“A Place at the Table” is a commemorative project that documents the favorite dishes of those lost on October 7 with the help of their families.
Every winter, after the first rains, Nadav Amikam’s students at The Yechiel School in Tal Shahar eagerly awaited their trips to the forest with their teacher to fill their baskets with the season’s bounty of mushrooms. Nadav would also bring home the mushrooms and prepare them for his family. “He was a cook and always criticized my cooking,” his mother Poly says. But, there was one dish she made that he never missed.
He used to eat her zucchini pashtida (a kind of casserole) with a spoon straight from the pan, whether it was hot from the oven or cold from the fridge. “He would always call me to refresh his memory on how to make it, no matter where he was in the world,” she recalls, adding with pride that he often made it for his students.
Nadav was born in Kfar Aza in 1984 to Poly and Naftali. He was the middle child, between two brothers, Dan and Nir. As a child, he was lively and playful — so much so that at the kibbutz children’s home, they nicknamed him a “little terrorist,” Poly recalls. He channeled his explosive energy into swimming, becoming an outstanding athlete who won several medals and trophies before stopping at 13. After completing his military service and traveling the world, he lived for a while in Barcelona and planned to study cooking at Le Cordon Bleu. But ultimately, he chose to return to the kibbutz and dedicate himself to alternative education.
For four years, he studied Waldorf education at Kibbutz Harduf. Near the end of his senior year, he met Jessica, who would become his wife. Together, they decided to build their home on Kfar Aza, where their two children, Roni and Dean, were born.
In 2023, they spent Simchat Torah evening with Jessica’s family at Kibbutz Dorot. After the meal, Nadav returned home alone. Poly says that at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, it’s a tradition to fly kites on Simchat Torah, and Nadav got home just in time to build kites for his children.
The next morning, when the sirens sounded, Nadav joined the emergency defense squad and was killed in a battle with Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated the kibbutz. Not much is known about his final moments, except for the testimony of Avichai Brodutch. Avichai, whose wife and three children were taken to Gaza as hostages on October 7th, said that Nadav gave him a cartridge of bullets during the fighting, saving his life.
After his death, Nadav’s students planted mulberry trees and created a memorial in his honor. At the ceremony, Poly saw just how much her son was admired and loved. He had taught the children woodworking and had left his mark on every corner of the school, which he built with his own hands.
“To lose a husband is to be a widow, to lose parents is to be an orphan, but to lose a child is to be empty,” Poly says. She serves the pashtida he loved whole and uncut at the table because “in the Amikam family, we usually eat it straight from the pan” — with a spoon, just the way Nadav liked it.
Did you prepare the dish? Share a photo of it and tag it #A_Place_at_the_Table to honor the memory of the late Nadav Amikam.
2 large onions, thinly sliced lengthwise
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons salt, divided
4 zucchinis, cut into matchsticks or grated coarsely
1 cup cottage cheese
½ cup of crumbled feta (optional)
2 eggs
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons olive oil, for the batter
1. Fry the onions with the oil and half half of the salt over low to medium heat for 30 to 45 minutes, then let them cool slightly.
2. Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F) and lightly grease the baking dish.
3. Mix the zucchini with the fried onions.
4. Add the cheese, eggs, cornstarch, olive oil, and remaining salt, and mix well.
5. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and bake for 1 hour. Serve the dish hot, room temperature, or cold.
* This recipe remains faithful to the original from the family. No modifications were made.