King Solomon's Table

Starred review from March 6, 2017
In this, one of her best books to date, Nathan, a James Beard Awardâwinning author and authority on Jewish food, explores the origins and evolution of Jewish cuisine around the world. Nathan's comprehensive yet condensed history begins with King Solomon, who ruled a kingdom rich with diverse foods and cultures; follows traders and merchants as they traveled and settled along the Spice Routes; and explains how Sephardic cooking morphed into the more well-known Jewish food traditions of Eastern and Central Europe. The 170 recipes explain the cross-cultural embrace required of Jews as they moved around the globe, and include Syrian-Mexican chicken that incorporates both apricots and chipotle peppers and El Salvadoran latkes made with yucca and served with cilantro cream. Each recipe is prefaced with an engaging origin story that further helps explain the complex Jewish food story. Eastern Europe meets South America in a Brazilian-Belarusian fish recipe acquired by Nathan while in Recife, Brazil, for a wedding; T'beet is a medieval Iraqi Sabbath chicken dish cooked with spices, coconut, and rose petals; and shakshuka, which hales from Ottoman North Africa, is said to be what women made in the short time they had between when their lover left and their husband arrived home for a meal. This is a cookbook to be read and savored for its stories as much as its recipes. Nathan, with her passionate and unceasing search for Jewish cooking traditions, has made an important contribution to Jewish history and culture.

Starred review from April 1, 2017
This cookbook is a big deal. Because after receiving awards from the James Beard Foundation (among others) and publishing 11 cookbooksall to critical acclaimNathan offers the ultimate north-to-south, east-to-west compendium of Jewish cuisine, amassed through travel and conversations in 15 countries and five continents. Of course, the familiar, endearing recipes are well represented, often with variations: bagels, kugel, matzo, challah, kishke, and more. Just as seductive are the lesser-known dishes she's unearthed and perfected, from Persian haroset (a combination used at Passover with dates, apples, pistachios, and pomegranate juice); defo dabo (Ethiopian Sabbath bread); and Sri Lankan breakfast buns with onion confit. The 170 recipes aside, what will grab attention are the stories and chefs (home and professional) featured on almost every page. The personalities populate every recipe: meet Roman Paolo Fano, who discusses the art of stracotto (beef stew). And Annette Lerner, with her tradition of bringing mandelbrot cookies to every Washington Nationals' opening day. Plus chefs Daniel Rose and Adam Sobel who opine, respectively, about apple kuchen and brisket. The stories enlighten and engage; for instance, she delves deeply into the history of the bagel and uncovers stories of making cheese at the edge of Israel. A sheynem dank, Ms. Nathan!(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)