774: Adeena Sussman Just Keeps Cooking

7:38Adeena Sussman:Exactly. And, you know, we were having lunch in Tel Aviv in early 2023 when anti-government protests were happening throughout Israel and you were going to go to one after lunch.

7:48The Host:I was going to protest judicial reform that I disagreed with, you know, as someone living in a democracy. You know, I do try to keep my social feed relatively apolitical. But, you know, I think I live in a democracy and just as you do here. And it's my right to state my political views or express them.

8:13Adeena Sussman:Absolutely. And, you know, you also live in Israel with great pride of country. I do. And I just want to just highlight maybe some misperceptions that folks may have just by you literally just living in Israel.

8:28The Host:I'm not comfortable, like, with purity tests based upon where I live. I don't challenge other people based on where they live to ask them to speak for their government or their country. So, you know, I moved to Israel. I say I moved to Israel for love and I stayed for the food. I met my husband 12 years ago and he lives there. He's lived there for decades. And I did grow up with a super strong connection to Israel, having been born into a traditional Jewish home. It's a place that I love and feel super connected to. And I definitely have two cultures that I'm passionate about, many more than two.

9:05The Host:But I'm very American, I'm very Jewish, and I'm very Israeli. And those three things all come together in this sort of beautiful Venn diagram in Tel Aviv where I live.

9:15Adeena Sussman:This trilogy is incredible. So Sababa is anchored in place, the Carmel Market to Lviv. Shabbat, your second book is anchored in time. Day of the week, the Jewish ritual. And now we're here with Zarese, anchored in the state of mind is urgency, efficiency, and ease. Was this arc like intentional? Because like I just was like looking at these books and I'm like, this was a real like movement you just did.

9:39The Host:I mean, I think we can both agree that the best cookbooks have narrative arcs and are time capsules. And so Sababa was definitely the story of my integration into Israeli culture through the lens of food and being an insider outsider there and also introducing people who might be less familiar with it to the Israeli pantry, a Middle Eastern pantry, at the same time that I was getting more, even more immersed in it. And it was a joy to share that. And yes, Shabbat was the deeper exploration of that Venn diagram that I discussed of my Israeli Jewish and cooking identities. And then, yeah, you know, I came back to Israel a month after October 7th happened.

10:20The Host:And I was bereft and my body and my brain were just completely shot. And I had this cookbook contract that I needed to fulfill. And I was so thankful that I did because it gave me something to do and something to stay focused on. And anyone who knows me knows that cooking is like the most therapeutic thing in my life. But I realized that I needed to streamline and simplify my cooking because that was the way that I was cooking. And I typically trust that my readers and my cooks and my audience are in the same place that I am. And so I set about creating this book of recipes that I like to say have a bat mitzvah or less of ingredients, 12 or less ingredients.

11:02The Host:Not including, you know, bonus ingredients are lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper. We won't count those. No, we won't count those. Everyone's got those. At least I do. And, you know, I sort of liken it to the Coco Chanel approach to, you know, to cooking. Like Coco Chanel's fashion advice was like get dressed and then take off two accessories. And like every recipe went under the microscope. And I really, really stripped them down to the studs to like what was really needed to make them delicious, have depth of flavor and super impactful. Every ingredient, every cooking implement, every technique had to have impact in these recipes in order to meet the criterion.

11:42The Host:So sometimes, you know, it had involved hard choices. Hard choices on my part that you won't see because you didn't – that you never saw them.

11:48Adeena Sussman:And you're not trying to dumb anything down. You're not trying to make anything basic. I mean, and you're also cooking nuanced cuisine where there's a spice larder, a spice drawer that's really big. You also have a spice drawer schnitzel that we're going to talk about, which is genius. I feel like this aspect of speed and efficiency is like totally ignored in most Jewish cookbooks.

12:09The Host:That's interesting. I mean, I think, you know, there's obviously the whole genre of Jewish convenience foods like, you know, borscht in a jar and matzo ball mix and things like that. And those have their place. but yeah you know for me cooking even cooking quickly and easily is never about sacrificing like all the sensory experiences of cooking like the sizzling the aromas the chopping the the the finishing all that stuff doesn't mean that you can't make it more simple and you can't draw upon your traditions and your heritage and also put new spins on things which as we know i love to do yeah you know put those twists that really identify my recipes as like of two places there are so many examples in this book, like all my books, like, you know, there's the Bamba marshmallow treats, which is like a middle, Bamba is a puffed peanut snack.

13:03Adeena Sussman:Oh, I'm aware. I love Bamba.

13:05The Host:Just for the audience.

13:06Adeena Sussman:Yeah, no, no, I'm just like, I can go along on Bamba.

13:09The Host:You know, no Israeli kids have peanut allergies because they're all eating Bamba from birth. And I made a sort of a Rice Krispie treat, you know, sort of copy using Bamba instead of Rice Krispies with marshmallows and flaky sea salt and a chocolate drizzle. And that's a very Adina recipe. Now, that's an extremely simple one because you're just melting marshmallows in butter. But there are other examples, too. There's a sloppy Yossi sandwich, which is my take on a sloppy joe. And instead of putting it on a bun, which is really not the best delivery vehicle for sloppy joe because it makes it so sloppy.

13:39The Host:A pita is so ideal for that because it holds that juicy, meaty, saucy filling. And I put in olives and green peppers and preserved lemons and harissa that really identifies the dish in its place.

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16:03Adeena Sussman:Carmel Market, I feel it's a co-author in this book, in many of your books. I mean, really, it's all your books. But I like this book. You zoom in on a few vendors. I love walking around that market and trying the cuisines of the world, essentially. Talk about maybe one or two vendors that inspired you to write. Yeah.

16:22The Host:I mean, you know, there's a nice spread in the back of photos of eight people in the Shuk that I see pretty much on a daily basis. And all of them are, you know, there's Tikva, who makes beautiful juices and, you know, she makes beautiful smoothies. And so, you know, I have a beautiful picture of Tikva. There's El Adin Rustum from Ha Carmel 40, which is known as one of the, you know, the most iconic lunch spots in the Shuk. I mean, you know, what's happened in the Shook is that a lot of fine dining chefs have really simplified their lives and decided to take all of their skills and fine dining knowledge and make sort of street food style.

16:59The Host:So, how Carmel 40 makes a delicious fish sandwich on the plancha and Elad, the proprietor of the stall that makes the sandwiches, is Jewish and Rustum is Arab-Palestinian in the back. He supplies the fish. They're good friends. I have beautiful pictures of both of them. and I, with their permission, made a simpler version of their sandwich, which has like nine sauces. But I have one really good sauce that's a little bit like a doña sauce, like from Southwest Cooking. It's a similar, you know, it has like pickled peppers that are blended into a sauce with olive oil and herbs. And it just like really like cuts that, the fish, the richness of that fish perfectly.

17:39Adeena Sussman:And I love the way it's like a, it's a lot of fish in a little bun. And that's like a great way to do a sandwich because I think that's the best fish sandwich. And just the way you've kind of breaded the fish fillet is beautiful there.

17:51The Host:It's a good one. That one's done on the plancha. But yeah, putting it into the bread, you know, they scoop out the roll. Like they just, they're so thoughtful about it because they feel like, you know, they don't want the bread to overwhelm the sandwich. And then, yeah, but speaking of breading, you mentioned the spice drawer schnitzel. Right, that's the bread.

18:07Adeena Sussman:The plancha was the sear. And I love fish that way. All good. Yeah, it's really good. Yeah.

18:13The Host:So, I mean, you know, I think people equate frying with not simple. But, you know, schnitzel, you know, a fried chicken, breaded fried chicken cutlet is like a real staple of Israeli life. That does have Eastern European roots, obviously, from sort of the Viennese Wiener schnitzel. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, you know, it came to Israel pre-state and it was made with turkey actually first because that's what people had. And they pounded out turkey breast. Eventually, chicken became the standard protein for schnitzel in Israel, also because it's kosher. There isn't a lot of pork schnitzel in Israel.

18:49The Host:But I wanted to eliminate a step. I was always thinking, what can I do in this step? So I made a batter, a very heavily spiced batter with flour and egg and a bunch of spices, including grainy mustard.

19:02Adeena Sussman:Yeah, yeah.

19:03The Host:Because the whole idea of it was that the schnitzel was going to be coated in seeds. There are cumin seeds in there, coriander seeds and sesame seeds, and the mustard seeds add another seed. So you basically just dip in the batter, then dip in the breadcrumbs, and then fry. And, you know, I mean, there's nothing like a fried fresh schnitzel. No, it's a beautiful thing. And oven baking is great. I love it. But, like, I'm still going to fry my cheese.

19:27Adeena Sussman:It's a shallow pan fry. Shallow pan fry.

19:30The Host:You know, just put a little salad on the side of that, and you have, like, a perfect meal.

19:33Adeena Sussman:So let's talk about Amba. It's in your staples section and you see it on restaurant menus throughout New York and many different styles of cooking. And how did you think about Amba in this book and using it? Because you see it throughout the book. Yeah. Behind it. First of all, I mean, Amba itself is like a really interesting sort of Jewish diasporic food story in itself.

19:56The Host:You know, there was a community of Iraqi Jews who went to live in India for a while and they were called the Baghdadi Jews. They moved from Baghdad to India to do some business and make a living. And eventually they moved back. And while they were there, they, of course, like all Jews living in other countries, they adapted cuisines and fell in love with things. And they fell in love with chutneys. And they took a sort of mango chutney but pickled the mango and fermented it and then blended that into a sauce with fenugreek seeds for like that slipperiness and turmeric for the yellow color and onion.

20:32The Host:and they used it originally on like sabih sandwiches, which is like an eggplant sandwich. And, you know, like many condiments in Israel, like a street food stand in Israel is kind of like an ingathering of the nations. There are going to be condiments from Yemen, from Israel, Palestine, the Trina. There's going to be a harissa from Morocco. There's going to be schug and now there's going to be amba. You know, you cannot have a shawarma or a pita now even without amba. But I like to take all the ingredients and find other ways to use them other than just the traditional way. So I'll mix it into a salad dressing.

21:12The Host:I'll mix it into a soup, kind of like wherever. I like to view it as another great continent.

21:18Adeena Sussman:It's so interesting, that great history there. And I feel my father-in-law was born in Northern Israel. Yeah. And I don't think amba was part of his upbringing.

21:28The Host:Well, the Iraqi Jews came to Israel right after the founding of the modern state. You know, there were many Jews came for a variety of reasons. They were either expelled or came because of persecution from those countries, and they brought their foods with them, and the Iraqi Jews brought Amba with them. And it took a while. You know, in the early years of the modern state of Israel, Mizrahi or Sephardic and North African culture was sort of—it was sidelined a bit. But, you know, since the late 70s and early 80s, like Mizrahi and Sephardic culture is ascended in Israel. Oh, absolutely. Pop culture, biggest celebrities, all the food, all the music, the film stars, everyone.

22:10The Host:So, you know, there's been a real shift. And now I'm kind of waiting for Ashkenazi or Eastern European food to have its kind of sort of like refresh.

22:20Adeena Sussman:You took me to a place that was doing Ashkenazi a couple of visits ago. Yeah. It was doing some interesting stuff.

22:25The Host:Yeah, there's a lot going on. I mean, every culture in Israel, you know, right now the hottest and best restaurant in Tel Aviv is called Studio Gursha. Speaking of Gursha, you had BJ here, and Gursha is the Ethiopian concept of loving someone so much during entertaining them that you feed them to their own mouth with your hand. And Eleazar Tamano is a young Ethiopian-Israeli chef, and he's creating the most exciting Pan-African Ethiopian food fused with what he, you know, his upbringing in Israel. And I just think that every cuisine is going to have that young chef. And like the next one that I'm waiting for, I would say, is a Russian chef.

23:01Adeena Sussman:Yeah, it'd be interesting to see the evolution. We talk about chefs all the time on the show and two chefs and the global cuisine. And we don't talk enough about food in Israel. You know, Tel Aviv, these restaurants scene that's so—

23:12The Host:It's a very vibrant scene. It's definitely made a splash around the world. Right now, Israeli restaurants are struggling around the world. There have been a lot of cultural boycotts, and it's tough for people, for these chefs living abroad.

23:28Adeena Sussman:Yeah, the margin's already so low to have additional headwinds. And Bijay, we talked about having to close her restaurant.

23:35The Host:Yeah, I'm glad she's done a nice turnaround. Absolutely. She's doing hosting events, and there's such an interest in Ethiopian Jewish culture, and she has so much to offer. So I'm really excited for her, and she's incredible.

23:46Adeena Sussman:So you had to have a shakshuka in this book. I did. Because, you know, why have a book like yours without shakshuka? That said, you've already written two other books with shakshukas in it. You probably—

23:58The Host:I've had a green shakshuka. I've had a red shakshuka. I've had a white shakshuka with a yogurt base. And I was like, what color is left that can inspire a new shakshuka recipe and a new way of making shakshuka?

24:09Adeena Sussman:But you didn't think about color. You thought about time.

24:11The Host:I did. And I made a sheet pan shakshuka. Let's go there.

24:13Adeena Sussman:It's really smart. I love this recipe.

24:14The Host:For sure can work with regular traditional shakshuka ingredients. Like you could just, you know, there's a lot of sheet panning in this book. I have caramelized onions. You know, when you think about it, there's no need to stand over a skillet of caramelized onions. Like I use the oven as the skillet and I make caramelized onions for a labané dip with caramelized onions. That is just so delicious. And so, you know, this recipe for the sheet pan shakshuka, I take cherry tomatoes and yellow peppers and squash. And I roast it all and onions and I roast it all on a skillet with a big hunk of feta in the middle with a sort of cumin and other herb spiced oil that goes both on the vegetables and on top of the feta.

24:57The Host:And then sort of towards the end, I make little wells in the sheet pan and crack eggs in it and put it right back in the oven. Really?

25:05Adeena Sussman:And like talk about perfect July, August, September. Late summer, early fall kind of.

25:11The Host:Yeah. And it's so good.

25:13Adeena Sussman:It's so good. And I love that you can put sauces on it, too.

25:17The Host:Yeah, it's super adaptable. If you wanted to do all tomatoes, you could just do all tomatoes.

25:21Adeena Sussman:So it cannot be overstated how much avocados play the cuisine of Israel. I feel that's maybe a surprise when you visit there.

25:29The Host:We love our avocados.

25:30Adeena Sussman:How did you think about your shug roasted corn guac style spread and just like avocados in general being part of this book? So one of the things I love about produce in Israel is that it really is a very seasonal experience.

25:47The Host:You cannot get avocados all year. So unlike in the United States where avocados are imported 365 from Mexico, which is great. I grew up in California eating limes and avocados every day. But limes and avocados are seasonal ingredients in Israel. And there are also local cultivars that have different seasons. So we have Haas, but there's also a great avocado called an Ettinger avocado, which is the more thin-skinned variety. And I've really come to love them. They're a little bit less rich and oily than a Haas, but I love them. And those, you peel the skin off, and some people even eat the skin.

26:22Adeena Sussman:Oh, cool.

26:23The Host:But yeah, so people love avocado. It just goes really well with the cuisine there. I mean, there is, I would say, a large continuum between, you know, cultures that have a lot of sun tend to like avocado, Mexico, California, Israel. So I'm always adding it into salads. You know, it's just a great way to add beautiful color and richness and flavor. And the guac, I mean, I definitely took a pause and thought about the Melissa Clark controversy of adding peas to her guacamole. Yeah, that was funny.

26:53Adeena Sussman:I remember talking to Melissa about that. That was a funny moment in history.

26:56The Host:Yeah. You know, guacamole, you know, we all know it has Mexican roots. So does corn has a lot of Mexican roots. But I just I love fresh corn. And, you know, everything in Israel has the opportunity to almost be a salad. And, you know, by adding roasted corn and cilantro, lots of chopped cilantro to the guacamole, like it turns it into something a little different. The sweetness of the corn in contrast with the richness of the avocado and, of course, the spice of the guacamole just kind of takes it to a different level. and that's like a you know if you have that with a little pita yeah beer like that's lunch it's

27:31Adeena Sussman:absolutely lunch yeah tell me about the cheesy spicy gnocchi and beans that was inspired by uh a late night snack you made chrissy tegan you've written with chrissy tegan um on all of

27:43The Host:her books and you're in front of yours yes i've written three books with chrissy yeah um and she our books are called cravings and she really is someone who eats according to her cravings yeah And she should.

27:54Adeena Sussman:Like, that's the best way to eat. It is. Let's go there. Yeah.

27:57The Host:And during deep COVID, when I was living in a pod with Chrissy and her husband, John, Legend, in Beverly Hills.

28:04Adeena Sussman:Probably a nice pod. Like, literally, it didn't feel like a pod.

28:08The Host:It was the nicest possible pod. First of all, they're great people, very warm, hospitable.

28:15Adeena Sussman:They are.

28:16The Host:Always feel at home in their home, which you can't take for granted when you're working with someone in this capacity. Yeah. But, you know, she was in a greens phase. And, you know, I just, we started making, she started calling it Adina's Greenas. It was all kinds of like kale and different greens with sauteed onions and maybe sometimes chickpeas and then lots of cheese and like throwing it in the oven with a lot of hot sauce or chili crisp. Yes, yes. And so I made that a lot, but I wanted to make a dish inspired by that, but round it out into something with a little more of a main course energy because that was like a 1 a.m.

28:54The Host:snack that we would often make. So I used some – I honestly had never really worked with store-bought shelf-stable gnocchi.

29:02Adeena Sussman:Yeah, yeah, yeah.

29:03The Host:I was a little bit scared of them. Yeah. Everybody uses them and there was no reason why I hadn't. Nothing to fear. I just hadn't used them for some reason. I just make my own or whatever. So I put gnocchi in there and a lot of cheddar. And then I think there's some white beans in there or chickpeas as well. And harissa and miso. You know, just like finding – It's so good. Using condiments that like really deepen the flavor of a dish. You know, like harissa, you know, is multitudes of things in there. There are 10 spices in there. And miso just has the funk of the soy, the salt, all the different things in there.

29:41The Host:So you're thinking about the ways that you can incorporate the most flavor. And then, of course, just like a blanket of cheddar.

29:48Adeena Sussman:I mean, it seems like the perfect quick late night recipe. Late night or lunch, dinner.

29:54The Host:I just road tested it for Instagram. I'm going to post it in a few weeks. I made the entire dish like live less than 30 minutes, like start to finish on camera without stopping.

30:04Adeena Sussman:It's a winner for sure.

30:05The Host:Thank you.

30:05Adeena Sussman:Well, the lime blondies with dehydrated raspberries, I'm like always thinking about our holiday cookie, cookie-ish competition here at the building for Crown. And this is like an early contender for me. It seems really, really, really good.

30:20The Host:You know, I've always wanted to do a lemon or a lime blondie.

30:23Adeena Sussman:Yeah.

30:24The Host:And it's tricky because when you bake with fresh citrus, it can actually dry out a recipe a little bit. And the flavor can also – you need to like – I worked on that recipe so hard. Like the timing is really important, the ratio of flour to citrus. And then, of course, we think and eat with our eyes. And I wanted it to have like a visual pop. And when I happened to have some dried raspberries in the house and I blitzed them up and put them on top. And they reinforced – the tartness of them really came out in that form. And they just reinforced like the puckery nature of the lime blondie. And they look so beautiful.

31:03The Host:They have like a Christmassy look to them, actually.

31:05Adeena Sussman:I feel, I just think visually it looks stunning. But then just the lime, as you said, like this tart on tart.

31:12The Host:Tart on tart. Is cool. Yeah, I love sour recipes. You know, they're not too sweet. You could, you know, I could have put an icing on them, but I felt like that would have made them too sweet. And also I was really, again, I was, I was, confectioner's sugar I think was probably an ingredient that I couldn't afford myself in the process. because I was over my 12.

31:32Adeena Sussman:Over your bar mitzvah ingredient number. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Love those long blondies.

31:36The Host:And there's also an amazing no-bake tchina cheesecake in the book.

31:39Adeena Sussman:Love that. I forgot about that one.

31:40The Host:It's so high and lofty and the tchina just adds so much richness.

31:44Adeena Sussman:That is like a high cake, you're right, the photo of it. It's so good. So you just whip everything.

31:50The Host:You make like a lotus crust.

31:52Adeena Sussman:Yeah.

31:52The Host:I recently saw.

31:53Adeena Sussman:With like biscotti or?

31:55The Host:With biscoff. Biscoff, yeah. Biscoff, you know, the crackers you get, the cookies you get on Delta Air.

31:59Adeena Sussman:Yeah, yeah, yeah, those guys.

31:59The Host:Very popular in Israel.

32:01Adeena Sussman:Always grab in two bags. Yeah.

32:02The Host:I find that they're quite sweet. They're sweeter than graham crackers, so you don't need to add brown sugar to the crust. And then the cake itself is a little bit less heavily sweetened. The tina really grounds it and gives it a lot of earth.

32:14Adeena Sussman:That's good.

32:15The Host:And it's a really fun one.

32:16Adeena Sussman:Do you ever dunk those in like Diet Coke?

32:19The Host:I'll try anything.

32:20Adeena Sussman:This is like the move. I think some listeners may.

32:23The Host:What about carbonated Diet Coke using your new carbonated Breville?

32:27Adeena Sussman:Carbonator. You could do anything, but I think Biscoff dipped into Diet Coke. I would like, okay. Like on the flight.

32:33The Host:Oh, have I done on the flight?

32:34Adeena Sussman:On the flight, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no, I haven't.

32:37The Host:It's elite?

32:38Adeena Sussman:It's elite. Okay, I'm going to do it, Matt. I trust you. Yeah, I feel some of the listeners will recognize this move.

32:45The Host:Wait, so as someone who's developed a ton of cookbooks yourself, when you look at cookbooks to decide whether recipes are on point or well-developed, what do you look for?

32:54Adeena Sussman:I love that question. Thank you for turning the tables.

32:56The Host:I always do because I have so many questions for you. It's a good way to do it.

32:58Adeena Sussman:I mean, well, I really like this book. I've not cooked from it because I just recently got it. I think word economy is super important with the recipe, like with the instructions and the ingredients list. You're there. I always think it's like not overselling the concept in the head note or I'm sorry, in the title. That to me, if it feels too conceptual off rip, it's just not going to be inviting.

33:23The Host:Yeah. I'm not sure if you didn't know. I'm not sure you would know this was a quick and easy cookbook. Like it looks like my idea was that every recipe would fit on one page. Yeah, exactly. It would look airy so that when you looked at it, you know, cerebrally, you wouldn't get overwhelmed or overstimulated. But I think it has – those recipes have all the elements of like just a good solid recipe. I mean some home cooks get anxiety when they see jump to next page.

33:48Adeena Sussman:And I don't blame them. Jump to next page is like –

33:50The Host:Don't blame them.

33:51Adeena Sussman:Is like – can feel like, oh, I'm not going to do that one, I guess. Yeah.

33:54The Host:Both have their value.

33:55Adeena Sussman:Yeah, of course. And I wouldn't undermine a more detailed recipe writing. Yeah. That's also a huge skill in art. But yeah, I just like the word economy. I like the – and also just like creativity.

34:06The Host:Yeah.

34:07Adeena Sussman:You know, the schnitzel, for example, like the way you frame that with multiple spices from the drawer, but you're promising that it's like a spice drawer.

34:16The Host:Yeah.

34:17Adeena Sussman:Easy schnitzel, shallow fried, not three dredge components, but two. So that's cool. Thank you. Yeah, so that's, yeah. Cool. I appreciate the question. So is my, at the top, I made this like assumption that this is a trilogy.

34:33The Host:It is.

34:33Adeena Sussman:Is that fair?

34:35The Host:I think it is. First of all, all my books are intentionally the same size, you know, what they call trim size in our industry. They sit nicely, but I'm really interested in color. Yeah. And, you know, Sababa, like I call it Sababa yellow now.

34:50Adeena Sussman:Yeah, right.

34:51The Host:And Shabbat has like an orangey, pinky vibe. And, you know, unintentionally, our cover was based upon a specific tablecloth that my incredible stylist, Nuri Karim, used. But a lot of books that came out around then had a similar color way. The Jewish Food Society cookbook and also Jess Dammack's follow-up book, Health Nut, had similar colors. And, you know, of course, that made me feel like the cool kids because all of those people are cool. But Zaree's, like, I really wanted to convey energy. And there's a real neon green component to the book. The end papers are neon green. And I love that. But, yeah, it is a trilogy.

35:33The Host:They all have the same front matter, which is how to make all the staple ingredients of this kitchen. I condense them more and more with each book because I do feel like I don't want to take up a lot of real estate doing a full review of the Preserve Lemons. And so if you go to Sababa, you're going to get the full history of preserved lemons and how I came across them and how to do them with more romanced language. And now there's just like a really, really condensed but very concise instructions for how to make it along with Labané and Baharat and Zatar and pomegranate molasses and all the things that if you can't find, you can easily make to use in my recipes.

36:12Adeena Sussman:I mean, it seems like somebody at your publisher might want to put that in a box, sell them all together.

36:17The Host:Maybe. Seems like the wise movie.

36:19Adeena Sussman:Wink, wink. Your publisher meaning us here at Fingy Random House. Is it a trilogy meaning there's an end or are we doing a quartet here?

36:28The Host:There are definitely multiple other projects like in the hopper. I bet. And, you know, one of the reasons I love cookbooks is because they afford me the opportunity to keep learning. Yeah. And so with every book, I'm going to challenge myself in different ways. And there may be other types of books that aren't confined simply to recipe developing for a home cook in the kitchen. I'm also interested in exploring, especially in this time, books that can be meaningful for the Jewish community at a time when the Jewish community is struggling and looking for some hope. And so that is definitely informing my work as well and supporting Jewish community all over the place.

37:14Adeena Sussman:There's only 15 million of us. Yeah. Not a lot.

37:17The Host:Not a lot. It might seem like more sometimes. Might seem like more. Get a little bit of attention. But, you know, I've got ideas for like a straight up fourth book in the quartet that will continue to be the personal narrative of my life and how I'm cooking. Yeah. And, you know, the other thing that's interesting about living in it, you know, after Israeli and Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food, you know, Asian food is huge in Israel. I mean, I'm sure you've noticed on your visits that, you know, so many and better and better Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, izakaya, omakase, all kinds of food. And I'm finding more and more, not surprisingly, that those, you know, find their way into my home cooking as well.

37:59The Host:You know, I don't want to confine myself to just cooking straight, you know, Israeli or Middle Eastern food. So that's and I don't already.

38:07Adeena Sussman:I mean, you haven't. The books that you've collaborated with, you have so many other.

38:11The Host:You know, there's a great recipe in this book for a miso Ceylon Baharat short rib. You know, that's like very Adina coated kind of a recipe. But you might be surprised by other projects that are coming or I'm hoping to do in the future. Thank you.

38:26Adeena Sussman:We spend a lot of time on the show thinking about what we put into our bodies. The perfect olive oil to saute those farmer's market vegetables, or the latest cult yogurt brand that promises optimal gut health. We think deeply about what we consume, but often ignore something completely. Our mental health. Rula fixes this. They're a healthcare company that works with over 100 insurance plans, so the average copay is just$15 a session. $15. They match you with licensed therapists based on your actual goals and needs, not just whoever's available. And appointments can happen as soon as tomorrow. Thousands of people are already using Rula to get affordable, high-quality therapy that's actually covered by insurance.

39:11Adeena Sussman:Visit Rula.com slash taste to get started. That's R-U-L-A dot com slash taste. You deserve mental health care that works for you, not against your budget. Zootopia 2 has come home to Disney+. Let's go! Get ready for a new case. We're going to crack this case and prove we're the greatest partners of all time! New friends. You are... Gary the Snake. And your last name? The Snake. Dream team. New habitats. Zootopia has a secret reptile population. You can watch the record-breaking phenomenon at home. You're clearly working it. Zootopia 2. Now available on Disney+. Rated PG.

39:53The Host:Now at McDonald's, a McDouble is$2.50. So you can get your gym gains on. Or just get lunch for only$2.50. Get more value on the under$3 menu. Limited time only. Prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher for delivery.

40:08Adeena Sussman:On This Is Taste, we ask guests about the discerning taste. So to close this interview, here's a little rapid-fire Fast and Furious taste check. Are you ready?

40:14The Host:Oh, I totally forgot to study for these, but I'll just come up with them on the spot. You don't have to study.

40:17Adeena Sussman:You know it's coming, but this is impromptu. Okay. The best fruit.

40:22The Host:Mango.

40:22Adeena Sussman:The worst vegetable?

40:26The Host:I was going to say truffle oil. Not a vegetable. Let's call that a... Fake truffle. Fake truffle. Faux truffle. Faux truffle. Fauxful.

40:34Adeena Sussman:What is your typical breakfast?

40:37The Host:Either the maple tchina oatmeal from the Zari's cookbook or soft scrambled eggs on a pita that I grill straight onto on the top of my stovetop. Yeah. With fresh Yemenite schrug and avocado. Love that.

40:54Adeena Sussman:The best dessert.

40:57The Host:The best dessert. Wow, that's a really good one. I mean, I'm a huge fan of a cheese plate with some kind of a jam.

41:04Adeena Sussman:Wow. Damn. What? You went savory with that one.

41:07The Host:I love dessert. So if I'm going to go dessert, I love Malabi.

41:11Adeena Sussman:Yeah.

41:12The Host:Malabi's good. And I like desserts that have like a creamy dairy element to them.

41:17Adeena Sussman:When you're craving fast food while back in the United States, where are you going?

41:25The Host:Dezengolf.

41:26Adeena Sussman:Yeah.

41:27The Host:I mean, when I'm here, like, I don't eat a lot of Middle Eastern food. But if I do, I eat Michael Solomonoff's food when I go visit him in Philly. Philly. He's my best friend. He knows the drill. He knows what to make. And sometimes, like, your primal need for a falafel, like, knows no bounds.

41:43Adeena Sussman:A restaurant you wish you could bring back from the dead.

41:46The Host:I heard that Tom Valenti recently passed away and having lived on the Upper West Side, he had a restaurant called West. Yeah. That was just, it was a really. Spelled in French. O-U-E-S-T. And it was a really special place for people who lived on the Upper West Side. We felt seen. Yeah. He was someone who really bridged the gap beautifully between fine dining and casual, warm hospitality. The food was incredible. The menu changed a lot. It was a cozy, cool place. And, you know, I've just been, whenever I come back, I'm very nostalgic for my old neighborhood. And, you know, because there aren't a ton of great restaurants on the Upper West Side, I think there are more than there used to be.

42:23The Host:But so, you know, this one's for you, Tom. I love that.

42:26Adeena Sussman:That's a great answer. R.I.P. Tom. Your favorite city in the world to visit for food?

42:31The Host:I would have to say Tel Aviv. But beyond that, I would say Rome is just, you know, my go-to, but also Chiang Mai and Thailand. Love that.

42:41Adeena Sussman:Last one, your favorite sandwich.

42:45The Host:My favorite sandwich would have to be a sabich sandwich. You're doing it.

42:52Adeena Sussman:Yeah, yeah, yeah.

42:53The Host:I do just love it so much. It's a fresh, beautiful pita that's been made like sort of with a sourdough starter type of bread. So it's really good and holds all the sauce. A perfectly fried piece of eggplant. Some fresh chopped Israeli salad. A hard-boiled egg. Amba, which we talked about before. Potato is often an element. And it's just so, so delicious. It's delicious.

43:20Adeena Sussman:It's a meal.

43:20The Host:It's really satisfying. There's often hummus stuck in there, tucked in there. There are a few places in Tel Aviv that I absolutely love. There's Oved, which is the classic place in a traditionally Iraqi neighborhood. There's Sabih Chernikovsky, which is really close to my house. known for the eggplant specifically and the thinness of it and how flavorful it is when it's fried. It doesn't taste greasy. And there's Sabih Frischman. There are many, many choices.

43:46Adeena Sussman:Adina Sussman, thank you so much for joining This Is Taste.

43:49The Host:Thank you so much for having me.

43:55Adeena Sussman:This Is Taste is hosted and produced by Eliza Abarbanal and me, Matt Rodbar. The show is edited by lead producer Clayton Gumbert and supervised by Pat Stango, director of media production and development at Penguin Random House. Thanks to Shalia Harris and the production team at Penguin Random House. Theme music by Steve Rydell. Episode portraits by Louise Zergon Pomeroy. Logo design by Ellie Skrzat and Ian Dingham. Visit Taste Online at tastecooking.com and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated on all cool things in the world of taste. Thank you.