The dynamic couple behind @BenGingi share their favourite mix-and-match-ready recipes for effortless everyday dining and easy hosting

From a serendipitous meeting on a street corner in a tiny town in the Italian Alps to their food studio at the heart of the East Village in New York City, Ben and Zikki have been on a culinary adventure since the very moment they met. Ben’s first gift to Zikki? A half loaf of beetroot sourdough. And their first date? Zikki taught Ben to make potato varenyky, secretly prepping him to help her make 1,000 for an event the following week!

These days, with not a moment to spare, they happily host friends and family and run a sought-after catering business in New York City. Their debut cookbook, Eat Small Plates, is an ode to a style of eating at the heart of their lived experiences together: travelling, creating a family, and building beautiful lasting friendships wherever a meal can be shared. Here, they offer their favourite small plate recipes for greater joy and connection every day.

Ben’s knack for vibrant Israeli flavours and Zikki’s passion for shareable, soul-warming Ukrainian-inspired dishes combine in Eat Small Plates to create bold and exciting recipes for every dinner or gathering. With favourites such as Ben’s freshly baked Pita, Zikki’s crunchy chopped Jewelled Celery Salad, and creamy Cashew Basil dip, this ultimate hosting cheat sheet helps home cooks transform simple ingredients into beautiful, intentional dishes. Ben and Zikki share essential cooking techniques—from charring an eggplant to incorporating pickling into your daily routine—and even tips for those who don’t want to cook at all (but still want to host!). This book is a celebration of the feast-ready lifestyle, and a guide to spreading love through food.

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Tza-zikki

Deconstructed cucumber & yogurt dip

This is my go-to for a quick small plate if I’ve got friends coming over on short notice. Small effort for big claps. This dish originated during that funny limbo time in my life when I was living in California for a hot minute between jobs during the peak of COVID. My friends in San Diego were hosting me for a month and my vow was to feed them and do it REALLY well. When I first made this dish, my intention was to toss it all together into a dip, but I found that I was able to better preserve the integrity of all the ingredients by simply stacking them. Not to mention that it was far more beautiful.—zikki

Serve it with: Beet & Goat Cheese Dip (page 88), A Cashew Basil Dip Everyone Will Talk About (page 99), Pita (page 109)

Yield: Serves 4 to 6, makes 2 small plates

Total time: 10 minutes

Special tools: Microplane

½ cup Labneh Spread (page 84) or whole-fat Greek yogurt (see note)

3 Persian cucumbers, finely diced

2 tablespoons chopped dill

1 lemon

½ teaspoon gray salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Evenly divide the labneh between two small plates, spreading it across the plates by using the rounded side of a wide spoon. Top each plate generously and evenly with the cucumbers. Garnish each plate with 1 tablespoon of the dill. Using a Microplane, zest the lemon over each plate and season with ¼ teaspoon salt per plate and pepper to taste.
2. If serving right away, juice half of the lemon and drizzle 2 tablespoons of your best olive oil over each plate. If you will be enjoying later, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and, before serving, finish with the lemon juice and olive oil.

Essential tips:

Using yogurt vs. labneh: If you choose to use whole-fat Greek yogurt and not labneh, we recommend seasoning with an additional pinch
of salt and mixing before spreading it on the plate.

How to zest a lemon: When zesting a lemon, hold the lemon steady in your hand and move the Microplane from one axis to the other. This will ensure that you zest the entire lemon evenly.

Excerpted from Eat Small Plates: Vibrant, Shareable Dishes for Daily Joy by Ben Siman-Tov and Zikki Siman Tov. Copyright © 2025 Ben Siman-Tov and Zikki Siman Tov. Published by Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.