Jewish

What to drink: Georg Breuer 1999 Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Rüdesheim Berg Rottland.

(Spinaci con Pinoli e Passerine) Spinach with pine nuts and raisins is a classic Sephardic dish that appears on tables in Greece, Spain, Turkey, and Italy, where it is a staple on Venetian and Genoese menus. It is a perfect accompaniment to delicate fish or poultry dishes and is often served at room temperature.

(Stufadin di Zuca Zala) As many Ashkenazic Jews emigrated to the Veneto, it's not surprising to find a Venetian recipe for a stew reminiscent of the familiar Ashkenazic tsimmes, in which sweet potatoes or squash are paired with meat for a savory one-dish meal. In Mantua, a similar dish made with a beef rump roast is called brasato Rachele. Despite the use of the squash and Marsala, the stufadin is not overly sweet.

(Pollo Arrosto All'Arancia, Limone, e Zenzero) Ginger arrived in Italy with Arabic traders or North African Jewish immigrants, so it's likely that this is a Sicilian or Livornese recipe. Most Italians would use ground ginger, but since fresh ginger is so plentiful at our markets, why not use it?

The first American Jewish recipe I found for fricassee, a kind of ragout — usually made with chicken, browned lightly with onions in fat and then simmered in the drippings — came from a section on Jewish recipes in Jennie June's American Cookery Book of 1866. Jennie June Croley was one of the first American newspaper women and founder of the Sorosis Club. In her only cookbook she included a chapter on Jewish "receipts," which probably came to her from her Jewish friend, Genie H. Rosenfeld. "These are all original and reliable, -- the contribution of a superior Jewish housekeeper in New York," she wrote. Mrs. Rosenfeld was the wife of the dramatist, Sydney Rosenfeld, who was also the first editor of Puck. This nineteenth-century recipe cooks well today. The slow sautéing of the onions along with the nutmeg, mace, and thyme enhances the taste of the chicken. Serve it with rice.

When I first heard about Ari Weinzweig's delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I couldn't believe it. A deli in the home of my alma mater. It's not really a deli but more of an international food emporium like New York's Zabar's with a definite Jewish touch. Mr. Weinzweig, a drop-out Ph.D. candidate, has taken an academic and appetizing interest in updating Jewish recipes like mushroom and barley soup, going back in history to the nineteenth-century Eastern European version similar to that served at New York's Second Avenue Deli.

This matzo ball soup recipe calls for hours of simmering, which enriches the homemade chicken stock with concentrated flavor. The schmaltz doesn’t hurt either.

These two skillet-size latkes are a faster, smoother road to party time. Serve right away or make in advance and let the guests slice their own pieces.

This homey one-pot stew boasts a short ingredient list but tons of complex flavors, built over three hours in a mostly hands-off braise.

This hearty crowd-pleasing roast is a mash-up of two beloved culinary staples: tender Jewish brisket and sweet-savory Korean braised short ribs known as kalbi jjim.

Michael W. Twitty combines the best of custardy kugel with rich rice pudding of the American South for this take on the Rosh Hashanah classic.

Hearty and packed with caramelized cabbage, this vegetarian matzo ball soup doesn’t miss the chicken.

For a creamy, comforting, and super-savory kugel, chef Bonnie Morales soaks matzo in a homemade mushroom stock, then mixes it with Swiss chard and crème fraîche.

This Moroccan-inspired lamb is coated with ras el hanout, preserved lemon, and harissa. Don’t skip the dried apricots, which get jammy and caramelized in the oven.

After an intense internal debate about what a noodle kugel should be—naked or cereal-topped? wide noodles or extra-wide noodles? souffléed or custardy? sweet or...savory?!—this is where we landed.

The perfect matzo ball doesn’t require seltzer, baking powder, egg whites, or even a light touch, and this recipe proves it.

This recipe serves eight people generously (with two balls each) but could easily stretch to serve 16 smaller appetizer-sized portions.

It’ll take a couple of hours to make the homemade broth and cook a whole chicken (your house will smell amazing) for this soup recipe. If you’ve had a long day, use 2 quarts store-bought broth and shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken. Whatever method you choose, use the chicken breasts to make this amazing salad with crispy rice. Check out step-by-step photos here.