Poultry and Meat

In the past, chickens were more expensive than meat and, more importantly, they were valued primarily for their eggs. Thus, the repertoire of traditional Sephardic poultry dishes is rather small. Chicken was served almost only on special occasions, such as the day before Yom Kippur, or when a hen became too old to lay eggs, at which point it was slaughtered for the table. Eggs, in contrast, were the basis of many preparations, such as fritadas and almodrotes, or they were used to make the sauces that accompanied dishes.