Book cover for THE HEALTHY JEWISH KITCHEN: Fresh, Contemporary Recipes for Every Occasion
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THE HEALTHY JEWISH KITCHEN: Fresh, Contemporary Recipes for Every Occasion

Paula Shoyer

Sterling Epicure
November 21, 2017
$24.95/Hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-1454922902

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Paula Shoyer, known as “the kosher baker,” is the author of The Holiday Kosher Baker, The Kosher Baker: 160 dairy-free recipes and The New Passover Menu. She is a freelance writer for the Washington Post, Hadassah, Joy of Kosher, and Jewish Food Experience. Paula graduated from the Ritz Escoffier in Paris and teaches cooking and baking across the United States and around the world for Jewish organizations, synagogues, book festivals, and more.

Paula competed on Food Network’s Sweet Genius and appeared on TV before Jewish holidays on shows such as Home & Family on Hallmark Channel, Fox News New York, San Diego Living, and the local Washington, D.C., stations—over 26 appearances. In 2015 Paula was honored by Jewish Women International as a “Woman to Watch” and in 2016 as a “kosher food pioneer” by the kosher food bloggers community. Paula edited the popular cookbooks Kosher by Design Entertains and Kosher by Design Kids in the Kitchen (both from Mesorah Publications). She lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with her husband and four children. To learn more about Paula Shoyer, visit thekosherbaker.com.

Some Jewish cookbooks still feature recipes that lack whole grains and include too much salt, fat, sugar, and processed foods. But Paula Shoyer’s delicious take on Jewish cooking is different: she uses natural ingredients an puts a fresh, contemporary spin on her dishes. Here you’ll find crispy foods that are baked, rather than fried, and use no margarine, frozen puff pastry, soup stocks, or powders, or most jarred sauces. She cretes baked goods with whole grain flour and offers gluten-free and reduced sugar and salt options throughout—without compromising great flavor.

The delicious kosher recipes include both Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewish classics as well as American and international dishes that extend beyond the Jewish culinary world. You’ll find: Mango Coleslaw, Asian Sweet Potato Salad, Modern Borscht: Beer and Parsnip Purée, Bouillabaise, Gluten-free Baked Schnitzel with Nut Crust, Feijoada: Brazilian Cholent with Collard Greens and Farofa, Cheese-Filled Buckwheat Blintzes, Red Quinoa Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash, Grilled Corn with Cilantro Pesto, Spelt Chocolate Babka, Kheer: Indian Spiced Rice Pudding, Chocolate Quinoa Cake, Gluten-free and Sourdough Challahs, and more.

Completing this invaluable cookbook are menu suggestions that include holidays and healthier party tips.

COQ AU VIN BLANC

Meat, Gluten-Free, Passover • Serves 4 to 6

Coq au vin, French for chicken with wine, is traditionally made with red wine and is a classic winter dish. This lighter version, made with white wine, can be enjoyed year round. If you can find kumquats, use them, as they give the dish a sharp orange flavor. If kumquats are out of season, use sliced oranges cut into small triangles (keep the peel on). I have also prepared this dish with varying qualities of white wine, always with good results.

PREP TIME: 20 minutes

COOK TIME: ½ hour

ADVANCE PREP: May be made 2 days in advance

EQUIPMENT: Measuring cups and spoons, cutting board, knife, large frying pan, tongs, 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33-cm) roasting pan, large spoon, aluminum foil, small saucepan

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces
  • 3 large shallots, halved and sliced thinly
  • 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced into ¼-inch (6-mm) slices (see Tip, page 25)
  • 1 onion, cut into ¼-inch (6-mm) slices
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 head garlic, cloves separated but unpeeled
  • 1 bottle (750 ml) white wine
  • 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 6 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
  • 10 kumquats, each sliced into 4 pieces, or 3¹⁄³-inch (8-mm) orange slices, peel intact, cut into 8 triangles
  • 8 to 10 ounces (225 to 280g) pearl onions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). In a large frying pan, heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Using tongs, add the chicken in batches and brown it well on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Place the browned chicken into a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33-cm) roasting pan.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil to the frying pan. Place the shallots, leeks, and onions in the pan and cook them, scraping up the browned bits from the chicken, for about 6 to 8 minutes, until they start to brown. Add salt and pepper and stir.

Scoop the shallot, leek, and onion mixture out of the frying pan and place it under the chicken pieces in the roasting pan. Do not wash the frying pan. Scatter the garlic cloves around the chicken. Pour the wine on top. Add the rosemary and thyme sprigs and sprinkle the tarragon over the chicken pieces. Place the kumquats or orange pieces on top of the chicken.

Cover the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, bring a small saucepan of water to a boil, add the pearl onions, boil them for 2 minutes, then drain off the water. When the onions are cool enough to handle, cut off their ends and squeeze them out of their skins. Heat the unwashed frying pan over medium heat and add the pearl onions. Cook them for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan often, so that the onions brown on all sides. Set the pan aside.

After the chicken has cooked for 1 hour, remove the foil, add the pearl onions and cook for another 30 minutes, uncovered, and serve.

POTATO AND SCALLION LATKES WITH PICKLED APPLESAUCE

Parve, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, Passover • Serves 6

Everyone loves potato latkes but no one likes the mess of frying them, or the guilt associated with eating them. These latkes are baked in the oven and easily won over my kids. You do need to watch them so they do not burn; they were done at different times in different ovens. The Pickled Applesauce is basically a tangy-spicy applesauce, which we also eat with schnitzel.

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

COOK TIME: 20 to 24 minutes

ADVANCE PREP: Latkes may be made 2 days in advance and reheated in the oven or frozen; applesauce may be made 4 days in advance

EQUIPMENT: Cutting board, knife, vegetable brush, measuring cups and spoons, citrus juicer, vegetable peeler, 2 jelly roll pans, food processor, medium bowl, box grater, wooden spoon, oven mitts, slotted spatula, small saucepan with lid, immersion blender

LATKES

  • 2 tablespoons sunflower or safflower oil, or more if needed
  • ½ medium onion, quartered
  • 3 scallions, ends trimmed, cut into thin slices or chopped into small pieces
  • 3 medium potatoes (about 1½ pounds [700g]), scrubbed clean and unpeeled
  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) fresh lemon juice
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons potato starch
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

PICKLED APPLESAUCE

  • 1 teaspoon sunflower or safflower oil
  • ¹⁄³ cup red onions, chopped into ¼-inch (6-mm) pieces
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 2 apples, peeled and cut into ½-inch (12-mm) cubes
  • ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Pinch black pepper

To make the latkes, preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). When the oven is hot, pour 2 tablespoons of oil onto 2 jelly roll pans and turn them in every direction so that the oil coats the pans. Heat the pans in the oven for 5 minutes.

Place the onions and scallions in the bowl of a food processor and chop them into small pieces. Place them in a medium bowl. Shred the potatoes by hand on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor with the shredding blade, and place in the bowl. Add the lemon juice, eggs, baking powder, potato starch, salt, and pepper and mix well.

Very carefully (I mean really carefully; move very slowly) remove one of the pans and use your hands or a spoon to scoop up and drop clumps of the potato mixture, a little less than ¼ cup, onto the pan. I use my hands. Press the mixture down to flatten it a little.

Place the pan in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes and immediately remove the second oiled pan. Repeat the same process with the remaining potato mixture and bake the second pan of latkes for 10 to 12 minutes. Bake them until the edges are well browned, and then with a slotted spatula turn them over and cook the latkes for another 8 to 10 minutes, or until the bottoms are browned. May be made 2 days in advance and reheated in the oven.

Meanwhile, to make the applesauce, heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook them for 3 minutes, until they soften. Add the vinegar and brown sugar and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the apples, coriander, ginger, cinnamon stick, salt, and pepper, and cook, covered, on low heat for 15 minutes, or until the apples are soft. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes and then purée it, using an immersion blender or a food processor. May be made 4 days in advance and served warm or cold.

These recipes may be reproduced with the following credit:

Recipes from The Healthy Jewish Kitchen by Paula Shoyer. (Sterling Publishing; November 2017; $24.95/Hardcover; ISBN-13: 978-1454922902).  http://www.sterlingpub.com/

Contact: Blanca Olivery
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