Mazel Tov! by Liv Fleischhacker

Mazel Tov! by Liv Fleischhacker

Mazel Tov is a collection of Jewish recipes and profiles of celebrated chefs from around the world. The book divides 21 chefs into 3 regional groups: Middle East, Old World, and New World. American readers may recognize chefs Molly Yeh (Girl Meets Farm, Food Network), Leah Koenig (author of The Jewish Cookbook et al.), and Adeena Sussman (author of Sababa and Cravings with Chrissy Teigen). Mazel Tov will introduce readers to potentially unfamiliar names, such as the Ardinast brothers in Germany, Gil Havov in Israel, and Jacob Kenedy in London. Each profile tells the story of how these chefs came to cooking. They talk about the people in their lives who influenced their cooking most, or how the region provides ingredients that give their recipes a new twist. The book includes recipes for pickles, breads, and gefilte fish. Some dishes and accompaniments, like pan cooked fish and sauces, are influenced by Tunisian and Yemeni grandmothers. Other recipes include zhug, kubaneh, carrot salad, gefilte fish, kreplach, borscht, pickles, many with little tweaks and updates from the chef. What sets these recipes apart from traditional Jewish recipes are the multicultural chefs who modernize them with current popular ingredients or flavors. Their regional influences create inspiration for home cooks in the US to try updated versions of popular traditional recipes. The book also introduces traditional Jewish dishes from regions that might not be familiar to American Jewish tables. The recipes are not kosher, but can be adapted. Perfect for blended families.