Zahav Home : Cooking for Friends & Family

Signed copies now available!

Since opening Zahav (the beloved, award-winning, and critically acclaimed restaurant in Philadelphia that serves a powerfully flavorful menu inspired by modern Israeli cuisine) fifteen years ago, co-owners chef Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook have learned at least two things: cooking at home isn’t anything like cooking at the restaurant, and, how to bring Zahav’s signature ideas to the home kitchen. 

As busy fathers, Mike and Steve have also learned that thinking ahead is key. Their secret: a strategically stocked pantry. Then it’s nothing, for example, to slather amba from a jar onto a spatchcocked chicken for an almost-instant roast chicken dinner, or to cook a leg of lamb coated with harissa (also from a jar!) in one pot—on a school night! When they make soups, with all the intense flavors they use at the restaurant, they make a lot of soup, always thinking of the freezer and those busy nights when there’s no time to cook.

Even more than Zahav, their trailblazing first book, Zahav Home is a truly intimate affair—an invitation right into Mike's and Steve's home kitchens, with recipes tried and tested by them and their families. The 125 all-new recipes in this book include robust salads, abundant vegetables, hearty soups, easy lunches, and weeknight meals that taste as if they took hours to make. There are Sunday dinners, unforgettable desserts, and more, including:

• Tehina Caesar Salad with Gutsy Croutons
• Matzo Ball Soup
• Sesame Chicken with Matbucha
• Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Labneh
• Sheet pan Kebabs: Yemenite, Kofte & Merguez
• Hummus from the Pot
• Date-Glazed Salmon Fillets
• Baby Apple Cakes
• Pistachio Sticky Buns

You’ll find features throughout titled “Making” that visually break recipes down into easy step-by-step, as well as “Method,” highlighting a foundational recipe, technique, or tip that can be used flexibly in countless dishes, like Schug, Garlic Confit, and some Hard-Cooked Egg Wisdom. Colorful and full of flavor, vitality, and warmth, Zahav Home is a treasure and worth its weight in gold (the meaning of Zahav!)