A year's worth of Jewish recipes

Vegetarian Times, April, 2005 by Deborah Krasner

Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes From Jewish Communities Around the World By Gil Marks (Wiley Publishing, 2005)

I love reading cookbooks that illuminate a time, place or people. Olive Trees and Honey does it all: Embedded in its essays, notes and recipes are complex stories of Jewish cooking's flavors and techniques. But you don't have to be Jewish to appreciate them.

The thought that underlies this book is how deeply food carries culture. Gil Marks makes us think about the communities from which recipes spring. With extraordinary scope, he showcases delectable vegetarian fare from Jewish settlements as far flung as India and Eastern Europe. A rabbinical scholar and founding editor of Kosher Gourmet, Marks identifies the common threads of dishes that transcend vast distances. Whether cooking with a Turkish woman in Manhattan or Uzbek Jews in America's suburbs, he makes us appreciate the food's commonalities.

For example, a section devoted entirely to cabbage recipes contrasts six similar but distinct regional dishes. There's cabbage from Ethiopia (braised), Germany (with apples), Bombay (braised), the Middle East (stuffed with bulgur), Syria (rolled around rice), and finally Russian Georgia (plumped with walnuts). It made me want to gather six cabbages and march right into the kitchen to try, them all!

While I have yet to do that, I've been cooking marvelous meals from this book. The Moroccan Pumpkin Soup was outstanding. Persian Beets with Yogurt Sauce was divine and easy, as was the Hungarian Wine Soup, which took scarcely 20 minutes and tasted like my Hungarian grandmother's cooking.

Lest all the history lessons sound too scholarly, let me reassure you: This is a terrific book to cook from. Every recipe I tried was elegantly and clearly written. I can think of few international vegetarian cookbooks that even approach this one in caliber, scope or sheer range of flavor. It is a treasure that anyone from any ethnic, religious or culinary tradition can embrace.

IN A NUTSHELL

Explicitly vegetarian Some recipes are vegan by coincidence rather than design. Many Jews create non-dairy (pareve) recipes to conform to kosher Jaws.

Marks seems aware of the inherent healthfulness of a vegetarian diet; however, the recipes don't include nutritional analyses.

There's an enormous range of recipes in the book, and some are more difficult than others. But none is beyond the scope of a home cook.

More than most books, the design of this book is driven by its contents. Maps dot the text, and each section contains recipes from the entire range of Jewish communities--past and present--around the globe. I love the many sidebars and essays on such foods as dumplings and needles.

Some dishes are quick to make, and others aren't. Because there aren't any symbols to denote time, you just have to read through the recipe.

At $29.95 for a 464-page book, this is a bargain!

SAMPLE RECIPE

SYRIAN SPINACH SOUP
(SHOOORBAH SABANEKH)

Serves 8

Spinach soup is a light spring and early
summer treat in many parts of the Middle
East and Mediterranean. This Syrian version
is accented with mint, but ground ginger or
nutmeg is a tasty alternative. Spinach soup
is commonly served with pita bread.

1/4 cup vegetable oil or unsalted buffer
2 onions, chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds fresh spinach or Swiss
  chard, washed, stemmed and
  coarsely chopped, or 20 ounces
  thawed frozen spinach,
  squeezed dry
7 cups vegetable stock or water
3/4 cup basmati or other long-grain
  white rice
2 teaspoons dried mint, crushed,
  or 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
About 1 teaspoon table salt or
  2 teaspoons kosher salt
Ground black popper to taste
2 to 4 cups plain yogurt or
  2 tablespoons pomegranate
  concentrate or 2 to 4 tablespoons
  fresh lemon juice

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over
medium heat. Add the onions and garlic,
and saute until soft and translucent, 5 to
10 minutes. Gradually add the spinach,
stirring until wilted, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the stock, rice, dried mint,
if using, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil,
cover, reduce the heat to medium-low,
and simmer until the rice is tender, about
20 minutes. If using fresh mint, add it
after cooking for 15 minutes, then
simmer another 5 minutes.

3. Leave the soup with a chunky texture,
or process in a blender or food processor
until nearly smooth. If too thick,
add a little more stock. Top each portion
with several dollops of yogurt, or stir it
into the soup. If reheating after adding
the yogurt, be careful not to boil.
Serve hot or chilled.

VT's NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS

PER SERVING: 170 CAL; 6G PROT; 8G TOTAL FAT
(1G SAT. FAT) 21G CARB; 5MG CHOL; 740MG
SOD; 2G FIBER; 7G SUGARS

Deborah Krasner is an ardent reader, reviewer and writer of cookbooks. Her latest is The Flavors of Olive Oil, a 2003 James Beard Award winner.