A fresh take on tradition; By Amelia Saltsman

Here, at last, is a fresh, new way to think about Jewish food. In The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen, Amelia Saltsman takes us far beyond deli meats and kugel to a world of diverse flavors ideal for modern meals. Inspired by the farm-to-table movement, her 150 recipes offer a refreshingly different take on traditional and contemporary Jewish cooking.

Amelia traces the delicious thread of Jewish cuisine from its ancient roots to today’s focus on seasonality and sustainability. Guided by the Jewish lunar calendar, she divides the book into six micro-seasons that highlight the deep connection of Jewish traditions to the year’s natural cycles. Amelia draws on her own rich food history to bring you a warmly personal cookbook filled with soul-satisfying spins on beloved classics and bold new dishes. From her Iraqi grandmother’s kitchri—red lentils melted into rice with garlic slow-cooked to sweetness—to four-ingredient Golden Borscht with Buttermilk and Fresh Ginger and vibrant Blood Orange and Olive Oil Polenta Upside-Down Cake, Amelia’s game-changing approach is sure to win over a new generation of cooks. You’ll find naturally vegan dishes, Middle Eastern fare, and new ways to use Old-World ingredients—buckwheat, home-cured herring, and gribenes—in fresh, modern meals.

Whether you’re Jewish or not, observant or not, Ashkenazic or Sephardic, this yearlong culinary journey through the Diaspora will have you saying, “This is Jewish food? Who knew?”