On Jan. 14, more than 250 Toronto women braved the cold to attend a warm and inspiring cooking demonstration co-hosted by Uptown Chabad and Chabad on the Avenue, featuring celebrity chef and cookbook author Susie Fishbein.
The audience “ate up” every word as Fishbein shared her secrets on how to make kosher cooking easy and elegant. The author of six cookbooks in seven years, Fishbein’s books have sold more than 350,000 copies worldwide. Her latest book, Kosher by Design Lightens Up (Artscroll), offers “fabulous food for a healthier lifestyle” with 145 brand new recipes and 160 colour photographs by John Uher. A helpful feature is the commentary throughout the book by certified nutritional expert Bonnie Taub-Dix, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, who acted as the nutrition consultant for the book.
Kosher by Design Lightens Up is not about deprivation. It’s about blending an array of foods of varying colours, flavours and textures with a bouquet of nutrients to please both your palate and your desire to feel good. The book is packed with useful information, delicious options and simple concepts for foods loaded with style and panache. You’ll find recipes for unusual dishes such as Rice Cracker Slaw, Japanese Udon Noodle Soup, and Argentinean Bison Steaks, as well as soon-to-be favourites such as Garlic Burgers, Lebanese Salad and Bruschetta Chicken.
The audience was impressed by Fishbein’s culinary skills and relaxed approach to entertaining in front of a large audience as she demonstrated a variety of recipes from some of her previous books. The menu included Creamy Chummos with Steeped Tomatoes, Winter White Soup, Salmon Primavera, Steamed Thai Sole Rolls, and Warm Apple & Pear Fruit Beggar’s Purse. She also offered terrific tips on simple, yet elegant presentations (serve the hummus in a martini glass; the salmon makes a spectacular centrepiece if served whole). She also talked about some of her favourite kitchen gadgets: an electric deep fryer (she has four of them) and a mandolin for slicing vegetables paper-thin (for her Salmon Primavera).
Fishbein recommended that cooks should have “a menu of five or six items that are in your comfort zone” and the recipes should come from “a cookbook you can trust.” She encouraged the audience to get their kids into the kitchen as this helps expose them to different foods. When kids help prepare a recipe, they’ve invested in the cooking process and are more likely to eat the food that’s been prepared. Fishbein said that her children get a kids’ choice meal once a week.
Chana Gansburg, one of the co-ordinators of the event, told me: “Women like to talk about food, so this event was an ideal way to get Jewish women in the Toronto area together to enjoy a night out and to create awareness in the community about Chabad’s projects.”
From the enthusiasm of the women I spoke with as we nibbled and noshed together, this goal was certainly accomplished. For more information about Chabad, contact [email protected] or call 416-546-8770. You might even get an invitation for Shabbat dinner!
Here are the recipes for some of the delicious dishes Susie Fishbein demonstrated that night, as well as one I chose from Kosher by Design Lightens Up. Enjoy!
Source: Kosher by Design Entertains
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large leek, white and pale green parts only, sliced
4 medium parsnips, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 turnip, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 stalk celery, sliced
5 cups fresh chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups soy milk
1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
pesto, store-bought or homemade
Place the olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot, add the leek and slowly cook for 4-5 minutes, until it is shiny and soft but not brown. Add the parsnips, turnip and celery. Saute for 6-7 minutes longer.
Add the stock and turn the heat to medium. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the soy milk, white pepper and salt.
Use an immersion blender, or transfer in batches to a blender, to blend until completely smooth. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with 1/2 teaspoon pesto in the centre of each bowl. Swirl with the tip of a knife. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp. pine nuts
2 tbsp. walnuts
3 tbsp. good quality extra virgin olive oil
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process the basil, garlic, pine nuts and walnuts. Drizzle in the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Can be kept covered in the refrigerator for 1 week. To keep the pesto from changing colour, top it off with 1/2-in. olive oil. Pour off the extra oil and stir before serving.
Source: Kosher by Design Entertains
2 1/2-3 lb. wild Pacific or sockeye salmon fillet
salt
freshly ground pepper
Dijon mustard or thick honey mustard
1 small zucchini, with skin, thinly sliced
1 small yellow squash, with skin, thinly sliced
2 Roma or plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup unflavoured breadcrumbs or panko crumbs
2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
2 tbsp. olive oil
Preheat oven to 375. Season the salmon fillet with salt and pepper. Brush an even, thick coating of the mustard all over the salmon.
Place the salmon on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet. Place the fish horizontally in front of you. Starting at the left end of the fillet, lay a column of overlapping slices of the zucchini on top of the salmon.
On the next row, lay a column of overlapping slices of the squash; they should be overlapping the zucchini a bit as well. On the next row, lay a column of tomatoes; they should slightly overlap the squash. Begin again with the zucchini, followed by the squash and the tomato. Continue in this fashion until the whole fillet is covered.
In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, dill and olive oil. Sprinkle over the top of the vegetables.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove one of the vegetables in the thickest part of the fillet and test to make sure the fish is done, and then cover it back up with the vegetables.
Serve hot or at room temperature. Can be refrigerated overnight and brought to room temperature the next day. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.
Source: Kosher By Design Lightens Up
Cherries, whether fresh or dried, are exploding with more than just flavour. They get their beautiful red colour from anthocyanins, which may reduce inflammation and help decrease the risk of heart disease, as well as reducing the pain of arthritis and gout. Quercetin, a flavonoid in cherries, may protect your heart, and beta-sitosterol, a plant sterol, may reduce cholesterol levels. Cherries also contain vitamins A and C as well as calcium, iron, potassium and fibre.
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 large egg plus 1 egg white (from large egg), lightly beaten
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice (from medium orange)
1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup (2 oz.) chopped good quality semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips
1/3 cup shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
Preheat oven to 350. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, at medium speed, combine the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the oil, egg and egg white, vanilla, orange zest and orange juice. Mix until a loose dough forms. Do not over-mix as whole wheat flour will toughen. Stir in the cherries, chocolate and pistachios.
Transfer the dough to the cookie sheet and form into a long, flat log about 14×4-in. wide. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until outside of log is baked but log is still soft. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.
Using a bread knife or a serrated knife, slice the dough into 1/2-in. thick slices. Arrange the slices on the cookie sheet and return to the oven to bake for an additional 10 minutes. Flip the biscotti and return them to the oven for a final 10 minutes. Cool completely and store in an airtight container. Makes 18 biscotti.
