Flavors of Jewish Cuisine in Argentina

AMIA and TV Pública Argentina produce Shalom AMIA, a television program to share the culture and current affairs of the Jewish community in the country. The recipes of chef Nelsón Wejkin, who specializes in Jewish cuisine, are a must.

We can identify two main currents: Sephardic and Ashkenazic. Traditions that bring together, in turn, a multiplicity of stories, ingredients and flavors.

Sephardic cuisine

The typical dishes of Sephardic cuisine are heavily influenced by Middle Eastern gastronomy, a cuisine rich in seasonings and spices. Although there are more elaborate dishes, it also includes a variety of delicious salads and side dishes to make in an agile way.

Desserts and sweets, perfumed with cinnamon, lots of sugar and orange blossom water, also stand out.

Ashkenazi cuisine

Influenced by the gastronomy of Central and Eastern Europe, two main ingredients stand out among the variety of recipes: potatoes and onions. It is a cuisine of ingenuity, with few ingredients delicious dishes are achieved.

The sweet cookies and cakes can be accompanied with a glezelekh tey, a hot tea with lemon or honey.

And in any Jewish home, no guest leaves empty-handed. After long after-dinner meals, when saying goodbye until the next meeting, everyone takes a pékale or small package, with wrapped portions.

To this variety of dishes must be added those characteristic of the different festivities and celebrations of the Jewish calendar. Today, these foods are not only found in the kitchens and tables of homes, they have been integrated into the gastronomic offer of the cities and are one more element of the gastronomic diversity of the country.