Pollo arrosto all'arancia, limone, e zenzero (Jewish chicken with orange, lemon & ginger)

For ➍
1 lemon
1 roasting chicken, about 2.5 kg
grated zest 1 lemon + lemon cut into quarters
grated zest of 1 orange + orange cut into quarters
3 tbs peeled & grated fresh ginger root
salt & freshly ground black pepper
5 tbs margarine, melted, or olive oil
4 tbs fresh lemon juice*
10 cl fresh orange juice
3 tbs honey
orange sections for garnish

Preheat an oven to 190°C. Cut the lemon into quarters. Rub the outside of the chicken with one of the lemon quarters, then discard. In a small bowl, stir together the lemon and orange zests and 1 tbs of the grated ginger. Rub this mixture evenly in the cavity. Put the lemon and orange quarters inside the bird. Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper. In the now-empty small bowl, combine the melted margarine or olive oil, lemon and orange juices, honey, and the remaining 2 tbs ginger. Mix well.
Place the chicken in the oven and roast, basting with the citrus juice mixture at least 4 times during cooking, until the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a knife, about 1 h.
Transfer to a serving platter and let rest for 10 to 15 m.
Carve the chicken. Garnish with orange sections.

* Use 4 tbs pomegranate juice in place of the lemon juice.
**Roast in a Dutch oven for about 1 h /kg.

Ginger arrived in Italy with Arabic traders or North African Jewish immigrants, so it's likely that this is a Sicilian or Livornese recipe. Most Italians would use ground ginger.

Tagliatelle frisinsal (Venetian tagliatelle with roasted chicken, fennel & pine nuts)

For ➍-➏
2 fennel bulbs, with fronds attached
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 chicken, neck reserved if possible
3 lemons
2 stalks fresh rosemary
1 ts minced fresh rosemary leaves
40 g golden raisins
50 g pine nuts
2 glasses white wine
40 cl (plus extra) good chicken stock, preferably homemade
500 g tagliatelle or pappardelle
a good handful of flat parsley leaves if your fennel didn't have its fronds attached

Preheat the oven to 220°C.
Remove the fronds from the fennel stalks and reserve.
Trim the stalks from the fennel bulbs and reserve.
Trim the root ends from the fennel bulbs, slice the bulbs in half, slice into thin wedges*
Place the fennel in a good sized, heavy-bottomed roasting tin (stove top safe), along with the chicken neck if they’ve included it with your chicken, and toss with a generous glug of olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper.
Clear an area in the center of the pan for the chicken. Pat dry the chicken with paper towels and use a sharp knife to slice through the thigh and leg meat in 3-4 places on each side. Season the cavity generously with salt and pepper. Quarter one on the lemons and place in the cavity along with the fennel stalks and 2 stalks of rosemary. Rub the skin with olive oil and season with plenty of salt and pepper, being sure to rub some into the cuts you’ve made in the thighs and legs.
Place the pan in the center of the oven. After 15 m, reduce the heat to 180°C. Roast for 1.15 h or until the legs move freely in their joints and the juices run clear.
Meanwhile, boil some water and pour it over the raisins. Allow them to soak for 30 m.**
Place a small sauté pan over very low heat and toast the pine nuts, stirring often.
Lift the chicken from the pan and allow to rest and cool at least 15 m on a plate to catch the juices. Use a slotted spoon to lift the fennel out and reserve in a bowl. Leave the chicken neck in the pan and set it on the stove top.
Add the wine, and turn the heat to high. Allow the wine to reduce by half, using a spoon or metal spatula to help loosen the fond.
Drain the raisins and add along with the minced rosemary, along with any juices that have collected in the plate the chicken is resting on.
Then add 40 cl chicken stock. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to reduce by half again. Remove the chicken neck and discard. Check the seasoning with more salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and reserve.
Meanwhile, shred all of the chicken flesh and skin into bite-sized pieces. Be sure not to let any of the juices escape. Add to the juices in the pan.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and salt generously. Add the pasta to the water and cook until just al dente and then drain.
Heat the chicken sauce in a large pan if it’s cooled. Be careful not to bubble too long and lose too much liquid. You can always top it up with more hot chicken stock if the sauce gets too dry. Meanwhile mince the fennel fronds or parsley.
When the pasta is done, add the juice of 1 lemon to the chicken, check the seasoning one more time with more salt, pepper, or lemon juice if necessary, and add the pasta to the chicken, tossing to combine. Add half the pine nuts and most of the minced herbs. Plate immediately. Garnish with the remaining pine nuts and herbs. Serve immediately.

*Thin enough to caramelize and be tossed with the pasta later.
**Alternatively, braise the chicken on stovetop until done. Remove the chickened use the same for the fennel sauce.
**The sauce can hold up to 3 days. Meat braises tend to develop better flavor overnight.

Roast chicken with dates, olives & capers

For ➍
8 chicken legs, drumstick & thigh attached, skin on (2 kg net)
5 garlic cloves, crushed
15 g fresh oregano, torn, plus extra for garnish
3 tbs red wine vinegar
3 tbs olive oil
100 g green olives, pitted
60 g capers, plus 2 tbs of their juices
70 g Medjoul dates, pitted & quartered lengthways
2 bay leaves
12 cl dry white wine
1 tbs date syrup or treacle
salt & black pepper

Place the chicken in a large, non-reactive bowl and add all of the ingredients, apart from the wine and date molasses, along with ¾ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Gently mix everything together, cover the bowl and leave in the fridge to marinate for 1 to 2 days, stirring the ingredients a few times during the process.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Spread out the chicken legs on a large baking tray, along with all the marinade ingredients. Whisk together the wine and molasses and pour over the meat. Place in the oven and cook for 50 m (or up to 70 m, depending on the meat pieces' size), basting 2 or 3 times, until the meat is golden brown on top and cooked through.
Remove from the oven, transfer everything to a large platter, sprinkle over some freshly picked oregano leaves and serve.

This Ottolenghi favourite was inspired by the 1980's recipe for Chicken Marbella, a popular dish on Jewish pass over meals. Created in NYC, it blended influences from North Africa and Spain, as well as the mixing of poultry and fruit from Persia and the Middle East.

Pastrami & cream cheese sandwich

For ➊ sandwich
2 slices of bread, white or wholemeal
100 g cream cheese
a few salad leaves or gherkin slices
4 pastrami slices

Spread the cream cheese evenly on the 2 bread slices.

Place the lettuce leaves on one slice of bread.

Add the pastrami on top and close the sandwich by placing the other slice on top.

*Add gherkin and mustard at the last moment for a version closer to the American classic.

Pastrami came to the US with immigrants from Romania. The name was coined to sound like 'salami' in New York City in 1887 by Jewish butcher Reb Sussman after he was given the recipe by a Romanian immigrant. He introduced the classic warm pastrami rye sandwich and soon opened the first New York deli. The pastrami sandwich, stuffed with a gargantuan amount of beef immigrants had never known in Europe, became a celebration of the rich new country. This recipe is a modest variation on the meat monster.
The pastramă preservation method to brine and spice meat is related to the similar basterma, still popular in the regions of the former Ottoman empire.

Mehmer (Jewish omelet)

For ➏
8-10 eggs*
500 g potatoes*
250 g canned peas & carrots*/or 3 fresh carrots & a handful of peas
chopped parsley
salt & pepper
3 tbs of olive oil

Boil the peeled potatoes then mash coarsely. Add the peas and carrots, salt and pepper and chopped parsley. Add the eggs 1 at a time and mix in with a spoon. Rub oil on a large spring form pan well. Heat over medium heat. Pour the mixture into the the pan and bake at 190°C for 45 m or until the omelet is golden. Allow to cool a bit before serving.**

*Less when serving 4.
**Can be baked in a pan on fire-top for 30 m, turned over for 15 m more.

A classic of the Jewish Moroccan kitchen, it is also made, slightly differently, in Spain as tortilla.
Read more Jewish recipes: lamb meatballs with eggplant sauce.

Lamb meatballs with eggplant sauce

For ➍
meatballs:
500 g ground lamb
½ tbs salt
½ tbs freshly ground black pepper
½ ts ground nutmeg
¼ ts cayenne pepper
5 tbs chopped parsley
5 tbs chopped fresh mint
½ onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs tomato concentrate
5 tbs pine nuts
sauce:
2 eggplants
3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
3 onions, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, & chopped
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs. With wet hands, shape into walnut-sized balls.

Preheat the broiler*. Pierce the eggplants with a fork. Place them on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Broil until tender and the skin is charred all over, turning once, about 15 m. Slit the eggplants in half lengthwise and let the steam out. Scoop out the flesh and let it drain in a colander.

Heat the olive oil in a deep, wide pan. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Stir in the onions and garlic and cook until wilted.

Stir in the tomatoes and eggplant, season with salt and pepper and cover partially. Simmer 30 m, or until the eggplants have formed a thick, rich sauce.

Serve with some firm pasta al dente. Roasted peppers and/or artichokes cooked in lemon juice**, make good side dishes.

*Use grill instead.
**Use preserved artichokes instead. Drain oil, warm them a little, and sprinkle with fresh lemon juice.

Based on a traditional Italian Jewish Passover dish, this recipe bears a strong resemblance to the Middle Eastern Buran (Baghdad meatballs) recipe.
The image background shows the ghetto in Rome.