Sephardic Jewish Cuisine

Sephardic Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Sephardi Jews.

Those of this Iberian origin who were dispersed in the Sephardic Diaspora ultimately became the Eastern Sephardim and North African Sephardim as they settled throughout the Mediterranean in Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, and the Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa.

Cuisine of the Sephardi Jews also includes the cuisine of those who became the Western Sephardim who settled in Holland, England, and from these places elsewhere.

Mizrahi Jews, being the pre-existing Jews of the Greater Middle East (of non-Spanish and non-Portuguese origin), are sometimes called Sephardim in a broader sense due to their style of liturgy. Although there is some overlap in populations due to the Sephardic Diaspora, Sephardic Jews also settled in many other countries outside the Greater Middle East as well.

As such, this article deals only with the cuisine of the Jewish populations with ancestral origins in the Iberian Peninsula, in whichever regions they settled, not just the Greater Middle East. For Cuisine of the Mizrahi Jews, please see that article.

As with other Jewish ethnic divisions composing the Jewish Diaspora, Sephardim cooked foods that were popular in their countries of residence, adapting them to Jewish religious dietary requirements, ''kashrut''. Their choice of foods was also determined by economic factors, with many of the dishes based on inexpensive and readily available ingredients.

Animals deemed permissible as a source of meat had to be slaughtered in keeping with ''shechita'', or Jewish ritual slaughter, which requires soaking and salting to remove blood. Hence, meat was often reserved for holidays and special occasions. Many Sephardi dishes use ground meat. Milk and meat products could not be mixed or served at the same meal.

Cooked, stuffed and baked vegetables are central to the cuisine, as are various kinds of beans, chickpeas, lentils, and bulgur/burghul (cracked wheat). Rice takes the place of potatoes.

History

Sephardi Jews are the Jews of Spain, who were expelled or forced to convert to Christianity in 1492. Many of those expelled settled in North-African Berber and Arabic-speaking countries, such as Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Libya, becoming the North African Sephardim. Those who settled in Greece, Turkey, the Balkans, Syria, the Lebanon and the Holy Land became the Eastern Sephardim.

The Western Sephardim, also known more ambiguously as the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, left Spain and Portugal as New Christians in a steady stream over the next few centuries, and converted back to Judaism once in Holland, England, etc.

While the pre-existing Jews of the countries in which they settled (in the Greater Middle East, for example, are called Mizrahim) are distinct, the term Sephardi as used in "Sephardi cuisine" would refer only to the culinary traditions of those Jews with ancestral origins to the Jews of Spain and Portugal.

Both the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula and the pre-existing Jews of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Italy, and Greece into whose communities they settled adapted local dishes to the constraints of the kosher kitchen.

Since the establishment of a Jewish state and the convergence of Jews from all the globe in Israel, these local cuisines, with all their differences, have come to represent the collection of culinary traditions broadly known as Sephardi cuisine.

Some of the Jews who fled from the Inquisition with other Sephardim in the 15th century settled in Recife, Brazil, where their cuisine was influenced by new local ingredients like molasses, rum, sugar, vanilla, chocolate, bell peppers, corn, tomatoes, kidney beans, string beans and turkey.

In 1654, 23 Sephardic Jews arrived in New Amsterdam (present-day New York) bringing this cuisine with them to the early colonial United States. Early American Jewish cuisine was heavily influenced by this branch of Sephardic cuisine.

Many of the recipes were bound up in observance of traditional holidays and remained true to their origins. These included dishes such as stew and fish fried in olive oil, beef and bean stews, almond puddings, and egg custards. The first kosher cookbook in America was the ''Jewish Cookery Book'' by Esther Levy which was published in 1871 in Philadelphia and includes many of the traditional recipes.

Cuisine basics

Sephardi cuisine emphasizes salads, stuffed vegetables and vine leaves, olive oil, lentils, fresh and dried fruits, herbs and nuts, and chickpeas. Meat dishes often make use of lamb or ground beef.

Fresh lemon juice is added to many soups and sauces. Many meat and rice dishes incorporate dried fruits such as apricots, prunes and raisins. Pine nuts are used as a garnish.

Herbs and spices

In the early days, Sephardic cuisine was influenced by the local cuisines of Spain and Portugal, both under Catholic and Islamic regimes. A particular affinity to exotic foods from outside of Spain became apparent under Muslim rule, as evidenced even today with ingredients brought in by the Muslims.Gitlitz and Davidson, pg. 5

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