Sephardic Jewish cuisine

Sephardic cuisine is the traditional cuisine of Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) until their expulsion in the late 15th century. After their expulsion, many Sephardic Jews settled in various parts of the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, and the Mediterranean.^[2]

Sephardic cuisine was consumed by the Ladino-speaking communities within the Ottoman Empire, including the modern countries of Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Syria, as well as the Sephardic community in the Land of Israel. Additionally, the cuisine of the Sephardi Jews includes that of the Western Sephardim, who settled in Holland, England, and from these places elsewhere.

Sephardic cuisine is characterized by the use of olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, and a wide variety of herbs and spices, often blending sweet and savory flavors. Notable dishes include bourekas (savory pastries), eggplant-based dishes, and fish stews.

As with other Jewish ethnic divisions composing the Jewish Diaspora, Sephardim cooked foods that were popular in their countries of residence, adapting them to Jewish religious dietary requirements, kashrut. Their choice of foods was also determined by economic factors, with many of the dishes based on inexpensive and readily available ingredients.