Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking

By Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook

James Beard Award winner of Outstanding Restaurant (2019) 

James Beard Award winner of Outstanding Chef (2017)

James Beard Book of the Year and Best International Cookbook (2016)

The James Beard Award–winning chef and co-owner of Philadelphia's Zahav restaurant reinterprets the glorious cuisine of Israel for American home kitchens.

Ever since he opened Zahav in 2008, chef Michael Solomonov has been turning heads with his original interpretations of modern Israeli cuisine, attracting notice from the New York Times, Bon Appétit, ("an utter and total revelation"), and Eater ("Zahav defines Israeli cooking in America"). 

Zahav showcases the melting-pot cooking of Israel, especially the influences of the Middle East, North Africa, the Mediterranean, and Eastern Europe. Solomonov's food includes little dishes called mezze, such as the restaurant's insanely popular fried cauliflower; a hummus so ethereal that it put Zahav on the culinary map; and a pink lentil soup with lamb meatballs that one critic called "Jerusalem in a bowl." It also includes a majestic dome of Persian wedding rice and a whole roasted lamb shoulder with pomegranate and chickpeas that's a celebration in itself. All Solomonov's dishes are brilliantly adapted to local and seasonal ingredients. 

Zahav tells an authoritative and personal story of how Solomonov embraced the food of his birthplace. With its blend of technique and passion, this book shows readers how to make his food their own.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9780544373297

Michael Solomonov

Michael Solomonov is the multiple James Beard Foundation Award–winning chef behind Zahav, which won the 2019 James Beard Outstanding Restaurant award and was named an “essential” restaurant by Eater. He is the coauthor of four cookbooks: the James Beard Award–winning Zahav, Federal Donuts, Israeli Soul, and the forthcoming Zahav Home. He and business partner Steven Cook are the co-owners of the nationally beloved, trailblazing Philadelphia hospitality group, CookNSolo, responsible for hit restaurants celebrating the vibrant cuisine of Israeli: Dizengoff, Federal Donuts, Goldie, K’Far Café, Laser Wolf, Lilah, and Zahav.

Reviews for Zahav

[squeakychu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is THE most luscious Israeli cookbook I've ever seen. With every page I turned, I wanted to faint when I saw the food (or at least have it for real and gobble it up right away). It doesn't hurt that this book starts with the most ubiquitous foods Israel is known for: tehina and hummus. It's like--"Now that I have your attention, let me tell you more..."After this book grabs your attention, it never lets go. The photos are gorgeous. The large size of the book makes those photographs really pop. The recipes are unique, but not bizarre. They are the kind of recipes that I'd like to try even though I might not have all of the ingredients yet in my home.This cookbook also tell the story Michael Solomonov, one of the co-authors who was born in Israel and raised in the United States by an American mom and an Israeli dad. As Solomonov tell us about his life and family as well as about his love for cooking and how to make the dishes he describes, he displays a wonderful and affectionate sense of humor. This is one cookbook I plant to rea cover to cover and then buy. My current copy is on loan from mu pulic library.I also appreciate very much the accompanying stories about many of the ingredients within the recipes: what they look like in nature, where they are grown, and how they are used. It is my sincere hope to one day have the pleasure of dining in one of the restaurants in Philadelphia owned and run by Michael Solomonov. In the meantime, I have some serious cooking to do!

[bostonian71 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mmmm, scrumptious. Even if this were only an extended ad for this famed Philadelphia-area restaurant, it'd still be worth the read for Solomonov's engaging stories and the gorgeous photos. The recipes seem beyond my basic skills but sound absolutely delicious, and as a Jew who keeps pseudo-kosher I appreciated the absence of shellfish and pork (a rarity with this genre!). I also liked Solomonov's reasoned take on authenticity and innovation. As he says, he's not an "Israeli grandmother," and to expect an Israeli-American guy in Pennsylvania to imitate a bubbe in Jerusalem doesn't make sense. I came out this still believing that tradition has its place, but that creativity does too. There's only one question this book didn't answer: how to get a reservation!

[simchaboston · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mmmm, scrumptious. Even if this were only an extended ad for this famed Philadelphia-area restaurant, it'd still be worth the read for Solomonov's engaging stories and the gorgeous photos. The recipes seem beyond my basic skills but sound absolutely delicious, and as a Jew who keeps pseudo-kosher I appreciated the absence of shellfish and pork (a rarity with this genre!). I also liked Solomonov's reasoned take on authenticity and innovation. As he says, he's not an "Israeli grandmother," and to expect an Israeli-American guy in Pennsylvania to imitate a bubbe in Jerusalem doesn't make sense. I came out this still believing that tradition has its place, but that creativity does too. There's only one question this book didn't answer: how to get a reservation!