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WHEN NOAH AND RAE BERNAMOFF OPENED MILE END, their tiny Brooklyn restaurant, they had a mission: to share the classic Jewish comfort food of their childhood.
Using their grandmothers’ recipes as a starting point, Noah and Rae updated traditional dishes and elevated them with fresh ingredients and from-scratch cooking techniques. The Mile End Cookbook celebrates the craft of new Jewish cooking with more than 100 soul-satisfying recipes and gorgeous photographs. Throughout, the Bernamoffs share warm memories of cooking with their families and the traditions and holidays that inspire recipes like blintzes with seasonal fruit compote; chicken salad whose secret ingredient is fresh gribenes; veal schnitzel kicked up with pickled green tomatoes and preserved lemons; tsimis that’s never mushy; and cinnamon buns made with challah dough. Noah and Rae also celebrate homemade delicatessen staples and share their recipes and methods for pickling, preserving, and smoking just about anything.
For every occasion, mood, and meal, these are recipes that any home cook can make, including:
SMOKED AND CURED MEAT AND FISH: brisket, salami, turkey, lamb bacon, lox, mackerel
PICKLES, GARNISHES, FILLINGS, AND CONDIMENTS: sour pickles, pickled fennel, horseradish cream, chicken confit, sauerkraut, and soup mandel
SUMPTUOUS SWEETS AND BREADS: rugelach, jelly-filled doughnuts, flourless chocolate cake, honey cake, cheesecake, challah, rye
ALL THE CLASSICS: the ultimate chicken soup, gefilte fish, corned beef sandwich, latkes, knishes
With tips and lore from Jewish and culinary mavens, such as Joan Nathan and Niki Russ Federman of Russ & Daughters, plus holiday menus, Jewish cooking has never been so inspiring.
Matzo
4 ¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more to top the matzo (optional)
2 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water
Preheat the oven to 500°F and place a pizza stone (ideally) or a 10-by-15-inch baking sheet on the bottom rack.
In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients until they come together to form a dough. If the dough is sticky, add a bit more flour.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Flatten a piece slightly and pass it repeatedly through a pasta maker, reducing the thickness each time until you reach the minimum setting. (Or you can simply roll the dough as thinly as possible with a rolling pin.) Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.
Trim the flattened dough pieces so that they will fit snugly onto the pizza stone or baking sheet. Use a fork to prick holes in the surface of the dough. For salted matzo, brush or spray the dough surface lightly with water and sprinkle with salt.
Carefully slide the pieces of dough onto the pizza stone or baking sheet. Bake until the surface of the matzo is golden brown and bubbly, 30 seconds or so. Using tongs, carefully f lip the matzo pieces and continue to bake until the other side is browned and lightly blistered. (Keep careful, constant watch to keep the matzo from burning; the exact cooking time will vary from oven to oven, and will get a little longer with each subsequent batch.)
Makes about 8 large sheets
Overview
WHEN NOAH AND RAE BERNAMOFF OPENED MILE END, their tiny Brooklyn restaurant, they had a mission: to share the classic Jewish comfort food of their childhood.
Using their grandmothers’ recipes as a starting point, Noah and Rae updated traditional dishes and elevated them with fresh ingredients and from-scratch cooking techniques. The Mile End Cookbook celebrates the craft of new Jewish cooking with more than 100 soul-satisfying recipes and gorgeous photographs. Throughout, the ...