Jewish Cooking Redefined

Mention Jewish cooking and images of chicken fat - schmaltz and oily latkes come to mind along with a heavy Eastern European influence. Healthy and international dishes never enter the picture. Until now. A new cookbook sets kosher cooking in a hipper, more worldly light.

Paula Shoyer, creator of the famed Kosher Baker blog along with being named as A Woman To Watch in 2015  has written The Healthy Jewish Cookbook ( Sterling Epicure Publishers 2017). This is a great book, a mix of traditional Jewish cooking with  modern and international twists. This is a must have in any kitchen, regardless of religion. The books starts off with a page one meal planning and introducing kids to preservative free foods. It's written in a straightforward style that many novice home chefs will appreciate.Other pluses is that she recommends using whole wheat pasta and and mixing whole wheat into recipes calling for refined white flour.She is a stalwart advocate of always  cooking with  fresh ingredients.The cookbook is also sprinkled with tips from  feeding the elderly to serving buffet style at a Thanksgiving dinner. There is extra advice on how to clean leeks and dealing with yeast. The book is divided into such sections as Appetizers and Salads, Soups and Sides. I like the fact that she puts vegetarian with fish and dairy main dishes. She also keeps kosher by separating the meat recipes in a chapter all their own

What is also striking is the globalization of her kitchen. Yes, she has a healthy and modern takes on brisket (treating it like bouef bourguignon) baked latkes and tsimme but there are recipes influenced by every corner of the globe.Home chefs will love her Vietnamese chicken noodle soup, a kosher take on pho .Dark miso paste and tamari soy sauce lend color and flavor to a home made chicken soup. There's also a recipe for coq au vin, the traditional French that has Chef Shoyer's spin. She makes this dish lighter by subbing in a white wine for a red. Lamb lovers will enjoy her Japanese lamb chop recipe fiery with jalapeno peppers and ginger.  Italian cooking is sort of similar to Jewish and she has many recipes. A cold winter warmer is her Pasta Siciliano , rich with eggplant and pasta, along with her Ribollata, bread soup. Indian and Moroccan  dal and lemtil  soup recipes also figure greatly in the book..Chef Shoyer is well known for her baking. Her dessert recipes don't disappoint. The  picture of chocolate rugelach looks heavenly as does the one featuring  her carmelized apple strudel. There are also bread recipes such as a gluten free challah and whole wheat onion one. Home bakers will flip for her rosemary focaccia which would be great dipped in peppery olive oil or marinara sauce.

The Healthy Jewish Cookbook  is the book to have for the New Year. It is full of good for you recipes that any home chef or home baker can make. Best of all it marries Jewish  tradition with international dishes.