Recipes
Comidas
The Jews of Rhodes cuisine are foods native to the region around the island. Living among the Greeks and Turks included foods such as yaprakes (dolmathes), kiftes, baklava and sootlach.
Interestingly, the large number of Sephardic refugees from Spain also brought with them many of the foods from Spain. Some Spanish “comidas” (foods) included: biscochus, pastelicus, pandericas and mazipan.
Sephardic traditions have been passed on with parents’ and grandparents’ interaction with the younger generations. In the photo, “Papoo” Ted is teaching his grandchildren, Rachelle and Daniel, how to form burekas. See: Ted Hasson’s Meat Bureka Recipe
January 10, 2010:”Folares” freshly made for Purim by the Howard Franco family in New York.
November 7, 2021: Rhodeslis of Los Angeles Family Brunch
borekas de patata, borekas de berenjena, boyos de spinaka, quijado de spinaka.
dulses: biscocho de huevo, baklava, curabies, mustachudos and soutlach.
May 15, 2022 Rhodeslis of Los Angeles Family Brunch
boyo, ensalada, queso, huevo, pastellicos, quijado and borekas.
dulces: ashuplados, curabies, mustachudos, lokum, biscochos de huevo, soutlach and travados.
ICARO Decorative Plate
Ceramic plate decorated with the popular design of a “deer,” the symbol of Rhodes.
Las Comedicas de Rodis
Available for download: Las Comedicas de Rodis (Sephardic Delicacies from Rhodes) by Sol Menashe
Making Meat Burekas
Recipes
- Abudajou (Fish Roe)
- Arroz (Spanish Rice)
- Ashuplados (Meringues)
- Baklava
- Bamia (Okra)
- Biscochos de Huevo
- Boyos 2
- Boyos 3
- Boyos de Spinaka
- Boyos Onion filling
- Bread
- Bureka Handrojos (Eggplant) filling
- Bureka Meat “Konducho” filling
- Bureka Potato filling
- Bureka Rice filling
- Burmuelos
- Dough for Bureka or Pastelles
- Fasulia (String Beans)
- Halvah
- Huevos con Tomate
- Huevos Haminados
- Katayeff (cream)
- Kebab de Carne (Veal)
- Kiftes de Prassa (Meat and Leek Patties)
- Kurabiyes
- Lecum
- Mandelbread
- Marzipan Pastries
- Masa de Vino (Wine Cookies)
- Masapan (Marzipan)
- Mustachudo (Nut Candy)
- Pasteles Dough
- Pastelikos
- Pescado Al Orno (Baked Fish)
- Pinwheel (cheese)
- Pipitada (Melon Seed Milk)
- Pollo Al Orno (Baked Chicken)
- Quajado de Spinaka
- Sarope
- Soutlach
- Tarama (Fish Roe Dip)
- Travados
- Yaprakis de Oja (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
While we recognize the Los Angeles “Out to Lunch Bunch” as a tradition of men gathering, women in our community are welcome to join. So, let’s cultivate friendship through our shared heritage and learn a thing or two from one another. Please spread the word and invite the Hermanos & Primos of all generations. Seating is limited, so paid reservations are a must. See you on Feb 28th!
Hello, my name is Jacques Alhadeff- Soriano. I am Sephardic and live in Brussels; my parents were both native of Rhodes. We have lost mom’s recipes and if anyone had the real recipe for Borekitas with potato and paemesan, please let me know with the ingredients and especially the measurements. Thank you
Vorrei sapere qualcosa di più sugli Ebrei di Rodi,perchè sto facendo una ricerca sugli Ebrei calabresi e ho visto che ci sono tante cose in comune. Sono un professore calabrese che vive e lavora a Catania. Shalom
Came upon your site….wondering about visiting this Sabbath, though we may not make it in time due to the weather. We at present live in Yakima, originally from Los Angeles, CA. I am bringing my mother Allegra Kline to the city for her 85th birthday. Her mother’s family is from Rhodes. Her mother’s name was Catherine Huniu and her mother’s name was Sarota (Sarah) PILOSOF she was married to Behor Myer HUNIU (son of Abraham HUNIU and Flora SHEMARIA) in Rhodes, Italy. Sarota’s parent’s names were Gabriel PILOSOF and Caden Linda Tamar.
I loved seeing all of the recipes and would really like some input on how to make sutlach with rice flour…my grandma used to make it and stir it over the stove for so long (she’d often have me do the stirring with her favortie wooden spoon) Then once it was done she would put it into small glass bowls and sprinkle cinnamon it it before putting it in the fridge where it would develop a thick skin on top and a creamy inside. I’ve tried over and over…always turns out lumpy or no matter how long I stir it… Read more »
I love all of these recipes. My grandmother just made boyos for a reunion with her sephardi cousins. I think I am going to make some BUREKAS this weekend.
I enjoyed seeing all these familiar recipes (boyos, kiftes, baklava, burekas, folares, marzipan, biskochos, sootlach, halavah and more!) Thanks Aron!!
Dearest Rhodeslis, I am the daughter of Sam HANAN, of blessed memory, a cousin of David and Lea BEHAR. How great to see a comment from Peggy Touriel, also a cousin of my mother Marie CAPOUYA HANAN who still lives in Zimbabwe, niece of Sarina Rousseau. And finally Savatore ALHADEFF! All of you after so long. Would love to be in touch about to publish a book at Stellas Sephardic Table,
With warm wishes to you all, please stay connected.
What are the ingredients of kiftes, baklava and sootlach.
And what is the origin and meaning of the name: Estrea.
Does any one have any knowledge of my family?
Fiss.( Orvadio and Esther were my grandparents)
This site is truly unique in that it helps resurrect the memories of ‘los muestros antepasados’ in a very original ,contemporary way. My roots on both my mother’s and father’s sides go back nearly exclusively to Rhodes,for generations and generations,with the exception of my maternal grandmother’s ancestors who originated from Alexandria and Istambul. On the one hand,I have my Mom,being the daughter of B. Alhadeff,the great grand daughter of Itzhak Amato as well as the grandaughter of Yacov and Estrella Alhadeff ,on the other,my late Dad,son of the Reverend Haham Yoseph Hai Franco and Rachel Capuya(the Behora of her sisters)….… Read more »
I belong to Cong Or Ve Shalom in Atlanta and had the honor of working with the ladies in the kitchen and learning to make many of the Rhodeslis foods. The ladies put together a wonderful cook book “The Sephardic Cooks” with so many of the recipes. It’s is one of my favorites and I have used it to introduce many Ashkenazi friends to burekas, boyos, quajados, keftes, etc. This is a wonderful site.
hello Ted….just looking at your page and remembering my father and your father who were good friends…best wishes…renee touriel, daughter of Eli Touriel.
Outstanding work!!!! I am so delighted to have this link on my “favorites” and I am sure I am going to spend lots and lots of time looking at it as more than half of my family and friends live in Cape Town!!!, mentioning some of them : cousins Moise, Marc Albeldas and families, Jacques Franco, Bello Israel and families specially my aunt Susan Franco (may she live 120 years in good health), Maurice and Lucie Soriano, Dr. Jacques Hasson (family), Claudine and Albert Franco and fam., Jojo Mallel and fam., aunt Sara Jerusalmi, Maurice Danon, Marc Dosetos, Samy Angel,… Read more »
It really is wonderful to see all of these great traditions through this website
My grandmother Sarina Capouya Rousso used to make all of these for us. I am the great grandaughter of Rabbi Jacob (Yacov) Capouya. It really is wonderful to see all of these great traditions through this website.
Very interesting the “folares”, my mother and grand mother used to prepare them every year if I remember around Easter .. The family “hold” as we say in Rhodian dialect, from the Paza, Picene, Roussos, Malachias and Barcado families.
I really feel at home here!! I thought all of the culture on my mother’s side of the family was lost to time. I do not really know where the family started but they follow the trail of many other families from the region.. My Grandfather, Alberto Behar married Jentil Behar traveled the world and ended up in California. I would like to gain much more information related to this part of my family and want to thank all of you for the outstanding job you are doing!
Soy biznieto del rabi Yacov Capuya y conozco todas las comidas Sefarditas de Rodas y Ierushalaim.
la ricetta dei boyos e come quella di mia madre bulgara e papa turco. grazie, mille
Simply fantastic! I came across this website after I decided to do a Holiday “cleaning” of my saved Favorites files. I was born into a Sefaradic home in Alexandria, Egypt. A delightful surprise awaited me when I discovered recipes, on your website, that my grandmother used to make such as boyos! Although my cooking is basically Sefaradi it has been greatly influenced by my growing up in France, living in Israel and of course in the US. I have always loved anything to do with Jewish History and this website is a wonderful gift! Thank you so much for keeping… Read more »