another exemplary book is “Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook,” which highlights how both Jewish Sephardic and Ashkenazi cuisine was adapted to reflect Mexican ingredients and culinary traditions. 

Sephardic Jews came to Mexico from Spain and Portugal about 1492 during the inquisition, and Ashkenazi Jews came from Eastern European countries at the end of the 19th century. A  different group of Sephardim, those fleeing the Ottoman Empire, arrived about the same time. Following them in the 1970s was a wave of Israeli immigrants bringing yet another set of culinary traditions. Each of these groups has contributed to what is now recognized as Jewish-Mexican cuisine.

The co-authors of the book, Ilan Stavans and Margaret E. Boyle, grew up in Mexico. And both were able to glean so much of their family’s culinary histories from their grandparents, either through written recipes or conversations, and from other family members, close friends and historical sources. Each recipe in the book is preceded by a fascinating history behind the dish or a personal story. 

The result is an exciting collection of Jewish-Mexican recipes, any of which would make a memorable addition to your Rosh Hashanah table. The names of the recipes alone are proof of the food adaptation that occurred to create this unique food culture. Examples include Raquel’s Slow-Braised Beef Tzimmes with Panela and Pumpkin; Caldo Verde with Corn and Matzah Balls (the recipe is included below); Cheesy Jalepeno Challah; and Coffee Honey Cake. Tantalizing, right?  

These are just two of the many examples of Jewish culinary traditions that came out of the Diaspora. For example, prior columns of mine have explored the Jewish food traditions, especially around holidays, in Turkey, Bukharia, Morocco, China and elsewhere. 

Food is a key element of any culture and one that connects us to our heritage. Learning about these and other Jewish food cultures provides an exciting opportunity to expand our understanding of the history of the Jewish people and to enjoy our unique foods. 

Here are two recipes that I found particularly interesting, and the results were delicious! I hope you enjoy them.

L’Shana Tovah Tikatevu.

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