The Simcha Cookbook: Over 100 Modern Israeli Recipes, Blending Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Foods

In Hebrew, simcha means “joy and celebration” and Chef Avi Shemtov’s food has been filling diners with these delicious emotions for several years at Simcha, located in Sharon, Massachusetts.

 

Now, with The Simcha Cookbook, you can recreate the delectable dishes that honor the traditions of Shemtov’s Turkish-Israeli roots, with contemporary flavor-forward twists: Yemenite fried chicken with labne and smoked potato purée, whole-roasted cauliflower with soom tahini, and ras el hanout pork belly with pickled apple sauce, shakshuka, and octopus salad with green zhug, the traditional Yemenite hot sauce. Brimming with original vibrant photography, The Simcha Cookbook is an enticing culinary global journey.

 

Avi Shemtov A decade ago, Chef Avi Shemtov launched the Chubby Chickpea food truck, which remains one of Boston’s most prolific mobile vendors. Today, the chef-owner continues to split his time between the Chubby Chickpea; Simcha; and his mobile bar-catering truck, Tapped.