The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen
Here, at last, is a fresh, new way to think about Jewish food. In The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen (Sterling Epicure, August 2015 and already in its second printing), I take you far beyond deli meats and kugel to a world of flavors ideal for modern meals. Inspired by my passion for seasonal cooking, my 150 soul-satisfying recipes (plus countless variations and kitchen ideas) offer a refreshingly different take on Jewish cuisine.
“This could be my perfect book. Cultural Jewish cooking at its best—so many intriguing recipes—combined with fascinating history, personal family anecdotes, and an emphasis on great seasonal ingredients. In the same way that Marcella Hazan made authentic Italian cooking come to life for non-Italians, Amelia’s new work could have non-Jews preparing dishes like schmaltz-roasted potatoes, lemon rind salad with harissa, salt-grilled chickpeas, and tzimmes every night!”
—ARI WEINZWEIG, founding partner, Zingerman’s Community of Businesses
In my newest book, I trace the delicious thread of Jewish cuisine from its ancient roots to today’s focus on seasonality and sustainability. Guided by the lunar Jewish calendar, I’ve divided the book into six micro-seasons that highlight the deep connection of Jewish traditions to the year’s natural cycles. And, I draw on my own diverse food history to bring you a personal cookbook filled with intuitive spins on beloved classics and bold new dishes. From my 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, this is a game-changing approach for 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?”
“Amelia Saltsman has a warmth and a vibrancy that comes through beautifully in this book; her recipes capture the aliveness of ripe, seasonal ingredients, the importance of our farmers, and the diversity of flavors in Jewish food.”
—ALICE WATERS, owner of Chez Panisse, author of “The Art of Simple Food”
The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook
For more than thirty years, the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market has inspired both renowned chefs and home cooks, making it a regional market with national presence. For most of those years, Amelia Saltsman has shopped its stands, talked with its farmers, and cooked its magnificent produce for family and friends. The result is Amelia’s award-winning first cookbook, The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook, a celebration of the market’s excellence and its hardworking farmers. Now in its sixth printing, this nationally acclaimed classic was named by Cooking Light as one of the Top 100 Cookbooks of the Last 25 Years and is the recipient of multiple honors, including the SMPL Green Prize for Sustainable Literature, National Indie Excellence Book Award (finalist), PubWest Book Design Award, and the Writers’ Digest Grand Prize for Self-Published Books. The SMFM Cookbook has been translated into Braille and was a featured KCRW Cookbook Club selection.
“Amelia’s book is really three volumes in one: gleanings from the culture of farming; a guide to produce, meats, and cheeses found at this extraordinary market; and a great cookbook.”
–From the Foreword by Deborah Madison, author of “The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”
Filled with more than 100 of Amelia’s signature simple, intuitive recipes, including: Fava Bean and Pea Shoot Salad; Classic Tomato Soup with a Goat Cheese Swirl; Black Cod with Green Tomatoes; Roast Leg of Lamb with Oil-Cured Black Olives and Herbs; Seared White Nectarines with Burnt Honey; and Meyer Lemon Sundaes with Cara Cara Oranges and Tangelos. Wherever you live, this is the only cookbook you’ll need to help you shop, store, and cook brilliantly from your local farmers’ market!
“In her first book, Saltsman proves that minimal effort, coupled with high-quality food, can produce extraordinary results.”
— Publishers Weekly
“The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook is for anyone who has ever stood in the produce aisle of the supermarket, wishing for something more; for anyone who has wandered past the rows of beautiful produce at a farmers’ market, gazing longingly but unsure where to start.”
— Chef Suzanne Goin, author of The A.O.C. Cookbook and Sunday Suppers at Lucques
“When you cook food that is locally grown and in season, the importance of shopping at farmers’ markets becomes crystal clear: that’s where you’ll find ripe, tasty ingredients. Amelia’s book is an amazing resource to have with you, a complete season-by-season handbook to guide you through the bounty of the market.”
— Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant
The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook Summer Entertaining: Carefree Cooking for Family and Friends (ebook)
Contributor to:
- The SAGE Encyclopedia of Food Issues (May 2015)
- EAT Los Angeles. Contributing editor, print & online. (Prospect Park Books, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 editions)
- Greenopia: The Urban Dweller’s Guide to Green Living (Green Media Group LLC, 2008)
- Weber’s Real Grilling (Oxmoor House, 2005)
