For thousands of years, the people of the Jewish Diaspora have carried their culinary traditions and kosher laws throughout the world. In the United States, this has resulted primarily in an Ashkenazi table of matzo ball soup and knishes, brisket and gefilte fish. But Joyce Goldstein is now expanding that menu with this comprehensive collection of over four hundred recipes from the kitchens of three Mediterranean Jewish cultures: the Sephardic, the Maghrebi, and the Mizrahi.
The New Mediterranean Jewish Table is an authoritative guide to Jewish home cooking from North Africa, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, and the Middle East. It is a treasury filled with vibrant, seasonal recipes—both classic and updated—that embrace fresh fruits and vegetables; grains and legumes; small portions of meat, poultry, and fish; and a healthy mix of herbs and spices. It is also the story of how Jewish cooks successfully brought the local ingredients, techniques, and traditions of their new homelands into their kitchens. With this varied and appealing selection of Mediterranean Jewish recipes, Joyce Goldstein promises to inspire new generations of Jewish and non-Jewish home cooks alike with dishes for everyday meals and holiday celebrations.
“I’m grateful for this fascinating collection of recipes and lore. Goldstein has a scholar’s inquisitive nature and a chef’s fine-tuned palate—a winning combination. She knows her subject and her audience, and boy, can she cook!”—David Tanis, chef and author of One Good Dish
“Joyce Goldstein has done it again. The New Mediterranean Jewish Table has all the updated yet authentic and delicious recipes of her past cookbooks, as well as charming anecdotes and regional variations of Mediterranean Jewish cooking. You can see the seasoned hand of an experienced cook in all the recipes.”—Joan Nathan, journalist and award-winning author of Jewish Cooking in America
“An incredible book written by an incredible cook! Goldstein makes Jewish Mediterranean cooking approachable, sophisticated, and downright delicious.”—Michael Solomonov, chef and owner, Zahav
“One of the most impressive recipe collections to be published in many years. Every dish may be tied to ancient traditions, but Goldstein has done such a masterful job of tweaking and updating them for contemporary cooks and tastes and putting them into historical and cultural context that every single one is an enticement to get into the kitchen and cook.”—Arthur Schwartz, author of Jewish Home Cooking: Yiddish Recipes Revisited
“Goldstein has a way of layering history, ritual, flavor, and tradition into a sacred way of eating and gathering. She uses culinary traditions to break down the walls that, for so long, have housed separate identities of Middle Eastern Jews. Through food, Joyce is able to bring these groups together while simultaneously celebrating their individuality, both in style and flavor. We all come from somewhere, and this book underscores how thousands of years of cross-continental movement and trade have made room for many cuisines that are not so disparate after all.”—Cortney Burns and Nick Balla, chefs, Bar Tartine
“An amazing taste tour of traditional Jewish foods from Tunisia, Spain, Syria, Algeria, Italy, and more. Joyce Goldstein’s deep research and exceptional recipe writing skills make this a book you will use and benefit from for as long as you’re cooking and eating.”—Ari Weinzweig, author of Zingerman’s Guide to Good Eating
“Joyce Goldstein remains remarkable not only for her prolific contribution through writing, cooking, and cookbooks about her beloved culinary Mediterranean but also for continuing to broaden all of our cultural and historical horizons and showing how varied these cuisines really are. Who better to enlighten us about the largely unknown melding of the Mediterranean diet and Jewish culinary traditions, centuries old, yet ready to be discovered and celebrated? Old World food in a New World kitchen indeed!”—David Kinch, chef and owner, Manresa Restaurant
"Joyce Goldstein provides an excellent guide to these tasty dishes... [this book] should inspire adventurous cooks."
