<\/p>\n
When Ilan Stavans was growing up in Mexico City, he didn\u2019t appreciate the food his family prepared.<\/p>\n
It was only after he moved a world away, and began to view it with the eyes of the scholar he had become, that he appreciated the history of those Eastern European recipes, handed down and rewritten over the decades.<\/p>\n
The grandchild of Eastern European, Yiddish-speaking Jews who arrived in Mexico in the early 20th century, Stavans himself became an immigrant, moving to New York City in 1985.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when I myself started looking at many of the aspects of my education \u2014 including the food that I had been eating \u2014 under a new lens and started cooking for the first time with ingredients from the United States,\u201d he said during a video call from Amherst, Mass., where he is a professor of humanities and Latin American and Latino culture at Amherst College.<\/p>\n
When his mother died, Stavans received a precious memento in the form of a handwritten recipe book she\u2019d inherited from his great-great-grandmother. Each generation had annotated the book.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there are five generations of women that have written on that document in different languages,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then the beautiful thing is that they cross out something of the previous woman [and add their own notes]. \u2026 So they dialogue with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
This dialogue, along with a similar cache of recipes from his coauthor\u2019s family, formed the basis of \u201cSabor Judio: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook,\u201d written with Margaret E. Boyle (The University of North Carolina Press, $40).<\/p>\n
The authors did not stop with their own family recipes. They also reached out to other immigrants through the news outlet Diario Judio M\u00e9xico, seeking Jewish-Mexican recipes. They received hundreds of replies, not only from Mexicans, but also from people who had links to Mexico but had since emigrated to Spain or Argentina or Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was getting all these recipes of Mexican food that has changed over time and in other geographies,\u201d Stavans said.<\/p>\n
The authors winnowed down the recipes to 100, and asked cookbook author Leah Koenig to help test them and adapt the recipes to modern, standardized measurements.<\/p>\n
The resulting recipes, accompanied by personal histories, recount an aspect of the Jewish diaspora. It is the story of the history of Jewish migration to Mexico in miniature, movement often spurred by poverty and persecution.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re displaced so often, it is the food that is going to give you comfort and give you a sense of family and tradition and continuity,\u201d Stavans said. \u201cSo it\u2019s not surprising to me that every culture rotates around the dinner table.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jews first arrived in Mexico at the end of the 16th century, fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. Many Jews chose to obscure their identities and religion as they fled, maintaining their customs in private.<\/p>\n
At the end of the 19th century, two groups of Jews arrived: Yiddish-speaking Eastern European Jews and those fleeing the fading Ottoman Empire \u2014 from Syria, Greece, Lebanon and the Balkans.<\/p>\n
The two groups had very different cooking styles, Stavans said. They \u201cfound each other in Mexico and started to crisscross some of the flavors.\u201d<\/p>\n
After World War II, survivors of the Holocaust came to Mexico from Europe as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd last but not least, in the 1970s or \u201980s, Israelis were coming to Mexico to do business or to become teachers,\u201d Stavans said. \u201cAnd they were bringing the Middle Eastern cuisine of falafels, tahini and shawarma.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mexican-Jewish cuisine therefore reflects all of the waves of Jewish immigration the country has experienced. The resulting cross-pollination is a cuisine that has been reinvigorated by world-spanning contributions.<\/p>\n
\u201cSabor Judio\u201d contains recipes ranging from Eastern European-influenced spiced pickled herring and gefilte fish en salsa roja to more Mediterranean baba ganoush con chile and falafel taquitos.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept on asking myself throughout the putting together of the book, \u2018What is Jewish food?\u2019\u201d Stavans said. \u201cI have come to the conclusion that Jewish food is often local food that brings in ingredients of the previous diaspora\u2026. It\u2019s a give and take between the local and the historical.\u201d<\/p>\n
PG tested<\/p>\n
Ilan Stavans\u2019 wife, Alison, revised a family recipe passed down through generations. The recipe suggests making sandwiches, or tortas, with the meat but it can stand alone as a main dish. It can be served for Passover, a Shabbat meal or other important Jewish occasion. But you definitely don\u2019t have to be Jewish to enjoy brisket.<\/p>\n
This version ups the flavor with the addition of chamoy, a fruit-based chili sauce. To amp it up even more, add Tajin or chili powder.<\/p>\n
Alison serves the tortas with just pan sauce, but you can also add lettuce, tomato, guacamole or other toppings.<\/p>\n
2 tablespoons vegetable oil<\/p>\n
1 brisket (about 5 pounds)<\/p>\n
Freshly ground black pepper<\/p>\n
3 large yellow onions, finely chopped<\/p>\n
8 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped<\/p>\n
1 cup dry red wine<\/p>\n
4 cups beef broth<\/p>\n
3\/4 cup chamoy (sweet chili sauce)<\/p>\n
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar<\/p>\n
1\/2 packed cup light brown sugar<\/p>\n
2 bay leaves<\/p>\n
8-10 bolillos (or other soft rolls)<\/p>\n
Thinly sliced jalapeno chiles, for serving (optional)<\/p>\n
Heat the oven to 325 degrees.<\/p>\n
Heat oil in a large roasting pan over medium heat. Season brisket on both sides with pepper, place in the hot pan and sear, turning once, until well browned on both sides, 3-5 minutes per side. (If the meat doesn\u2019t fit in a single layer in the pan, cut it in half and sear in 2 batches.)<\/p>\n
Transfer the browned meat to a plate.<\/p>\n
Add onions and garlic to the pan, turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, 6-8 minutes.<\/p>\n
Add wine and beef broth, raise the heat to medium high and bring to a low boil. Stir in chili sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and bay leaves. Gently return the seared brisket to the pan (along with any juices accumulated on the plate) and spoon the sauce evenly over the meat.<\/p>\n
Cover the roasting pan and transfer to the oven. Let the brisket cook undisturbed until fork tender, about 2 1\/2 hours.<\/p>\n
Remove from the oven and let cool. Refrigerate overnight, then slice the meat cold. When ready to serve, reheat the sliced meat and juices in a 350-degree oven until bubbling.<\/p>\n
Make the tortas: Cut bolillos in half and layer with several pieces of brisket, plus a generous spoonful of the sauce. Top with jalapeno slices if desired.<\/p>\n
Serves 8-10.<\/p>\n
\u2014 \u201cSabor Judio: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook\u201d by Ilan Stavans and Margaret E. Boyle<\/p>\n
\u00a92025 PG Publishing Co. Visit at post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/p>\n
The story of Jewish-Mexican cuisine is a rich and complex one, reflecting the history of Jewish migration to Mexico and the blending of different culinary traditions. Through recipes like Alison\u2019s Brisket Tortas, we can taste the flavors of this unique cuisine and experience the comfort and sense of community that food can bring.<\/p>\n
Q: What is Jewish-Mexican cuisine?
\nA: Jewish-Mexican cuisine is a unique blend of Jewish and Mexican culinary traditions, reflecting the history of Jewish migration to Mexico and the blending of different flavors and ingredients.
\nQ: What are some common ingredients in Jewish-Mexican cuisine?
\nA: Common ingredients in Jewish-Mexican cuisine include brisket, chili sauce, garlic, onions, and bolillos, as well as traditional Mexican ingredients like jalapenos and cilantro.
\nQ: Can I make Jewish-Mexican dishes at home?
\nA: Yes, many Jewish-Mexican dishes can be made at home with readily available ingredients and simple cooking techniques. Try making Alison\u2019s Brisket Tortas or other recipes from \u201cSabor Judio: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook\u201d to get started.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to Jewish-Mexican Cuisine When Ilan Stavans was growing up in Mexico City, he didn\u2019t appreciate the food his family prepared. It was only after he moved a world away, and began to view it with the eyes of the scholar he had become, that he appreciated the history of those Eastern European recipes, handed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":23531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23529","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dining"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FOOD-JEWISH-MEXICAN-16x9-1.jpg?w=1400px&strip=all&w=1400&resize=1400,786&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23529"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23529"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23532,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23529\/revisions\/23532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}