It may seem a bit early to write a food story about Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, since it doesn't start until sundown on Sept. 29.

But if you're going to celebrate the Jewish New Year with the traditional honey cake and you want to try a recipe from a lush new cookbook, you should make it in advance, because it should "mature" for seven days before you eat it.

This "Magical Honey Cake" is one of the delicious recipes in the magical new cookbook "The Book of New Israeli Food" by Janna Gur (Schocken, $35). This big coffee- table book, rich with gorgeous photographs by Eilon Paz, beautifully makes a case for how Israel now has a distinctive and delicious cuisine.

Ms. Gur moved from the former Soviet Union, where she was born, to Israel in 1974, and is founder and chief editor of the Israeli food and wine magazine, Al Hashulchan Gastronomic Monthly. While she's edited some 30 cookbooks published by Al Hashulchan, this is the first one she's written.

"I wanted to juxtapose old and new -- traditional falafel next to fancy fish falafel, home cooking and dishes by leading chefs, Sephardi and Ashkenazi," she writes in a fun e-mail from Tel Aviv. "I also very much wanted to dispel preconceptions many people have about Israel, and food is a very good place to start -- it shows how heterogeneous, sophisticated and unique Israeli society really is."

Recipes -- as well as short chapters on Israeli food pillars such as bread, cheese, wine, "The Israeli Breakfast" and "Olive Oil -- The Soul of the Mediterranean" -- also come from other contributors.

The Al Hashulchan staff-favorite honey cake, in one of several chapters devoted to holidays, is a classic from an amateur cook and one of the publication's veteran readers, Dalia Zarchiya.

Ms. Gur says, "You can eat the cake a day after you bake it, but it's worth waiting, as it actually gets juicier. I have no idea why, but it just does. By the way, it keeps for a few weeks (not refrigerated)."

I'm not Jewish, but this new cookbook made me want to try this recipe and dozens of others. Some of her personal favorites include gefilte fish ("I used the recipe from the book to make my first ever gefilte and it turned out just right"), tahini cookies, beetroot and pomegranate salad and hummus.

I'm also enjoying learning about Israeli specialties such as shakshuka, originally a Libyan working-person's dish based on three ingredients -- tomatoes, hot sauce and eggs -- customized with everything from sausages to, as Israeli Army soldiers do it, kernel corn and baked beans. As Ms. Gur writes, "Shakshuka is one of those dishes you can make even when your refrigerator appears to be empty."

Thanks to its Mediterranean location and climate, Israeli's food scene is bountiful. Warning me, "Don't read this on an empty stomach," Ms. Gur sends this snapshot of a seaside restaurant in Tel Aviv at the end of summer: "Sparkling wine to start you off (some lovely bubblies by local wineries were released recently). Oven-fresh focaccia with green olive tapenade. A ceviche or fish tartare with a local twist (such as tahini), burnt eggplant with yogurt and silan (date honey), tomato salad with cilantro and pine nuts. And then, whole grilled fish stuffed with herbs or maybe preserved lemons served with a bowl of freshly chopped salad or lamb kebabs served with warm couscous and roast vegetable salads. Fresh figs with mascarpone or halva ice cream with grilled peaches for dessert."

What she and the book really make me want to do is to go on holiday to Israel.

To eat and eat and eat.

PG tested

Janna Gur writes, "Pay attention: the cake should 'mature' for 7 days before serving." This recipe is for 3 loaf pans.

• 6 cups plus 3 tablespoons (2 pounds) flour
• 1 1/2 cups (10.5 ounces) sugar
• 2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups (1 pound 2 ounces) honey
• 1 cup oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee
• 2 level teaspoons baking soda
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the honey, oil and eggs and beat into a smooth batter with a whisk or a mixer.

Dissolve the instant coffee in 1 cup of boiling water. Stir the baking soda and then the coffee into the batter. Gently fold in the raisins and walnuts.

Pour the batter into greased pans and bake for about 45 minutes, until the top of the cake is dark brown and a toothpick comes out dry with a few crumbs adhering.

Allow the cakes to cool completely, wrap with aluminum foil and place in a cool, dry place (not in the refrigerator) to mature for 7 days.

Variation: If you don't like the taste of coffee in your honey cake, replace it with one cup of strong dark tea.

-- "The Book of New Israeli Food: A Culinary Journey" by Janna Gur (Schocken, $35)

PG tested

This recipe comes from Guy Peretz of Gazpacho at the Holiday Inn in Ashkelon, Israel. Chunks of grouper, traditionally, or other saltwater fish are cooked casserole-style with hot peppers and garlic. "No holiday dinner in a Jewish Moroccan household is complete without it," writes Janna Gur. I quartered the recipe, using humble frozen cod, and found it to be pretty nice for a weeknight supper, too.

For the seasoning mix

• 8 tablespoons paprika (I used half regular and half smoked paprika)
• Salt
• 1 cup olive oil

For the fish

• 4 hot red peppers, cut into strips
• 2 sweet red peppers, cut into strips
• 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped coarsely
• 1 cup fresh coriander, chopped coarsely
• 8 portion-sized (about 6-ounce) chunks of grouper or other saltwater fish
• 20 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 to 4 cups of water

Line a wide saucepan with the peppers and herbs.

Mix the ingredients of the seasoning mix. Dip the fish chunks in the mix and arrange in the saucepan. Mix the remaining seasoning mix with the garlic and 3 to 4 cups of water and pour over the fish.

Cook for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the size of the fish chunks) over a high heat, lower the heat, cover and continue cooking for another 15 minutes until the sauce thickens. Serves 8.

-- "The Book of New Israeli Food: A Culinary Journey" by Janna Gur (Schocken, $35)