These little Tunisian briks filled with potatoes, hard-boiled eggs and tuna mean holiday tables to me. The crunch of the pastry gives way to a soft, melting filling, a recipe to try and add to your appetizer spreads or buffets.

This smoked salmon potato roulade is a savory take on the classic jam Swiss roll. It’s always a big hit and makes a complete meal served with a green salad.

Mhamar are a Tunisian Jewish specialty of vegetables stuffed with meat. It’s a complete meal and a nice change of pace for using ground beef. You can make them ahead and eat them warm or cold with a squeeze of lemon juice! They’re also traditionally made for Passover, swapping the breadcrumbs for matzo meal.

Latkes, the sweet name given to this Ashkenazi specialty of potato pancakes. Traditionally made for Hanukkah, they’re perfect alongside meat or fish, but some people eat them with applesauce, sour cream or simply sprinkled with sugar.

Herring and potato salad, or hareng pomme à l’huile, is another French bistro classic that everyone loves. It’s very simple to make and, as is so often the case, its success depends mostly on the quality of the ingredients: good potatoes and good herring.

What could be more indulgent and comforting than a gratin dauphinois? Potatoes, cream, milk and a little nutmeg. That’s it! Don’t count on having leftovers…

Chicken livers with caramelized onions served over mashed potatoes are a meltingly tender, exquisite dish you’ll often find on the menu at meat restaurants in Israel. Most likely a modern take on the famous Ashkenazi chicken livers with onions, it’s an original and easy way to cook livers.

A must on every Sephardic Jewish holiday buffet, these are called banatages in Tunisia and pastels in Morocco. They are potato croquettes filled with tuna or meat, with a piece of egg hidden in the middle.

Hachis parmentier is one of those easy dishes the whole family loves, a recipe to keep in your recipe notebook.

Hachis parmentier, the French shepherd’s pie, is a dish made for sharing, and this duck confit and sweet potato version is a delicious, festive twist on the traditional hachis parmentier recipe. You can make it with duck or goose, the method is exactly the same.