Recipes

Joanna Pruess · NYT Cooking

Joanna Pruess · NYT Cooking

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

This tricorner pastry is as closely linked to Purim, a Jewish holiday which celebrates the Jews’ deliverance from a plot to kill them by Haman, as matzos are to Passover. Fillings of poppy seeds, nuts and dried fruits used to be as exciting as these Eastern European sweets got. But these days, unconventional fillings like marzipan, sour apple, dates with sweet red wine and cinnamon, and halvah are not uncommon. Here, a version for chocolate lovers. Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

If you loathe gefilte fish, that staple of the Seder, it may just be that you've never had it homemade. In this recipe, created to convert gefilte fish skeptics, the traditional patties are updated with more flavorful fish, and then poached in court-bouillon — that is, a light vegetable broth. Be sure to use a wide pot here; the patties rise to the top as they cook, and you want to give them enough space.

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

Dan Graf, a genetics major who dropped out of Rutgers, founded Baron Baking in Oakland, Calif., after working in a delicatessen. The son of a Bergen County, N.J., contractor, he grew up accompanying his father to jobs on weekends. Stopping for bagels was part of the ritual. After moving to California, he worked for two years at Saul’s Restaurant and Delicatessen in Berkeley, where he became fascinated with baking. He began baking bagels in his apartment and eventually won an account with his former employer. There are all kinds of bagels; Mr. Graf’s has a chewy bite and an almost pretzel-like crust. This is his recipe. Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

This beautiful plum tart, adapted from the pastry chef Alex Levin of Osteria Morini in Washington, brings together a sablé butter crust flavored with vanilla bean; colorful, juicy plum slices; and an almond cream filling with a lovely flavor that complements the fruit. Using confectioners' sugar in the crust gives you a texture that is finer and smoother than if you use granulated sugar. And the sugar in the crust and filling removes the need to sweeten the plums (which in turn means the fruit juices won't leach into the dough) — though you'll want to sprinkle a little turbinado sugar over the top for added crunch. Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

Alex Levin, the pastry chef of Osteria Morini in Washington, adapted this Rosh Hashana honey cake recipe from his grandmother, an accomplished baker, though he put his own touches on it. Mr. Levin took out the cloves, allspice and raisins, and added an apple cider compote to the batter, which moistens the cake and gives it a caramelized apple flavor that deepens the cake beyond honey and spice. With its combination of apples and honey, it's a lovely and symbolic finale for a New Year's celebration. Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

This orange cranberry cake is a gift to the holiday baker. It can be made ahead. It travels well. And it can be brought out any time of day — with coffee or tea in the morning or afternoon, or with Cognac or plum brandy after dinner. Dried cranberries add a jaunty burst of color that is especially nice for the most festive time of year. Don’t worry if all the glaze doesn’t stick; that is the charm of this cake. Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

This vanilla apple compote is the perfect accompaniment to French potato pancakes. Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

When the chef Daniel Rose was growing up, his mother would make potato pancakes the first and the last three nights of Hanukkah. These latkes are inspired by the French classic pommes Darphin, but the addition of onions puts them in a category all their own. Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

Mandelbrot (or mandel bread) is an Eastern European Jewish cookie, a variation on biscotti. The dough is baked twice: first in a log, and then again after it's been sliced into cookies. This recipe includes the smart trick of freezing the dough after baking it the first time, then cutting it into slices when still frozen before baking again. This makes for a thinner slice, fewer crumbs when cutting and a crispier texture. You can make it with matzo cake meal during Passover — a delicious variation.

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

A version of this delicious Jewish-Middle Eastern chicken dish, adapted from Joan Nathan's cookbook "King Solomon's Table," dates to medieval times. You can make it in one day, but it's best to make the chicken a day ahead, then it refrigerate it overnight and remove the layer of fat that rises to the top. (If you choose to make it all in one day, you may want to use a fat separator to strain the sauce before serving.) For more heat, add a little hot paprika or cayenne.

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

Haroseth was served for Passover at Seders in Roman times, if not earlier, and versions exist all over the world, adapted for the fruits and nuts available. This recipe from Italy contains no spices, relying instead on a vibrant mix of fresh and dried fruit for flavor — so use the ripest and sweetest you can find.

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

Festive dishes in Israel and throughout the Middle East often include rice and lamb. This magnificent recipe, topped with a bright pomegranate and fennel relish, is the Israeli chef Erez Komarovsky's twist on an ancient, labor-intensive classic of individual stuffed chard, cabbage or grape leaves, symbolizing the plenty of the fall harvest. It is perfect for Rosh Hashana or any seasonal holiday gathering. Make it with blanched Swiss chard, grape leaves or even cabbage or kale as the outer crust, and assemble it a day in advance. Then bake it and revel in the heightened flavors from the cardamom, cinnamon, fennel and mint; the crunch of pistachio; and the slight kick you get from the Mexican Serrano pepper now planted in Israel. Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

Doro wat is a popular chicken dish in Ethiopia, and for Ethiopian Jews like Meskerem Gebreyohannes, it is also a fine centerpiece for a holiday like Hanukkah. Mrs. Gebreyohannes makes her doro wat with a Berbere spice mix imported from Ethiopia, but for this recipe, it is not needed, as the spices are listed individually. Doro wat is easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time. You can lower the heat by ratcheting up the sweet paprika, rather than the cayenne.

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

This Passover holiday recipe, an ancient jewel of Jewish Provençal cooking, feels modern with our new love of Swiss chard. It is traditional to use a whole veal breast with all the bones, but that makes for a giant roast by today’s standards. For this simplified but magnificent version, have a butcher trim, butterfly and remove the bones -- and save them to cook beside the meat, where they will add flavor and texture to the braise. The dish tastes best cooked a day ahead to allow the flavors to blend.

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

This is a 13th-century haroseth recipe from Provence, using the Mediterranean fruits and nuts that are still available in the region. Back then, Jewish families would have saved chestnuts from the fall harvest and roasted or boiled them for this springtime Passover recipe — and then laboriously peeled them by hand — but now you can buy cooked, pre-peeled chestnuts any time.

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

This prune apple cardamom cake by the chef Genevieve Gergis was inspired by sticky toffee pudding, a dish that her husband and business partner, the chef Ori Menashe, loves. It’s on the menu at their restaurant Bavel in Los Angeles, where it’s served hot from the oven with date toffee sauce and whipped cream. You can serve this cake version with your favorite toffee or caramel sauce and ice cream. It makes a lovely dessert after a Rosh Hashana supper or as part of a spread to break the Yom Kippur fast. Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

This colorful and flavorful mountain of bulgur, flecked with pomegranates, walnuts and herbs, is typical of the out-of-the box thinking of the chef Ori Menashe. He learned how to char vegetables in a heavy pan from chefs from Mexico City, who did a pop-up at his Los Angeles restaurant Bestia before it opened and showed him their technique for adding a smoky flavor to rice. (Libyan and Egyptian cooks also have started stews this way for centuries.) Just be careful about the hot pepper as it chars; it might make you cough, so keep the window open for the 6 minutes it takes to do this. This recipe yields 8 cups of cooked bulgur, but you only need 6 cups for the salad. Use those leftover 2 cups in other salads or add them to soups for heft and texture. Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

These little pocket pastries are adapted from the ones made at Congregation Or VeShalom in Atlanta. The women there make theirs with oil, which is traditional, but this version with butter is more tender. The dough is easy to work with and the fillings are delicious on their own; use any leftovers in eggs for breakfast. Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

Traditionally filled with apricot, prune or poppy seed jam, triangular hamantaschen cookies are a prized treat for the Jewish holiday of Purim. This dessert serves as a reminder of the Jewish people’s deliverance from Haman, who sought to exterminate Persia’s Jews in the fifth century B.C. This recipe is fully savory, tucking crumbled feta under thyme-scented caramelized onions, but you could just as easily fill the buttery dough with sweet jam to please traditionalists. When forming hamantaschen pastries, make sure to leave an opening wide enough for the filling to be visible but small enough to retain moisture.

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

Adapted from an 18th-century recipe by George Lang for his 1971 cookbook, “The Cuisine of Hungary,” this recipe layers roast potatoes with just-tender baked salmon and a fresh swipe of horseradish sauce. You could substitute the potatoes with carrots, beets or other root vegetables, or you could play around with more tender vegetables like zucchini or fennel, though you’d need to slice them more thickly and reduce the cook time in Step 1. Likewise, halibut, cod or another white fish can be used instead of salmon. The bright horseradish sauce keeps the salmon moist and gives this dish verve, pairing horseradish’s peppery punch with tangy sour cream and fresh herbs. Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

Homemade prepared horseradish tastes fresher than store-bought varieties and is a surprisingly versatile condiment that will keep, refrigerated, for about three months. Start with fresh horseradish, which should be chilled to preserve its punch, and a box grater, a hand grinder or a food processor. Horseradish is potent, so make sure to keep the windows open or wear glasses to protect yourself from the fumes when handling the raw ingredient. Whisked into vinaigrettes, drizzled over poached fish or stirred into mayonnaise for a brighter egg salad sandwich, a spoonful of prepared horseradish wakes up whatever you're cooking.

Joan Nathan · NYT Cooking

Menemen, made from eggs, tomatoes, peppers and sometimes onions, is a distinctly Turkish breakfast comfort food. Although a year-round dish, it is especially pleasing in the summer, with really ripe tomatoes from the garden or farmer’s market. Be creative with this dish: Add shallots, chiles, fresh herbs or Aleppo pepper, or treat it as purists do, with only tomatoes and eggs. Cook slowly, stirring infrequently, until the eggs form billowy puffs. You can serve topped with feta cheese or lamb sausage, with any warm flatbread on the side.