The Jewish Kitchen

author of Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family from the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles December 19, 2003 An Auschwitz survivor, only one of four, returns to his Norwegian town to rebuild a Jewish community. A group of Spanish Jews, fleeing the Inquisition, cross the savage seas to Curacao and establish the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the New World. The tiny, but active, Jewish community of Salonika rebuilds itself on the ashen remains of what once was a 2,000-year-old thriving metropolis of Jewish culture. Clarissa Hyman's beautifully photographed new cookbook, The Jewish Kitchen, is alive with miracles - stories of remnants of Jewish life, war-torn Jewish communities, displaced and rebuilding, bringing with them their glorious history, rich culture, and a cuisine passed through the generations, itself a story of miraculous survival. This award-winning author crisscrossed the globe, visiting eight families in nine months, recording their stories, their recipes, even taking some of the location photographs herself. The rest she filled in through the miracle of email, which is how I interviewed her from her home in Manchester, England. "The stories were as important to me as the recipes, because I believe in context and background, and I wanted to give snapshots of the Jewish world today to show that there are so many different aspects to the Jewish experience. Sadly, time and budget put limits on my voyage around the Jewish world, which is why email is so wonderful. It's been an unexpected bonus, making friends around the world." Hyman's nine months' work on the book - "research, traveling, writing, testing, a miracle in itself!" she said - started at the beginning of the year and ended just after Simchas Torah. Rosh Hashanah she spent in Trondheim. "Here was this tiny community that by all rights should not exist at all and that has been almost completely brought back to life after the Holocaust by one Auschwitz survivor, Julius Paltiel, who invited me to share the holiday with his family." In Antwerp, Leila Rubens organized a lunch for 16 Jewish women from different countries. "Each arrived with a special family dish that none of her friends had ever sampled before," she recalled. "By the end of lunch everyone was swopping recipes, most of them included in the book. I didn't dare leave anyone out! It really brought the essence of the Jewish kitchen alive for me." By Hanukkah, a favorite festival rich with childhood memories, she was home in Manchester. "I was the only child, so I always got to light the candles with the shammas and would sing, badly, Ma-oz Tzur to my proud parents and would get the first latke out of the pan." In fact, Manchester is the ninth spot on the tour, where Hyman recounts the miracle of her own family. Her grandfather survived the sinking of the Titanic and returned to Manchester to open a kosher deli called Titanics, where Hyman grew up. "I w

Compiled and organized by Clarissa Hyman (the 2002 Glenfiddich Food Writer of the Year), The Jewish Kitchen: Recipes And Stories From Around The World is more than just another ethnic cookbook, The Jewish Kitchen emphasizes full-color photographs and extended stories showcasing globe spanning Jewish cuisine, tradition, and culture. From Classic Cheesecake; Moroccan Chicken with Dates; and Persian Jeweled Rice with Chicken; to Iraqi Beet Kubba; Rubens Family Potato Chermslach; and Old-Fashioned Sweet Carrot Kugel, The Jewish Kitchen offers a culinary wealth of traditional and succulent faire.