Shared by Esther Serruya Weyl
Shared by Esther Serruya Weyl
The Recipes That Connect This Brazilian Community to Its Moroccan Roots
The Recipes That Connect This Brazilian Community to Its Moroccan Roots
Family Journey
Spain and TurkeyMorocco
Belem, Brazil
7 recipes
Fish Albondigas (Fish Balls in Tomato Sauce)
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
Fumaça (Roasted Eggplant Dip)
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 oil or vegetable oil
- 4 cilantro sprigs for garnish
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Roasted Pepper Salad
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
Escabeche de Peixe (Fish Escabeche With Peppers, Cumin, and Cilantro)
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for shallow-frying
- 1 pound skinless red snapper fillets, sliced into 1-by-3-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ cup white wine vinegar or white vinegar
- ½ medium onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup + ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- ½ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
Cojada (Potato Casserole)
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
Almoronia (Baked Chicken and Eggplant)
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
Dafina (Overnight Shabbat Stew)
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
- ½ teaspoon 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
Recipes
1
Fish Albondigas (Fish Balls in Tomato Sauce)
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
2
Fumaça (Roasted Eggplant Dip)
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 oil or vegetable oil
- 4 cilantro sprigs for garnish
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
3
Roasted Pepper Salad
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
4
Escabeche de Peixe (Fish Escabeche With Peppers, Cumin, and Cilantro)
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for shallow-frying
- 1 pound skinless red snapper fillets, sliced into 1-by-3-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ cup white wine vinegar or white vinegar
- ½ medium onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup + ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- ½ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
5
Cojada (Potato Casserole)
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
6
Almoronia (Baked Chicken and Eggplant)
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
7
Dafina (Overnight Shabbat Stew)
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
- ½ teaspoon 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
Esther Serruya Weyl, an extern at Blue Hill at Stone Barnes, is our cook-in-residence. Read more about Esther in "130 Years in, a Brazilian Community's Shabbat Recipes Live On” and try her recipes for fumaça (roasted eggplant dip), cojada (potato casserole) and almoronía (baked chicken and eggplant).
In the late nineteenth century, members of a Jewish community in Morocco left the tip of Africa for the region of north Brazil around the city of Belém. In their new home, they preserved historic traditions and adopted new ones, creating a unique cuisine.
“When they arrived in Brazil they found themselves in a very different place. The ingredients are completely different, so they had to adapt a lot,” Esther Weyl, a chef who grew up in the community, explains. Paprika, a staple of the community’s cooking in Morocco wasn’t available locally, so it was replaced with urucum, a local seed that’s beaten with sugar or pepper to produce a flavor akin to sweet or hot paprika. Preserved lemons were swapped for preserved limes, and couscous, once hand rolled with semolina was replaced with local yucca flour. “Everything they could adapt, they did — to make those recipes survive,” Esther adds.
They also adopted new recipes and ingredients. “When they arrived they saw ingredients they fell in love with,” Esther says, particularly yucca. A northern Brazilian staple dish of fermented yucca juice with fried shrimp is made in her community with salted deep fried fish, and feijoada, a classic Brazilian stew of meat and beans, is made without pork and served at Shabbat lunches.
The community also blended Portuguese with a language they brought from Morocco called Haketia. That language developed in Morocco when Jews fleeing Spain during the Inquisition blended Ladino (a mix of Spanish and Hebrew) with the Judeo-Arabic spoken by Jewish families already living in Morocco. “We have a lot of expressions we still use [in Haketia]. And, I grew up thinking that it was Portuguese,” Esther says. In the kitchen and linguistically, the community is both of this place and of another place.
Esther started to research her community’s recipes and traditions a few years ago. In 2017, she traveled to Morocco with her mother and, “I really connected with the food there. It reminded me how that food was my food from home,” she says. It prompted her to start asking family members about recipes like her grandmother’s dafina, a Shabbat stew from Morocco, a red pepper salad, and a potato casserole called cojada.
Esther went on to ask nearly 40 cooks in her community a series of questions, including if they would share their family recipes with her. Among them, there are the Lahat sisters who shared their recipes for fumaça, an eggplant dip and escabeche de peixe, or fried tilapia in vinegar and olive oil, that comes from Tangier. Delicate fish albondigas or meatballs for Shabbat are a contribution from Donna Clara and her daughter Myriam and amaronia, a layered dish of chicken, eggplant, and onions touched with honey, that has roots in Turkey, comes from the Rangel family. And for something sweet, there’s a dessert recipe for meringue with the amazonian fruit cupuaçu from one of the community’s greatest cooks, Helena Obadia Benzecry.
At the core of Esther’s work is a drive to understand and preserve what binds the community together. She explains: “I want to see what is common to everybody’s houses.”
