We live in wonderful times. That’s not to say that life is perfect, that we aren’t dealing with unprecedented difficulties and skyrocketing prices, but when it comes to kosher food and the ever growing number of kosher cookbooks that line the shelves of your local Judaica store, things get better and better every day. Gone are the days when kosher meant bland, boring and laden with unmentionables like chicken fat. Today’s kosher palate has welcomed the latest trends and, thanks to our wonderful bloggers, foodies and cookbook authors, exciting new things pop up almost daily. Whether you are eating out or dining in, things are looking awfully good these days in the kosher food world.
With The Well-Spiced Life, Barbara Bensoussan shares her personal evolution from Ashkenazic Reform Jewish to Orthodox Jewish with Sephardic influences, thanks to her Moroccan-born husband. While that particular odyssey may have been religious in nature, its culinary ramifications extended far and wide as Barbara learned to incorporate traditional Sephardic dishes into her repertoire while figuring out how to feed her growing family quickly and easily. In an effort born over years of experimentation, and hours spent observing family members in the kitchen, Barbara shares her hard-won education with us in a 236-page tome that is part cookbook, part memoir and totally fascinating.
While there are those who insist they need full-color photos to be truly entranced by a recipe, I suggest you get over that particular requirement because the written word here will draw you in and cause you to salivate as you peruse the recipes scattered throughout The Well-Spiced Life (Israel Book Shop). While I wasn’t sure initially that the recipes here would “talk” to me, they did and, oddly enough, I found myself sitting at my desk well after midnight with a sudden urge to cook up a batch of Moroccan chicken with apricots, stuffed with garlic, turmeric, tomatoes, cinnamon, ginger and onions, all prepared on the stove top. The exotic names beckoned to me as well, with Daffina turning out to be a Sephardic cholent of chick peas, meat, sweet potatoes, potatoes, eggs, rice, wheat berries and assorted spices that I absolutely must try and Libkusa, a zucchini and onion dish prepared with allspice, salt and pepper – making it an excellent choice for a Pesach menu. A short section on za’atar had me craving that incredible blend of green Middle Eastern yumminess and I was thrilled to see a recipe for ka’ak, a fabulously crunchy Syrian baked good that my brother-in-law used to bring from a bakery in Deal years ago.
Whether you keep The Well-Spiced Life on a coffee table for leisurely reading, or in your kitchen for easy access, one thing is for sure – this is a book you will turn to over and over again.
A Well-Spiced Life is available online at Amazon.com and at your local Judaica store.
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Fried Eggplant Salad
Ingredients
1 large eggplant (long and thin is better than short and fat for this recipe)
Salt
Cooking oil
1 red pepper, charred on all sides on the stove, cooled, peeled, and diced
1 clove garlic
Juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon chopped parsley or cilantro for garnish
Salt, pepper to taste
Directions
Cut the eggplant (unpeeled) into thin slices or ½-inch cubes and sprinkle with salt.
Let sit for twenty minutes, then dry any excess moisture with paper towels.
Heat oil in a saucepan until piping hot, then fry slices golden brown on both sides, adding more oil as necessary.
Mix in remaining ingredients gently and serve.
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Moroccan Olives
Ingredients
2 15-ounce cans large green olives
1 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil or salad oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or run through a press
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp za’atar (an oriental spice comprised of hyssop and sumac – optional)
Dash salt
¼ lemon, sliced
1 tbsp chopped parsley or cilantro
1 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
Directions
Open the can of olives, drain them, and put in a pot with water to cover.
Bring to a boil, let simmer for several minutes, then drain the water.
Add the cup of fresh water and the next six ingredients; let simmer until the water has evaporated (about twenty minutes).
Add parsley and pepper flakes, stir to mix and serve.
Variation: Add two tablespoons of tomato paste when you add the water; it gives a nice color and deepens the flavor.