Family Journey
SpainMoroccoBelem, Brazil
Montevideo, Uruguay and New York City
7 recipes
Roasted Pepper Salad
6 servings30 min
Ingredients
- 3 red peppers
- 2 yellow peppers
- 1 green pepper
- ½ onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup olive oil + 1 tablespoon
- 1 spoon white vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ bunch cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Cook
Fumaça (Roasted Eggplant Dip)
6 to 8 servings30 min
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant (about 1¼ pounds)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or white vinegar, or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ cup mild extra-virgin olive oilor vegetable oil
- 4 cilantro sprigs for garnish
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Cook
Cojada (Potato Casserole)
4 to 6 servings1 h 30 min
Ingredients
- 3 large russet potatoes
- 7 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Cook
Almoronia (Baked Chicken and Eggplant)
6 to 8 servings1 h 30 min
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 large eggplants (about 2 pounds), not peeled, cut into ¼-inch rounds
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 medium yellow onions (about 1¼ pounds), thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cook
Dafina (Overnight Shabbat Stew)
6 to 8 servings1 h active + 16 to 24 h inactive
Ingredients
For the beef bone and brisket marinade:
- 2 or 3 beef marrow bones, about 3 inches long
- 2 pounds brisket, chuck, or other beef stew meat, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
For the dumplings:
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the dafina:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 large yellow onions (about 1 pound), thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
- 4 to 6 large eggs
- About 5 cups water
Cook
Fish Albondigas (Fish Balls in Tomato Sauce)
4 to 6 servings1 h
Ingredients
For the sautéed onion and garlic mixture
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the fish balls
- 1 pound skinless red snapper filet, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- ¼ bunch cilantro leaves, finely chopped
- ¼ bunch parsley leaves, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Juice of ½ lime
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ of sauteed onion and garlic mixture
For the sauce
- 8 to 10 plum tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
- ½ of sauteed onion and garlic mixture
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Cook
Meringue With Orange Marmalade
6 to 8 servings15 to 20 min
Ingredients
- 1½ cups sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 6 large egg whites
- 6 tablespoons orange marmalade
Special equipment:
- Candy thermometer
Cook
Recipes
1
Roasted Pepper Salad
6 servings30 min
Ingredients
- 3 red peppers
- 2 yellow peppers
- 1 green pepper
- ½ onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup olive oil + 1 tablespoon
- 1 spoon white vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ bunch cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Cook
2
Fumaça (Roasted Eggplant Dip)
6 to 8 servings30 min
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant (about 1¼ pounds)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or white vinegar, or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ cup mild extra-virgin olive oilor vegetable oil
- 4 cilantro sprigs for garnish
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Cook
3
Cojada (Potato Casserole)
4 to 6 servings1 h 30 min
Ingredients
- 3 large russet potatoes
- 7 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Cook
4
Almoronia (Baked Chicken and Eggplant)
6 to 8 servings1 h 30 min
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 large eggplants (about 2 pounds), not peeled, cut into ¼-inch rounds
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 medium yellow onions (about 1¼ pounds), thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cook
5
Dafina (Overnight Shabbat Stew)
6 to 8 servings1 h active + 16 to 24 h inactive
Ingredients
For the beef bone and brisket marinade:
- 2 or 3 beef marrow bones, about 3 inches long
- 2 pounds brisket, chuck, or other beef stew meat, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
For the dumplings:
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the dafina:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 large yellow onions (about 1 pound), thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
- 4 to 6 large eggs
- About 5 cups water
Cook
6
Fish Albondigas (Fish Balls in Tomato Sauce)
4 to 6 servings1 h
Ingredients
For the sautéed onion and garlic mixture
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the fish balls
- 1 pound skinless red snapper filet, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- ¼ bunch cilantro leaves, finely chopped
- ¼ bunch parsley leaves, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Juice of ½ lime
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ of sauteed onion and garlic mixture
For the sauce
- 8 to 10 plum tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
- ½ of sauteed onion and garlic mixture
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Cook
7
Meringue With Orange Marmalade
6 to 8 servings15 to 20 min
Ingredients
- 1½ cups sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 6 large egg whites
- 6 tablespoons orange marmalade
Special equipment:
- Candy thermometer
Cook
Esther Serruya Weyl, an extern at Blue Hill at Stone Barnes, is our cook-in-residence. Read more about Esther in "The Recipes That Connect This Brazilian Community to Its Moroccan Roots” and try her recipes for fish albondigas and meringue with orange marmalade.
When Esther Serruya Weyl was little, Shabbat afternoons in the city of Belem, in the north of Brazil along the Atlantic coast, were spent at synagogue and then around tables where families celebrated over pots of dafina, a slow-cooked Shabbat stew or feijoada, a staple of Brazilian cooking made with stewed beans and meat. Esther, who is now an extern at the prestigious Hudson Valley restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns, recalls those Saturdays warmly. “We would stay [at the synagogue] because someone would always offer a big lunch for the community,” she says. They would set up tables wherever there was space for the feast and everyone was welcome.
“After eating all that lunch, we would still go to our families’ homes,” Esther adds. ”Mostly everyone would go to their grandmother’s house or mom’s house and there would be a very very big [second] lunch.” Her grandmother, who was also named Esther, would make a whole fish with coconut milk, a recipe that was her own invention. When it was too large to fit in the oven, she would take it to the baker and have it cooked there. After the fish course, she would serve meatballs, or albondigas. There were also Shabbats when dafina or couscous was at the center of the celebration and weeks when her grandmother made almoronia, a layered dish of chicken, onions, and eggplant spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon and sweetened with a touch of honey. After the meal, Esther’s family would spend the entire afternoon together at her grandmother’s home, until sunset and the end of Shabbat arrived.
Her family is part of a Jewish community that’s lived in this region of Brazil since the 1890s, but traces their roots to Morocco and to Spain before that. “I don't know who was first or why,” Esther says about the relocation to Brazil. Some came seeking opportunities in the area’s rubber industry. Approximately 300 Jewish families, she says, came to north Brazil to build a new life across the Atlantic.
Today there’s a rabbi and more than one synagogue. But at the start, these Jewish families strove to maintain their traditions, keeping kosher law to the extent they could without a rabbi or a shochet, someone who performs the kosher slaughter of animals. Shabbat always remained sacred. In Esther’s community, four blessings are recited over dishes on the Shabbat table, sometimes over salads, other times, over fish, vegetables that grow in the ground, an olive, and another over a cracker.
And, cooks like her maternal grandmother kept traditions from Morocco alive in the kitchen, regularly preparing dafina, a smoky eggplant dip the community calls fumaça, roasted pepper salad, and cojada, a potato casserole — a recipe that appears in a notebook she kept. Esther remembers sitting on her grandmother’s lap as she would cook, but never helping with the cooking when she was little. It was only after her grandmother passed away that she started to explore her recipes.
In 2017, Esther tracked down a woman named Sandra who had cooked for her grandmother when she was older and asked her to teach her the family recipes she remembered. Even 20 years later, Esther explains, Sandra remembered the recipes clearly.
Esther invited her entire family over for a meal of her grandmother’s recipes. “My mom told me that for ages she hadn’t seen everyone reconnect in a shabbat lunch like that. Since my grandma died… we don’t eat lunch together anymore,” Esther explains. That meal was an exception and “It was really really beautiful.”