Do you remember the smells of your Nona’s baking and the way her hands seemed to know instinctively how to measure ingredients without a recipe? Linda Capeloto Sendowski began baking as a child, helping her mom and Nona create special meals for family celebrations and holidays. She descends from a long line of Sephardic Jews from the Island of Rhodes in Greece and the coast of Turkey, including Istanbul, Chanakli, and Tekirdag. Both sides of Linda’s family came to the United States in 1909 and 1910.
Sephardic Jews have long enjoyed the tradition of dunking baked goods in their afternoon Turkish coffee, espresso, or after-dinner tea. Another Sephardic tradition of the Ladino speaking Jews from Greece and Turkey is a dairy Shabbat lunch featuring many baked delicacies like Cheese Borekas and Spinach Filled Savory Pastry.
Linda’s debut cookbook, Sephardic Baking from Nona and More Favorites: A Collection of Recipes For Baking Desayuno And More, will enable you to fill your own home with the comforting aromas of traditional Sephardic breads, brunch pastries, and desserts. Beyond simply teaching you how to bake timeless classics such as challah, bulemas, and biscotios, this cookbook also delves into the history of Sephardic Jews and the origins of their recipes. Plus, you’ll be introduced to several new kosher desserts for those times when you simply want to make a great chocolate cake.
This cookbook truly captures the timeless recipes and other fantastic baked goods that have been passed down for generations of Sephardic home cooks.
Here at JOY of KOSHER, we are giving you a free sneak peak of our favorite recipes.
PASTELICOS (MEAT AND RICE FILLED SEPHARDIC PASTRY)
A Pastel is a hand pie in Ladino (Judeo Spanish), and these individual small pies use the suffix indicating smallness. Think of Pastelicos as meat-and-rice filled borekas. Other Sephardim make similar pastries such as meat Sambusak. Unlike cheese borekas, which are half moon shaped, pastelicos are triangular or round with little caps.
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CHOCOLATE CHERRY MARZIPAN TART
This recipe came to me as an inspiration when my friend Suzette and I baked her Italian Crostata di Marmelata last year. Using that recipe for dough, I covered the bottom and sides of a square tart pan with a removable bottom with dough, then marzipan, then dark chocolate and finally black cherry preserves. I froze the tart after baking and when I defrosted it a month later, I sliced it into bars or squares. My guests were so impressed. Wow- a surprise hit! .
Laffa- thick pillows of chewy bread, are usually made on a hot taboon (a special kind of oven) when served in a restaurant. At home you can cook them on a griddle, on the bottom side of a wok or simply in a frying pan.
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Looks great!
Laffa bread – YUM and lafs, lol
Sounds like an amazing cookbook — I need that laffa recipe!
My family are Sephardim. So many recipes i never heard of but want to try.
I would love to try making the laffa bread with my daughter in law….i know that she enjoys the bread and i have never tried it….so it would be a nice thing for us to try…thank you for this opportunity.
The pastelicos! mmm though the laffa bread tempts me in close second…
My whole family loves fresh laffa bread! I can’t wait to try the recipe.
Can’t decide which one is I’d make first…they all look amazing!!
Love the look of the laffa bread
CHOCOLATE CHERRY MARZIPAN TART – they look amazing!
The Laffa Bread! I’ve had it in Toronto and it’s wonderful!
The Pastelicos look similar to the borekitas that my husband’s nona made, as well as the sambusak that my own grandmother from Damascus made. It’s been interesting discovering the similar but different foods we share!!!!
I am most likely to make Laffa Bread. I love baking savory things and I love baking breads from around the world.
These recipes are like the ones that my Nuna from Monastir used to make. I’m really excited.
The chocolate cherry marzipan tarts look fantastic!
Pastelicos – can’t wait to make them
The laffa bread looks to be a wonderful addition to a meal. This should be a great book to own and enjoy.
Looks like a great cookbook
Everything looks so great… I am salivating right now. Wish I could eat with my eyes!
The pastelicos look so delicious…
this looks like a great cookbooks – really interested in trying out the laffa bread. thanks for the recipes!
I would love to try the laffa bread recipe!! Always wanted to make it
The choc cherry marzipan tart looks amazing
I’m really forward to trying these recipes. If the posted one’s are an example of the rest of the book, good basking awaits!!!
the laffa bread !!
I would love to make the laffa bread!!!
This is an opportunity for me to bake goodies for my Sephardic son-in-law.
My husbands uncles family were Sephardic and he always enjoyed the delicious deserts and breads his aunt made. The pastelicos brought back wonderful memories!
Would love to give this to my mom !
would really enjoy this book and all the recipes in it.
i cant wait to try the laffa!! thank you!
I love Sephardic dishes, and I would love to make the Pastelico pastires!
I”m most likely to make the chocolate cherry marzipan tart. That mix of flavors sounds heavenly!
Sounds interesting and different!
I’ll definitely make the pastel! I grew up on these things and they are hard to get good ones where I live! I’d also love to try making the laffa! Yum!
Laffa. Great giveaway!
I’ve made laffa before and it is always interesting to try a new recipe.
The laffa bread looks like something I would try. Thanks for the giveaway!
I would like to make the laffa