What is the thread weaving together the Rue Tigrane Pacha in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, Shah Street in the cosmopolitan city of Teheran, and the Puerta de la Mar in the Old Town of Rhodes, once a part of Turkey and now a part of Greece? And what do ‘cahk’, ‘toot’ and ‘ashuplados’ have in common?

These are the tastes and the neighborhoods we once called home. “Cahk” is an Egyptian egg and sesame biscuit, “toot” a Persian marzipan delicacy shaped like white mulberries, and “ashuplados” are meringue clouds from the Island of Rhodes. These recipes and recollections, along with other multi-cultural delicacies, make up the new Sephardic Heritage Cookbook, produced by the Or Chadash Sisterhood of Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel in Los Angeles. The Sisterhood originally produced a cookbook in 1971, which has sold several thousand copies throughout the world over the past 40 some years.

Since that time, Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel has grown, evolved and become home to a growing number of Jews from throughout the Ottoman lands and the Middle East, as well as new generations of young families drawn to the warmth and vibrancy of the community. Each group has brought with them a cultural and culinary tradition that together create a beautiful ‘salad bowl’ of diversity that makes Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel such a rich and enriching place to call home.

The ‘Cookbook Group’ has been meeting for the past five years, sharing recipes and traditions from Turkey, Morocco, Rhodes, Iran, Israel, Curacao, Egypt and South America. Our diversity makes us unique – bringing new flavors and traditions to the table; always marveling at the similarities we share.

The new cookbook, replete with or stories and photographs of delicious delicacies, is a volume that all collectors of ‘Sephardica’ will want for their library……and ‘foodies’ and cooks of all backgrounds will want in their kitchen. Get a copy for yourself – and get a few for gifts!

Enjoy cooking ….and may your hands always be blessed!

~Bendichas Manos, Marcia

You can purchase them online at SephardicTemple.org. Books are $32 each + shipping (buy 3 or more and receive a 10% discount on books.) {Can be shipped anywhere in the US for an additional $5/copy}