Pumpkin Risotto-Risotto alla Zucca Barucca

The hidden Jews (conversos) who came to Northern Italy from Spain and Portugal brought with them the pumpkin and introduced it to Italian cooking. Initially, it was just the Jews who appreciated the sweet earthiness of pumpkin and other related squashes. In fact, they loved them so much that they started calling them the Blessed […]

Chicken Fricassee

A fricassee is a hybrid cooking technique, somewhere between a braise and a stew. Meat and vegetables are sauteed as you would for a braise, but then cooked in liquid as you would for a stew. In Europe, Jewish cooks would use the neck, gizzard, and feet of a chicken making sure none of it […]

Lokshen Kugel (Noodle Pudding)

When German Jewish immigrants came to America they brought with their noodle making traditions. Noodles making was a labor of love and also an inexpensive way to feed a family. In the street markets of the lower east side teaming with people, the frugal housewife would leave the home with her shopping basket in the […]