The great diversity of Jewish cuisine. The Jewish Diaspora, or migration, is thousands of years old, and it’s global. When you say “traditional Jewish recipes,” I immediately assume you mean eastern European food. But Jewish food is actually a patchwork of regional cuisines that includes the deli foods of Eastern Europe and the bold flavors of North Africa, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and more. Historically, people have always cooked “local,” using the ingredients and techniques available to them and adapting them culturally, as needed.

Your mother is Romanian and your father, Iraqi. Did growing up with them result in any interesting fusion cooking?

You have no idea! Imagine 1950s SoCal, living isolated from extended family and in a predominantly Japanese neighborhood, and being the child of students who worked to make ends meet at the L.A.-iconic VandeKamp Bakery. I was a food-curious child exposed to an eclectic array of flavors: sautéed calves’ brains; my father’s recreation of an Iraqi breakfast pastry, kahi (reimagined as Cheese and Honey Filo Pie in the book, page 237); Israeli salad; L.A. citrus; canned spinach; American burgers, apple pie, and layer cake; and for me (not my parents), an immediate love affair with the Japanese foods my friends’ parents cooked.

How did your childhood in Los Angeles influence the way you cook today?

Because my little family lived for the most part outside a bubbe-influenced food world, there were no food rules. We took a Catholic approach to what our melting-pot lives had to offer. And because I am the child of Israeli parents and have always lived in southern California’s produce-rich Mediterranean climate, fresh, ripe ingredients have always been important…. aside from that canned spinach.

What are the five or so essential ingredients to have on hand for last-minute cooking in this style?

Honestly, you could manage with just two—great olive oil and salt. Beyond that, I’d add an acid—lemon, good vinegar, or sumac, the tart seasoning ground from the bright purple berries from the sumac bush, popular in Iranian and Middle Eastern cuisines; and some heat, usually from a red pepper—Aleppo, Maras, espelette, or half-sharp paprika—that adds fruity and earthy complexities beyond a Scoville rating.

I love shakshuka, and I've made my way through many different versions. Can you describe your approach to this classic dish?

On a trip to Israel last year, I learned the secret of great shakshuka from my cousin, Pazit Gabai. Begin with her recipe for Matboucha (on page 32 of the book), a long-cooked, but simple, spicy tomato sauce, which she learned to make from her Moroccan sisters-in-law. Such “salades cuites,” or cooked salads, are traditional to North African cuisines, most of which claim some version of shakshuka as their own. Her recipe is basically tomatoes, spicy peppers (jalapeños, or some such), and garlic. When I make a big batch of matboucha from rich, late-season meaty tomatoes, such as the Costoluto Genovese variety, the resulting thick sauce is transcendent. I use some of it to poach eggs for shakshua, and use the rest as a condiment or to simmer black- or pink-eyed shell beans for a hearty rice or grain bowl-meal. (Winter matboucha made from good canned tomatoes isn’t bad, either!)

Which recipes in the book would you recommend to novice cooks or those new to this style of cooking?

Roasted Carrot and Sweet Potato Tzimmes ( Staci Valentine)

There are plenty to choose from! Because my cooking is mainly about showcasing the natural lusciousness of great seasonal ingredients, my recipes tend to be very simple, often as basic as shoving something into a hot oven to roast and caramelize or pulling together interesting assemblages of contrasting flavors, colors, and textures. Start with the tastiest ingredients you can find, and dishes like Roasted Carrot and Sweet Potato Tzimmes or Autumn Slaw with Beets, Carrots, and Kohlrabi will sing. And a salade composée of pickled herring, boiled potatoes and eggs becomes a contemporary work of art. I’d also refer readers to the Roasted Vegetable Primer in my first book, The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook, which shows beginners how to get incredibly diverse results from one simple technique.

What are your current favorite restaurants in Los Angeles?

I especially enjoy the way Suzanne Goin of Lucques, AOC, and Tavern restaurants has redefined Cal-Med to include eastern Mediterranean flavors. And I love how innovative chef Jeremy Fox at Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica uses gribenes (a Yiddish word for fried chicken or goose skin) within decidedly non-Jewish dishes. Perfect examples of how a market-driven, seasonal approach meshes seamlessly with traditional elements.

Who/what are the chief inspirations for your work?

Without a doubt, the passionate farmers who grow for flavor first. Their perseverance and dedication to quality and to being good stewards of the land have transformed the way I think about food. I try to show my respect and gratitude by simplifying my cooking to better show off their efforts!

And my two grandmothers, Mina and Rachel, whose cooking I first tasted when I was ten-years-old on our first trip to Israel and forever changed my life.

Saltsman will be at Omnivore Books in San Francisco on Sunday, September 27 from 3-5pm.

RECIPES

Shakshuka from The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen ( Staci Valentine)

Shakshuka

(makes six servings)

Ingredients:

2 cups Matboucha (see recipe below)
2 Tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
6 eggs
Kosher or sea salt (optional)
Generous handful of chopped fresh Italian parsley
Labneh, homemade or store-bought

Instructions:

Thickly sliced country bread, toasted, or pita bread
In a 12-inch skillet, thin the Matboucha with water, to the consistency of thick spaghetti sauce. Add the olive oil and set over medium heat. When the sauce is bubbling, reduce the heat to medium-low.
Using the back of a large spoon, make an indentation in the sauce at the 12 o’clock position. Crack an egg into the depression. Repeat with remaining eggs, spacing them evenly in the pan. Cook until the eggs are set to your liking, about 7 minutes for over-easy. Cover the pan to hasten cooking, especially if you like your eggs more well-done.
Season the eggs with salt, if desired, and shower the parsley over all. Serve directly from the pan into shallow individual bowls, accompanied by labneh and bread or pita.

Matboucha

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