Episoder
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Today I’m chatting with Aaron Israel and Sawako Okochi, the owners of Shalom Japan –– a Japanese-Jewish fusion restaurant in Brooklyn.
Truth be told, I’ve been waiting for this conversation for a long time because it's thanks to Shalom Japan that I got this idea of Yiddishland and the fact that Jewish cuisine is evolving on its own terms for, it seems, the first time in history. I was lucky enough to visit back in May of 2021 to slurp up my own bowl of matzo ball ramen and that’s when it all just clicked.
But enough of my memories. Let’s get to Aaron and Sawako! I started our chat by asking Aaron about some of his earliest Jewish food memories.
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Today I’m chatting with Leah Koenig, the much-celebrated cookbook author of a whopping SEVEN cookbooks, including Modern Jewish Cooking and The Jewish Cookbook. It’s like how there’s THE Ohio State University. Leah wrote THE Jewish Cookbook. We talk a little bit about that and I mention how instrumental that book was in moving me along my own Jewish cooking journey.
But the focus of our chat is on her latest cookbook, Portico: Cooking and Feasting in Rome's Jewish Kitchen. It's a captivating cookbook, deep-diving into the two-thousand-plus-year-old world of Roman-Jewish cooking with more than 100 recipes. I also get her thoughts on the evolution of Jewish cooking, particularly her own.
Show Notes
Sign up for The Forward's online event, How Today’s Chefs are Reimagining Yiddish Cooking.
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Today I’m chatting with Rebecca King aka The Bad Jew. Rebecca specializes in porkstrami, which she sells out of her very unkosher deli in Los Angeles when she’s not busy traveling the globe cooking at private events.
I’ve been wanting to chat with Rebecca pretty much since I came up with the idea of Yiddishland. To me, she is the embodiment of what I think is so unique about this moment in Jewish food. That is, she’s someone who cares about her Jewishness and she’s going to express it however she damn well pleases.
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Today I’m chatting with Benedetta Guetta, whose name is arguably the most fun to pronounce in Jewish cooking, but it’s also plastered across Cooking alla Giudia: A Celebration of the Jewish Food of Italy. She’s also the owner of Café Lovi in Santa Monica where she's serving up a slew of signature challah sandwiches amongst other noshables.
Before we get to our chat, allow me to throw out a shameless plug for an upcoming Forward event where I’ll be chatting alongside Rukhl Schaechter, editor of the Forverts, food scholar and chef Eve Jochnowitz, as well as folklore and food scholar Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett. The online event is called “What did our great-grandparents eat for breakfast? Exploring the food traditions of our East European Jewish heritage.” And that’ll stream live on Monday, August 7th at noon EST.
Now onwards to Benedetta! We first spoke some time ago for a story and recipe I was working on about caponata. But for this conversation, I asked Benedetta if she could start off by painting us a picture of Jewish life in Italy.
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Today I’m chatting with the one and only, the matriarch of Jewish-American cooking––Joan Nathan. That’s right, Joan-freaking-Nathan!
What can I say about Joan Nathan that you don’t already know if you’re listening to this thing? She’s the James Beard award-winning author of 11 cookbooks, most recently King Solomon's Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World. Next year you can get her memoir-in-recipes appropriately titled Joan Nathan: A Life In Search Of Recipes.
Before we get to our chat, I mentioned last time that I started uploading videos from my recent trip to Israel. If you missed it, you can catch up with my video on Tel Aviv featuring a food tour through the Carmel Market with Delicious Israel. Since then, I’ve uploaded my visit to Jerusalem including a tour of the Machane Yehuda Market with Jewish culinary historian Joel Haber. And this Sunday, I’ll upload another video on my visit across Checkpoint 300 into Palestine. Head to YouTube.com/JoeBaur and subscribe so you don’t miss anything.
Now onwards to Joan Nathan. We spoke for a story and recipe I was working on about kishkes. I’ll leave a link to that below in case you’re interested. But besides kishkes, we talked about her impressions of how Jewish cuisine has evolved throughout her career, the dishes she ate growing up, and where she sees Jewish food heading next.
Kishke: Unraveling the Gut-Deep Culinary Traditions of Ashkenazi Jews
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Today I’m chatting with June Hersh, the author of, amongst other things, Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival, Still Here: Inspiration from Survivors and Liberators of the Holocaust, and most recently, Iconic New York Jewish Food, a History and Guide with Recipes.
June's gravlax recipe in BBC Travel
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Today I’m chatting with Jeremy Salamon, the owner of Agi’s Counter in Crown Heights, a high-end Jewish & Eastern European-inspired restaurant inspired by his grandmother, the eponymous Agi. You can find him on Instagram at @jeremycooks as well as at @agiscounter where you’ll get no shortage of photographic culinary temptations that are, to be honest, a tad torturous for someone like me who tragically lives too far away to just pop over the restaurant for a nosh.
YouTube Videos mentioned
Exploring My Jewish Roots In Sighet, Romania
The Surprising Jewish Roots of Sicilian Cuisine
Chremslach Passover Pancakes
Kasha Varnishkes
Haluski
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Today I’m chatting with Shannon Sarna, certified pizza bagel and creator of The Nosher, arguably the preeminent Jewish food website with everything from recipes to the surprising Jewish history behind just about everything: fish and chips, Baileys, Mickey D’s, you name it. Who am I kidding? If you’re listening to this, you know what The Nosher is. Shannon is also the author of two cookbooks: Modern Jewish Baker and last year’s Modern Jewish Comfort Food.
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Today I’m chatting with Katianna Hong, who co-founded Yangban Society with her husband, John. Yangban is a Korean-American deli in LA’s arts district with a bissele heymishe touch as a nod to Katianna’s grandmother.
We talk about her earliest food influences, growing up in upstate New York, and when she started blending Korean and Jewish flavors. But first, I ask her to share the origin story behind the deli.
As mentioned on the show
How 3 Midwest Kitchens Are Adapting—And Expanding— Modern Jewish Cuisine
Yiddishe Ribbenes (grilled Jewish ribs)
The Sicilian Jewish Legacy Dish You Need To Try
The chefs reclaiming Lithuania's cuisine
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Jewish Deli Scallion Pancake Rolls, Mapo Tofu Shakshuka, Red Bean Babka, Matcha Cream Sufganiyot, Za'atar Lox Onigiri, Taiwanese Brisket, and the list goes on. Today I’m chatting with Jamie Wei, who you might know as the Asian-Jewish recipe developer ChopsticksMeetFork on Instagram. We talk about her first experiences with Jewish food and how she started blending Taiwanese flavors with Ashkenazi dishes.
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Today I’m thrilled to welcome to the show, Aaron Augenbaum. Aaron is one of the co-founders of JewFro, a Jewish-African deli in Richmond, Virginia where they say they’re educating palates and encouraging cultural exchange and appreciation through food.
Aaron and I chat about JewFro’s origin story, using food to bring people together, and we get a behind-the-scenes look at how they develop their recipes.
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Our unintentional theme of chatting with folks from places I’ve lived continues! Laurel Kratochvila, the owner of Berlin’s Fine Bagels and the author of New European Baking, joins me to discuss the return migration of Jewish cooking and baking to Europe and how you, dear listener, can support this year’s Hamantashen For Ukraine fundraiser.
Fine Bagel's Hamantashen Recipe
Ingredients:
For the dough:
Butter or Margarine (cold, cubed): 240g
All-purpose flour: 440g
Finely ground almonds or almond flour: 130g
Powdered Sugar: 120g
Table Salt: a pinch (about 1/4 tsp)
2 eggs, beaten
Vanilla or almond extract (1 tsp)
Optional: grated zest of 1/2 an orangePoppyseed Filling:
Ground Poppy Seeds 150g (1 1/2 cups)
Granulated Sugar: 75g (1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp)
Milk or Non-dairy Milk: 210g (3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp)
Butter or Margarine: 2 tsp
1/2 lemon, juiced
Honey: 2 tbspTo make the filling:
In a thick-bottomed medium-size saucepan, bring the ground poppy seeds, sugar, milk, butter, and lemon juice to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened. Remove from the heat, stir in the honey, and let cool completely before using. Cover airtight and refrigerate up to a week. To use in hamantashen, wait until cool or else it will melt the dough.
To make the dough by hand:
In a bowl, toss flour and butter until well coated. Then using your fingers, rub butter and flour to create a sandy texture. When there are no more visible bits of butter, add the almond flour and powdered sugar and continue the rubbing motion until the mixture is homogenous. Add the salt, egg, and vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon until there are no dry bits. Press the dough into a thick disk and wrap airtight. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 4 days.To make the dough by stand mixer:
Using your paddle attachment on low speed, mix flour and butter until sandy in texture and no bits of butter remain. Add the almond flour and powdered sugar and mix until homogenous. Add the salt, egg, and vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon until there are no dry bits. Press the dough into a thick disk and wrap airtight. Refrigerate for 2 hour or up to 4 days.To use:
To use the chilled dough, "break" it. Do this by folding it in half and rolling it out once. It will crack. Then fold the dough back up and roll out a second time. The second time you do this, the dough should be easier to work with and less prone to cracking. Next, roll the dough out to about 1/3cm thickness, or about 1/8-1/4 inch, depending how thick you like your cookie. Use a water glass or cookie cutter to cut out as many circles as possible. Set aside dough scraps to re-roll and use again.Place the cut circles on a parchment paper lined baking sheep. Place a small amount of filling in the centre of each. To shape, fold three sides inward to make a triangle, either overlapping or pinching where the edges meet. Once all the cookies are formed, chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or the freezer for 10 minutes. Bake at 180c/350f with convection settings if possible for about 10 minutes, or until the cookie is golden.
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After kicking things off in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio with Larder’s Jeremy Umansky, we’re heading west to Chicago for a chat with Tamar Unikel, co-owner of the Mexican-Jewish bakery, Masa Madre.
Tamar and I chat about the meals she ate growing up in Mexico City and how she blends Mexican and Jewish flavors.
If you’re in Chicago, you can learn more about pre-ordering, pick-up, and their local retailers at hellomasamadre.com.
On the next episode of Yiddishland, we’re hanging out in my backyard of Berlin with Laurel Kratochvila of Fine Bagels to talk about the return migration of Jewish culinary traditions to Europe and how you can support the second year of Hamantashen For Ukraine.
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Jeremy Umansky is the owner behind Larder Delicatessen & Bakery in Cleveland, which was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as the Best New Restaurant in America in 2019. Jeremy himself was nominated Best Chef Great Lakes in 2020.
But he’s also known for his work with koji, an East Asia mold used to ferment veggies and meats. In 2020, he co-authored the book Koji Alchemy: Rediscovering the Magic of Mold-Based Fermentation, itself nominated as a finalist for the 2022 James Beard Media Awards.
Jeremy and I chat about his interpretation of kashrut and why he believes it needs a 21st Century update before turning our attention to koji, how he uses it as his deli, and what Jewish food means to him.
Larder's Latke Sundae
Makes approximately 10 3” diameter latkes
Ingredients
2 large Carola potatoes
1 pint schmaltz or vegetable oil Salt to taste
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Place potatoes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the potatoes from the oven and allow them to cool just enough to handle, about 15 minutes.
While the potatoes are still warm, but cool to the touch, grate them on a box grater or by using a food processor.
Season the shredded potatoes with salt to taste.
Heat the schmaltz over medium heat to 350°F. Use a thermometer to ensure accuracy.
Form the shredded potatoes in muffin tins to make bowls for sundaes.
Remove from tin and fry the latkes in the schmaltz until they are golden
brown on both sides. If the latkes are not completely submerged in the
schmaltz you will have to flip them.Serve with your sundae of choice in the latke bowl.
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Welcome to Yiddishland!
This is a project I’ve been working on for a while now where I take people into the creative kitchens of Jews all across Yiddishland, which I’m roughly defining as anywhere the descendants of Yiddish-speaking Jews have ended up in the world.
Now before I hand the mic over to my guests for the rest of the podcast, I figured I ought to answer the obvious question: Why me? Why am I hosting this thing?
But hey, if you don’t really care about me or why I’m doing this thing and you just want to get straight to the kitchen with our guests, then I’ve got good news for ya! I’ve uploaded the first official episode simultaneously with Jeremy Umansky from Larder Delicatessen & Bakery in Cleveland, Ohio. So you can skip ahead to that if you want.
If you do want a little context, then stick around.
