This bold Moroccan olive dish from Julia Mande and her mom Lydia combines black olives, fresh herbs, warm spices, and orange. Just shake to mix — no fuss needed. It gets even better as it sits, ideal for prepping ahead.

“Merk hzina” is Judeo-Arabic for “sad sauce” — or what we might call a “kitchen sink” salad, says Elle Brosh. Her family made this one with chopped tomatoes, peppers, celery, capers, and preserved lemon at the end of the week to use up everything. 

Léa Karsenty’s grandmother, Mamie Sara, makes this simple and piquant artichoke salad with lemon and saffron. Since it uses frozen artichoke hearts, it can be made year round.

While Simone Azoulay changes her Shabbat menu every week, this jammy cooked Moroccan salad of tomatoes and peppers is the one constant. Her son Marc, who lives in New York City, makes it in his home as well.

In Marc Azoulay’s family, this simple beet salad with cumin is served as part of the first course on Shabbat along with an avocado salad and salade cuite, a jammy melange of tomatoes and peppers.

This light tomato salad that’s punctuated with briny capers was served over couscous during summers in Kathy Berrie’s childhood home in Morocco. It’s best when tomatoes are at their peak.

Food writer Mitchell Davis ferments a slew of vegetables for this pickle salad. Since the fermentation will take a few days, be sure to start this recipe ahead of time. Serve these alongside a rich holiday meal for a pop of tang.

This spicy tomato salad from chef Einat Admony is inspired by one her aunt Hana made and a dish from the Tel Aviv restaurant M25. It’s served over a bed of tahini, which helps temper the heat. Be sure to plate this just before serving. 

In this classic Roman Jewish recipe, zucchini are fried, soused with vinegar, and left to marinate for hours with garlic and herbs.

Like many Jewish families with North African heritage, Shabbat meals in Esther Weyl’s Moroccan-Brazilian community feature several salads like this vibrant number and other small dishes like fish escabeche to snack on.

Briny olives meet fruity pomegranate and nutty roasted walnuts in this dish from cookbook author Rottem Lieberson, who says it is inspired by her Persian roots. 

For Shabbat, Syrian cook Adelle Bozo served an overflowing table of chicken with potatoes, green beans stewed with meat, and a spread of several salads like roast eggplant and bulgur muhammara.

This simple eggplant salad that’s topped with bits of raw onion comes from Miri Polachek’s Romanian grandmother Ema and her mother Sara, who died in Auschwitz. It’s best made during the summer when eggplants are at their peak.

This crunchy and tangy salad is excellent alongside grilled meats or as part of an appetizer spread. The dish comes from Jack’s Wife Freda owner Maya Jankelowitz and her grandmother, who was born in Tripoli and moved to Palestine in the 1940s.  

Smooth and creamy j’ben is similar to ricotta and is ubiquitous in Morocco. Pair it with jams or cooked salads like kamfounata. For a picnic, be sure to pack it in a cooler.

Similar to the beloved ratatouille Niçoise of Nice, France, this Moroccan dip called kamfounata is made with eggplant, tomato, and zucchini —  it’s stewy, saucy, and perfect for dipping into at the start of a shabbat Shabbat dinner, weekend brunch, or picnic.

Flavored with tangy preserved lemon, this deliciously silky eggplant is a favorite of the women in Léa Karsenty's family. Peeling and salting the eggplants before frying is key — and don’t skimp on the oil, either. 

Tamar Fasja Unikel’s grandmother Ruth used to host 20 or so family members for Shabbat lunch every week where she served Syrian recipes like this one next to Mexican dishes like fresh salsa.

Persian cucumbers are tossed with tangy sumac and fresh lemon juice for this crunchy starter from cookbook author Rottem Lieberson. Be sure to dress the cucumbers just before serving.

Sometimes made with potatoes or filled with meat, arouk are herb-y, spiced Iraqi patties that are typically fried. Rose Benjamin’s recipe, which comes from her mother, features fresh, turmeric scented red snapper.

In Lisa Capelouto’s family, savory Sephardic stuffed pastries called pastelikos are a key part of their desayuno (Shabbat breakfast) spread, but they also make excellent appetizers. This recipe from her mother Vivienne is filled with a mixture of eggplant, parsley, and tomatoes.

When artist Vivian Reiss was growing up in New York City in the 1950s, her parents would serve this spread at fancy cocktail parties. It might remind you of pimento cheese.

Petite and handheld, deviled eggs are the perfect cocktail party appetizer or picnic accompaniment. They are easy to hold in one hand while nursing a drink in the other.

Yedida Dabah added the warming North African spice blend ras-el-hanout to this classic Sephardi recipe after a trip to Morocco. You can serve these as an appetizer or pack them for a picnic.

The Jewish community from Cochin (present-day Kochi) has diverse roots including the Iberian Peninsula, which is where Ilanit Menachem believes the origin of these crispy pastries lies. She calls them the “king of the Cochini cuisine.”

Chopped herring, sometimes mixed with onions and apples, is known as forshmak, which means pre-taste or appetizer in Yiddish, but you can also serve it alongside a salad for a light and easy dinner. 

Simchat Torah is the only time of year that Sylvia’s grandmother makes these fried, meat filled sambousak — and they are devoured so quickly, they never make it to the table.

These Greek leek fritters have been a favorite in cookbook author Shaily Lipa's family for generations. Her grandmother and great-grandmother brought the recipe from Thessaloniki with them to Mandatory Palestine in the 1930s. 

Hungary is landlocked, so tinned fish is a prominent part of the cuisine, explains artist Vivian Reiss. Having lived through WWII, her mother Marianne kept plenty of sardines in the pantry for dishes like this rich pate.

When Nathalie Ross was growing up, her mother’s older sisters Tante Rosy and Tante Becca would make boyos — flaky, hand-rolled Sephardic pastries — with handrajo, an eggplant and tomato filling.

Inspired by the spicy fish stew her family makes for Shabbat, chef Rinat Tzadok created this summery crudo dish with the same flavors including sweet and hot peppers, garlic, cilantro, and firm, white fish — plus fresh tuna. 

A jammy dip, spread, or salad (depending on who you ask), matbucha is an essential part of Jewish Moroccan cooking and often served as part of a spread of small salads along with challah as a first course on Shabbat. 

This crunchy shaved fennel salad from Seed + Mill co-owner Rachel Simon is loaded with fresh herbs for a bright touch. You can also add shaved Parmesan, if you like.

Mitchell Davis's entire family loves sour things, so they never add sugar to the dressing for this crunchy pickled salad. But feel free, he says, if you prefer your pickles sweet-and-sour.