★ 06/17/2019
In her first solo cookbook, Sussman (who coauthored Cravings with Chrissy Teigen) provides 120 recipes featuring adaptations of Middle Eastern meals that are full of bright flavors. She lives near Tel Aviv’s famous Carmel Market and draws inspiration from its vast array of spices, creating blends such as an Egyptian dukkah with hazelnuts, sesame seeds, coriander, and cumin. Five different spices go into her take on the classic egg dish shakshuka, along with zucchini, dill, and crumbled feta. Small twists make for big differences in several Jewish favorites, like honey and olive oil challah and chilled beet and cherry borscht. Overnight chicken soup, simmered for 12 hours, can be made with its traditional root vegetables or perked up by adding peeled ginger root and a tumeric-based spice blend called hawaiij. And the noodle pudding known as Yerushalmi kugel is decidedly sweet, employing three cups of sugar in a 12-portion serving. Pomegranates are seeded throughout Israeli culture and pop up here in a wide variety of offerings, including in a cabbage and apple slaw, mixed with sour lime on chicken wings, and twisted into a pomegroni cocktail with gin and sweet white vermouth. Sababa, which translates as “everything is awesome,” makes for an appropriate title for this outstanding collection of fresh variations on an old-world cuisine. (Sept.)
Named a Best New Cookbook of Fall 2019 by The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Epicurious, Eater, Forbes, Buzzfeed, and Amazon.
"Ms. Sussman’s recipes are thoughtfully written and thoroughly tested."
–Melissa Clark, The New York Times
"The pages of this book ooze with [Adeena's] passion for the romance and beauty of Israeli cuisine. The recipes are soulful, elemental, and stunningly delicious."
–from the foreword by Michael Solomonov
"Sababa, borrowed from Arabic slang, means 'everything is awesome' and I’m here to tell you that’s a pretty accurate description of Adeena Sussman’s new cookbook. Go through Sababa and you’ll be transported with Adeena as she ventures to her vibrant market in Tel Aviv and returns to her kitchen to make the dishes that have put Israeli cuisine on the front burner."
–Nancy Silverton
"Everything about this book, from its title, which promises awesomeness, to Adeena’s stories about her adopted homeland, its markets, ingredients, traditions, and cooks, conspires to joy. The recipes are simple, smart, and filled with the bold, bright flavors of Israel we’ve come to love. That they’re so easily doable is the bonus."
—Dorie Greenspan, award-winning author of Everyday Dorie and Dorie’s Cookies
“With Sababa, Adeena has gifted us with the kind of culinary journey that dreams are made of. Her warmth, knowledge, colorful stories, and stunningly beautiful recipes make this the type of book you want to have two of: one to read in bed at night and one to get messy with in the kitchen.”
–Molly Yeh, food blogger and TV host
"I am so glad that Sababa is here so that I can finally taste Adeena’s personal flavors from her Israeli kitchen. She has masterfully combined the food that she grew up with in the States with the dishes she serves now in her Tel Aviv kitchen. Just try Adeena's corn on the cob smothered in yogurt, feta, and za'atar—the Israeli take on Mexican street corn, or her magisterial kubbanah, the Yemenite cross between an overnight brioche and croissant. Every reader and food lover will learn how to integrate Adeena’s clever ways with flavor into their own cooking."
–Joan Nathan
"Seeing Adeena’s love and dedication to Israeli cuisine has been truly inspiring. This book captures her love for the food, culture, history, and people of Israel in an incredible way. Getting to live out her passion for Israeli cuisine in the heart of Tel Aviv (Shuk Hacarmel), she's been able to decode the cultural influences of what modern Israeli food is all about. Her warm and effortless approach makes you feel like you are in her kitchen cooking alongside her. Bright, fresh, and full of flavor, these are dishes that will easily be on repeat in your home."
–Eden Grinshpan, co-founder of DEZ and host of Top Chef Canada
"Adeena Sussman is a California woman who fell in love with Israel. Her knowledge of food, culture, and life in Israel has allowed her access to the inner circle of Israeli cooks, farmers, bakers, shop keepers, and others who imbibe that culture with a dazzling, multicultural cuisine. Adeena is reverent in her approach, historical in her research, and incredibly passionate in her quest to conquer the patchwork cultural makeup that defines the Israeli food landscape. Most importantly, she makes this terrific food and cuisine approachable and authentic at the same time. A delight!"
–Jonathan Waxman
"[Sussman's] tahini caramel tart justifiably earns its parenthetical description as 'the Gal Gadot of tarts.' With this book, Sussman will most likely prove to be a new kind of Amazon warrior goddess."
–The New York Times
"Sababa has taught me, inspired me and fed me. You can’t say better than that."
–Diana Henry, T: The New York Times Style Magazine
"Adeena Sussman is a force to be reckoned with...As the book’s title hints — 'sababa' is Hebrew-meets-Arabic slang for, simply, 'everything is awesome' — readers are in for a treat."
–Eater
"For an American understanding of Israeli cooking, Adenna Sussman is the person to turn to...Sussman’s colorful recipes, paired with peeks into her life abroad, are a journey in themselves."
–Condé Nast Traveler
"This book has recipes that range from intoxicating spice mixes to unfussy street food—and delivers gastronomic awesomeness."
–Forbes
"The perfect at-home intro to all that Israeli cuisine has to offer."
–Buzzfeed
"Sababa, which translates as 'everything is awesome,' makes for an appropriate title for this outstanding collection of fresh variations on an old-world cuisine."
–Publishers Weekly, starred review
12/01/2019
Sussman (Cravings) here shares how she has cooked since moving to Israel in 2015. Readers will know this cookbook is special right from the introduction where Sussman vividly describes a trek through her local Tel Aviv market and explains her cooking style, which has been increasingly influenced by the diversity of Israel, where Jewish and Arabic immigrants from many countries inspire each other. The author gives a helpful overview of her pantry and recipes for spice blends and favorite condiments. Then she offers bright, refreshing dishes and drinks, along with regional staples for hot days. Her comforting vegetable stew and roast chicken recipes feel familiar and easy, just with an Israeli twist. Large photos perfectly the capture vibrant colors and varied textures. VERDICT A solid choice for fans of flavorful Israeli cuisine or Middle Eastern food in general. Suggest with Leah Koenig's encyclopedic The Jewish Cookbook, which includes a broad view of historical Jewish food.—Bonnie Poquette, Milwaukee
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