Sababa - by Adeena Sussman (Hardcover)

About the Book

In an Israeli cookbook as personal as it is global, Sussman celebrates the tableau of flavors the region has to offer, in all its staggering and delicious variety.

Book Synopsis

"We should all be cooking like Adeena Sussman."
--The Wall Street Journal

"Sababa is a breath of fresh, sunny air."
--The New York Times

In an Israeli cookbook as personal as it is global, Adeena Sussman celebrates the tableau of flavors the region has to offer, in all its staggering and delicious variety

In Hebrew (derived from the original Arabic), sababa means "everything is awesome," and it's this sunny spirit with which the American food writer and expat Adeena Sussman cooks and dreams up meals in her Tel Aviv kitchen. Every morning, Sussman makes her way through the bustling stalls of Shuk Hacarmel, her local market, which sells irresistibly fresh ingredients and tempting snacks--juicy ripe figs and cherries, locally made halvah, addictive street food, and delectable cheeses and olives. In Sababa, Sussman presents 125 recipes for dishes inspired by this culinary wonderland and by the wide-varying influences surrounding her in Israel.

Americans have begun to instinctively crave the spicy, bright flavors of Israeli cuisine, and in this timely cookbook, Sussman shows readers how to use border-crossing kitchen staples-- tahini, sumac, silan (date syrup), harissa, za'atar---to delicious effect, while also introducing more exotic spices and ingredients. From Freekeh and Roasted Grape Salad and Crudo with Cherries and Squeezed Tomatoes, to Schug Marinated Lamb Chops and Tahini Caramel Tart, Sussman's recipes make a riot of fresh tastes accessible and effortless for the home cook. Filled with transporting storytelling, Sababa is the ultimate, everyday guide to the Israeli kitchen.

Review Quotes

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, Adeena 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

About the Author

Adeena Sussman has co-authored eleven cookbooks, including the New York Times #1 bestseller Cravings--and its New York Times bestselling follow-up, Hungry for More--with Chrissy Teigen. She is also the author of Short Stack Editions' Tahini. A lifelong visitor to Israel, she moved there in 2015 after meeting an expat American who has since become her husband. She lives footsteps from Tel Aviv's Carmel Market, where she shops and explores daily, taking inspiration from her adopted country's seasonal and cultural culinary rhythms. She has written about Israeli food for Food & Wine, The Wall Street Journal, Epicurious, Gourmet, and many others.