BREAK-THE-FAST. Red snapper with raisins and nuts is traditional on break-the-fast menus in Italy. (Photo by Linda Morel) Story on Page 2. NEW YORK (JTA)—The day before Yom Kippur, I always go to a local appetizing store and buy as much smoked fish as I can carry home. My selections are hardly ever tempered by my wallet, which is why I'm staggered when I get the bill. I do this from habit and because my family adores these foods.

But are bagels and lox mandatory to break the Yom Kippur fast?

Ideally this meal should be restorative, easy to digest and readily assembled at the last minute. Bagels and lox meet these criteria, so platters of smoked fish - along with kugels and sliced tomatoes - have become the menu of choice among many Ashkenazim in America.

But this year I became curious about Sephardic customs. Perusing cookbooks, I discovered a treasure trove of break-thefast recipes whose variety astounded me.

Sephardim often partake in dairy foods on this special night; bagels and lox are not part of their culinary repertoire. Surprisingly, some Sephardim break the fast with soups and stews calling for meat, and with dishes that are typical main course fare, as opposed to the brunch foods enjoyed by Ashkenazim.

The Sephardic custom of eating meat to break the fast has roots in Spanish tradition. In "A Drizzle of Honey: The Lives and Recipes of Spain's Secret Jews," authors David Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson cited several instances of meat-based menus. Jews in Castile, who clandestinely conformed to their religion to avoid the terror of the Spanish Inquisition, often broke the fast with fowl or other meat. In Aragon, Spain, and in Portugal, fish and fowl were the preferred foods on this occasion.

In "Jewish Food: The World at Table," Mathew Goodman discussed the Sephardic custom of breaking the Yom Kippur fast with chicken soup. In Italy, the broth is often heightened with turkey meatballs and pieces of pasta, which sounded very tempting.

Jews in Greece and Turkey end the fast with Avgolemono, an egg-andlemon soup in a chicken broth base that is thickened with rice. Light and delicious, it's a staple on Greek diner menus year round.

Of course, no Jewish holiday meal is complete without fish on the menu. In "The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews," Edda Servi Machlin waxed poetic about a sweet-and-sour fish in the Jewish style.

After tinkering with the recipe, I realized this piquant dish would be an excellent way to introduce Sephardic food to the usual smoked fish menu, a way to bridge the gap for those who aren't ready to jump to meat.

The following recipes were developed by Linda Morel.

AVGOLEMONO

(Egg and Lemon Soup) Meat

This light soup hailing from Greece and Turkey is calming to empty stomachs. Original recipes call for homemade chicken broth, but the canned broth in this version eases preparation at a busy time of year.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
5 carrots, cut horizontally into thin circles
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 can (48 ounces) chicken broth
1 chicken bouillon cube, dissolved in 1 1/2 cups
hot water (not from the faucet)
3 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 lemons at room temperature

In a medium-large pot, heat olive oil on a low flame. Add onion and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until softened. Add carrots and rice and stir for another couple of minutes until well combined.

Pour chicken broth and bouillon water into pot. Stir ingredients and cover pot. When broth comes to a boil, lower flame so that broth gently simmers. Simmer 25 to 30 minutes, or until rice is soft enough to eat.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs in a mediumsized bowl until frothy. Slowly drizzle in lemon juice while whisking.

When soup is ready, uncover the pot and stir soup for a minute to release heat. Remove a half-ladle of soup and gradually drizzle into egg mixture, whisking briskly. (If you add soup too quickly, eggs will curdle.) Repeat this 3 more times, until you've added 2 ladles of soup to egg mixture.

Stir pot of soup again to continue releasing heat. Slowly drizzle egg mixture into pot of soup, whisking vigorously. Soup will appear creamy.

To serve immediately, heat soup on a low flame for about 2 minutes, until warmed through. Recipe can be made a day in advance, covered, refrigerated and reheated on a low flame. Makes 8 servings.

BESCE ALL'EBRAICA

(Fish, Jewish Style, from Italy) Pareve

In Italy, this recipe is made with small whole fish. To satisfy American preferences, this version calls for fillets, allowing the dish to be reheated right before the break-the-fast meal.
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon honey
1/2 cup dark raisins
No-stick vegetable spray
2 red snappers (2 pounds each),
filleted and cut into 4 pieces each, 8
pieces in all
Kosher salt to taste

White pepper to taste
1/2 cup pignoli nuts

Whisk together vinegar, wine, oil, and honey until honey dissolves. Stir in raisins and soak for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with no-stick spray. Rinse fillets under cold water and dry with paper towels. Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. Place fillets skin side down in prepared pan, overlapping as little as possible.

Whisk vinegar mixture again and pour over fillets, evenly coating them. Place pan in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Baste every 5 minutes.

Sprinkle pignoli nuts over the fillets and continue to bake and baste for another 10 minutes, or until fish flakes when pierced with a fork.

To serve immediately, place fish on a platter and spoon raisins, nuts, and sauce over fish. To prepare a day in advance, cover pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate. Return fish to room temperature. Reheat in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes, or until warmed through. Makes 8 servings.