Healthy Jewish Cooking [Paperback]

Steven Raichlen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 2000

Just in time for the High Holy Days, the bestselling maestro of low-fat cooking makes the cuisine that gave us chicken soup healthier than ever

Jewish cooking with a light touch? It sounds like an oxymoron, but Steven Raichlen--who continues to teach millions of Americans how to adapt rich dishes to today's leaner culinary lifestyle--proves it's not. Here, some of the heretofore heaviest food in the world is transformed by savvy techniques similar to those he shared in his award-winning High-Flavor, Low-Fat cookbook series.

In his newest book, readers will find delicious kugels, pirogis, and latkes of Raichlen's childhood reinvented with fresh ingredients, "bake frying,"and grilling techniques, and flavorful substitutions. Healthy Jewish Cooking is full of secrets: Yukon gold potatoes have a richer, more buttery taste; chicken broth instead of schmaltz lightens up dishes while cinnamon and nutmeg spice them up; olive oil replaces butter in Hanukkah fritters with honey syrup.

Tantalizing color photographs accompany all the recipes in this festively packaged book whose ingenious practical tips make it a lifesaver for the health-conscious Jewish holiday cook and gift giver.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

No, says author Steven Raichlen, healthy Jewish cooking is not an oxymoron. Inspired by the large family gatherings of his childhood which were filled with homemade Jewish delicacies, Raichlen set out to re-create these meals with an eye towards the fat- and cholesterol-conscious. And he's done well. Raichlen finds still-tasty ways to greatly reduce or cut out schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), butter, oil, and eggs. With meat, he advocates using just enough for flavor but upping the ratio of vegetables, and to try grilling to release a smoky sweetness.

By following his "10 commandments" of healthy cooking, you'll be able to have traditional and not-so-traditional Jewish meals--but with drastically less fat and calories. Remember to "Think flavor, not fat" and "Roast your way to aroma" and you're on your way to lighter versions of old favorites like the Amazing Low-Fat Chopped Liver, Cheese Blintzes, and Sweet and Sour Turkey-Stuffed Cabbage Rolls. Raichlen's family included Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, so in addition to German and Eastern European-inspired recipes, he also includes Moroccan and Middle Eastern dishes like Greek Lamb Stew with Romaine Lettuce and Dill and Bulghur Pilaf. For kugel aficionados, there is an entire chapter of sweet and savory recipes. There are many kosher recipes and suggestions on how to amend nonkosher dishes.

Besides the appetizing, straightforward recipes, the allure of Healthy Jewish Cooking is Raichlen's remembrances of the men and women in his family who taught him how to cook and appreciate the importance of food in the Jewish culture. "Above all, have fun," says Raichlen. "Jewish cooking is about family, love, and abundance. Cook with all three and your life will be rich beyond measure." --Dana Van Nest

From Publishers Weekly

Isn't healthy Jewish cooking an oxymoron? That's the typical response Raichlen, author of Barbecue! Bible and Steve Raichlen's High-Flavor, Low-Fat Vegetarian Cooking, got whenever he mentioned he was writing this book. It turns out that Jewish cooking can be low fat and flavorful: the Amazing Low-Fat Chopped Liver uses roasted mushrooms and hard-cooked egg whites to reduce fat and cholesterol while intensifying flavor. Middle Eastern dishes, such as Shish Kebab with North African Seasonings, and Moroccan Grilled Pepper and Tomato Salad, are well represented here. To make traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dishes lighter, recipes call for using broth instead of schmaltz (chicken fat) and no-fat dairy products, and for roasting and bake-frying. Raichlen also provides a wealth of meatless dishes, including a vegetarian version of chopped liver and a Portobello Paprikash. Raichlin emphasizes the innovative, such as Zucchini Kugel (usually a sweet noodle dish), without losing sight of traditional foods, like blintzes, Passover dishes, knishes and The Three B's Cholent, a Sabbath stew. While there are exotic touches such as Rhubarb Haroset and Tropical Tsimmis with ginger and fresh pineappleARaichlen's dessert section seems incomplete (where are rugelach and hamentaschen?). He isn't great at cutting down sugar, either, although some sinfully tempting recipes, like My Great-Grandmother's Chocolate Roll, list original ingredients as well as slimmed-down ones. But with homey anecdotes, food counts and preparation times, one hopes for a sequel to this heart-warming and user-friendly book. Photos by Greg Schneider. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (September 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670893129
• ISBN-13: 978-0670893126
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,016,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Raichlen is America's "master griller" (Esquire). In addition to his bestselling, award-winning Barbecue! Bible cookbooks, articles by him appear regularly in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and other magazines and newspapers. He was host of PBS's popular series Barbecue University at the Greenbrier, now out on DVD. Bon Appetit named him Cooking Teacher of the Year (2003). He lives and grills in Coconut Grove, Florida, and on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yes, it's true, kosher cooking can be lite and tasty, October 11, 2000

By 

Larry Mark "editor of MyJewishBooks.com" (nyc) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Healthy Jewish Cooking (Paperback)

Who knew that Jewish cooking can have a light touch? Raichlen, like many reformed Jews growing up in Pikesville/Baltimore in the 1950's, lived his Judaism through his foods - soups, mandelech, pirogis, briskets, desserts, flanken, knaidlach, tsimmis, and baklava. But, today, these foods can be done lite. His techniques include bake-frying and grilling, focusing on naturally low fat foods, using egg substitutes, using chicken broth instead of schmaltz, increasing the ratio of vegetables to meats, sauteing with non stick pans, and roasting. His 175 recipes include mock schmaltz made from canola oil, a breakfast sangria (for a Yom Kippur Break Fast) from the Caribbean, Curacaoan hot cocoa, quick bake-fried kreplach, sweet cheese kreplach, sephardic empanadas, baltic pirogi, veggie chopped liver, lowfat chopped chicken liver, a low fat chicken soup, matzo ball soup, hot borscht, Greek egg-lemon matzo soup, sauerkraut soup, salonikan soup, and sorrel schav soup. He includes eleven salads including a two-egg-salad made from eggs and eggplants. Speaking of vegetable dishes, there are fourteen, including a tropical tsimmis, a Jewish Romanian polenta (mamaliga) made with garlic and cinnamon; a basil marinated zucchini dish, and Pesach Spanekopita. Several breads are described, including a honey VANILLA challah, Passover rolls, onion rolls, matzo muffins, and Bukharan steamed buns with cilantro and chives. A Sephardic style scrambled eggs with garlic, paprika, cumin and bell peppers (strapatsata or Tunisian chakchouka) is a standout. In terms of meats, recipes include low fat Israeli spiced turkey cutlets, chicken cutlets with a mushroom stuffing, Syrian style Chicken with eggplant (a new Shepherds Pie); a sweet and sour turkey stuffed cabbage roll; holiday brisket with raisins, grape wine, prunes, and apricots; a Napa Valley style brisket; lamb tagine, and a Three-B's cholent. Five kugel recipes include a carrot apple kugel, and a zucchini kugel. Desserts include zvingous, or Greek Hanukkah fritters that are baked. They became a sensation after being mentioned in 1999 in a NYT Hanukkah recipe. A strudel recipe includes a Greek-Sephardic Pumpkin strudel that is usually eaten at Sukkot (Rodanchas de la Calabaza). Finally, let me add a word on Greg Schneider's photography... great. His picture of assorted low fat blintzes lying atop Hebrew newspapers, corralled by a set of tefillin is worthy of individual sale as a lithograph.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Healthy Jewish Cooking, December 28, 2000

By 

Leslie N. Cohen (Norton Ma. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Healthy Jewish Cooking (Paperback)

Once again noted cookbook author, Steve Raichlen has hit a homerun. His adaptations of time honored Jewish comfort foods to suit the modern , healthy life style is phenomonal. Cabbage soup is as good as my bubbe's and it is completely vegetarion. From blintzes to borscht; from chopped liver to chicken fricasse, Raichlen runs the gamut of Jewish cooking perfectly. Add the personal touches of wonderful stories of family feasts, the cookbook is a key to opening the vast storehouse of long held memories that we all share. A must for etnic cooks everywhere.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Jewish cooking made healthy!, October 9, 2002

By 

Ava Liss (San Diego, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Healthy Jewish Cooking (Paperback)

This was a real find of a cookbook. I am looking to expand my repetoire of Jewish recipes and want them to be healthy as well. The introduction is a treat to read as well as the personal entries at the top of each recipe. The recipes I have made thus far have all turned out terrific and inspire me to want to cook more out of this book. I'd eat in this author's kitchen any day!