CROSSROADS
confit of greens mixed with Israeli couscous. And she even features Mexican Gefilte Fish in Spicy Tomatillo Sauce from an Israeli couple who met in Oaxaca when she lived with his host family while studying Spanish. They now run a popular taqueria in Israel.
Capturing these flavors was a jumping-off point when Sussman decided to write “Shabbat.”
“Israel is an immigrant culture. And there are both local and immigrant traditions that help comprise what we like to call Israeli food these days,” she explained. “I was looking for another topic that would help me continue to deepen my understanding of my own relationship with Israeli food, Jewish food and cooking — the intersection of those three things.
“Shabbat just kept popping up because it’s an ancient concept that has been brought into modern times. And it’s observed a little bit differently today than it was, but people both maintain their original traditions and have also introduced their own modern dishes and traditions into it.”
Sussman pointed out that the importance of food during Shabbat is based in the importance of people gathering around a table in community.
“I think people are looking for comforting foods right now and reasons to be together. There’s nothing better than a meal to do that. Shabbat is an opportunity and almost a directive to set your phones aside when you walk in the door and elevate your experience by having a quality meal and social experience and something that’s elevated spiritually, whatever that spirituality might mean to you.”
“Shabbat” includes many dishes that can be made, yes, for Shabbat, but also the rest of the week. And, while the featured meal may be Friday night dinner, there’s all of Saturday to consider, too. Sussman takes care of that with intriguing salads, appetizers and dips to nosh on. She doesn’t neglect sweets either. How about Fudgy Medjool Date Brownies or Apricot Tahini Shortbread Bars? You’ll also want to experiment with her Shaken Iced Tahini Coffee and Pomegranate Sumac Margaritas.
While most of us who come from an Eastern European culinary tradition expect an egg challah, potato or noodle kugel, and roasted chicken or brisket as a traditional Shabbat dinner, here we’ve got a bit of a twist: recipes for her Water Challah, a Colorful Vegetable Kugel, and her late mother’s Shabbat Chicken.
I was initially skeptical of the concept of a water challah. This recipe comes from a popular Vishnitz challah factory in Israel. I made it, and it’s both wonderfully crusty and an easy bake. If you’re vegan, rejoice. But its origins are less about avoiding animal products and more about working around the prohibitive cost of eggs in 18thand 19th-century Eastern Europe.
If you’re new to baking, this is a great bread to start with, and Sussman’s instructions are easy to follow. Just start in the morning to give the dough time to rise, and, if your kitchen is cool, heat your oven at the lowest temperature, turn it off and let the dough rise in there.
“Don’t be intimidated,” said Sussman. “You control the bread; the bread doesn’t control you. Handle the dough with confidence.”
The result will be two beautiful, crunchy braided loaves. If that’s one too many, you can easily wrap the second in plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze it after it cools.
Sussman’s Colorful Vegetable Kugel is one of those “why didn’t I think of that!” recipes. This is a dish her mom came up with to take advantage of garden vegetables for a lighter version of savory potato kugel. Here are shredded potatoes, yes, but also colorful summer zucchini and squash, carrots, onions and garlic. Be sure to squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the shredded vegetables. Then mix all the ingredients together, pour into a casserole dish brushed with vegetable oil, and bake. If summer squash isn’t in season, Sussman suggested shredding butternut squash and adding a modest amount of spaghetti squash or other colorful root veggies.
Enjoy the leftovers cold or sliced into pita with lettuce and tomato.
Finally, there’s My Mother’s Shabbat Chicken. I grew up eating roast chicken for Shabbat dinners with my grandparents and family, so I was instinctively drawn to it. Here, this Sussman family staple features chicken pieces smothered in caramelized onions. You’ll bake the sliced onions in the baking dish until they soften, then place chicken pieces over them and season each piece with onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and paprika — for a deep red skin. Bake for about 50 minutes at 350 degrees, then broil the dish briefly to get even more color on the chicken and a sizzle to the onions, now beautifully schmaltzy.
Sussman’s been on a book tour since before the traumatic events of Oct. 7, and she’s eager to return to Tel Aviv. What will she make for her first Shabbat meal at home?
“Probably a whole fish from the shuk, and challah and a soup,” she said. “I usually let the market be my guide, so I’ll see what I find there. I think persimmons are going to be in the picture as well.”