Cohen Michael Joseph - Aromas of Aleppo the legendary cuisine of Syrian Jews

In memory of my beloved son
JESSE DWECK

19852003

A good heart is always celebrating

Proverbs 15:15

V isit an Aleppian Jewish home on any given morning, and you can identify the day of the week by the richly perfumed air wafting from the busy kitchen. If you detect the nuttiness of lentils suffused with sweet onions, it is Thursday and mujedrah (). While these dishes were developed long ago in Aleppo, an ancient city in the northwestern plains of Syria, Aleppian Jewish cooks around the world are still passionately preparing them today.

The kitchen is the soul of the Aleppian Jewish home, and I feel truly honored and blessed to be able to bring you Aromas of Aleppo, which conveys the warmth and love at the heart of our cuisine. I have been a lifelong member of the community of Aleppian Jews in New York, but my interest in our cuisine took a momentous turn during the mid-1970s when I got involved in documenting the recipes of Jewish Aleppo with a group of like-minded community cooks. Most Syrian recipes were not written down; they existed only in the minds of older cooks. My peers and I wondered whether our kids would follow our mothers and grandmothers approach to cooking and maintain the deep understanding of our unique customs.

America being the assimilative force it is, we were determined to ensure that the centuries-old foodways and traditions of Jewish Aleppo would continue for generations to come. Under the auspices of the Sephardic Womens Organization, in 1976 we self-published a collection of Aleppian Jewish recipes called Deal Delights. This humble red vinylbound book became an instant success in Sephardic communities around the world. It raised tens of thousands of dollars for charity. Two more volumes followed. All three can be found in the kitchen of almost every Aleppian Jewish cook.

Now the time has come to document and update our recipes more fully and add a thorough explanation of our intriguing customs, all in one book. It is with great joy that I share with sophisticated cooks everywhere the best my community has to offer. Aleppian Jewish cookery gracefully combines Mediterranean and Levantine influences with dishes that range from quotidian workmans meals fit for the midday Aleppo market siesta to the regal opulence of a traditional Passover seder. Our cuisine features dishes that are both disarmingly familiar, exotic, and, above all, healthful.

My community represents a link to a forgotten past. It is one of the few Jewish communities to live through the rise and fall of Moorish Spain and the Ottoman Empire and survive as a modern people in the West while maintaining its venerable traditions. Our soulful culture, with its fervid, tuneful songs and communal celebratory feasts, is at its most vibrant during the Sabbath, holidays, and life-cycle events. One of the most artful representations of Aleppian Jewish culture is our food, whose story I have yearned to tell.

I offer Aromas of Aleppo as a gift to my children and the community at large. I hope it will serve as another resource to teach us about our traditions and the profound values that inform our holiday practices.

Finally, with great pleasure, I say to all, Sifrah daimeh, May your table always be plentiful.

Deal, New Jersey

August 2007