Levana Kirschenbaum, author of The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen, is a cook after my own heart. She likes to cook healthy food, with minimal ingredients, in a short span of time. That’s not to say that this cookbook is filled with quick-fix dinners. It certainly is not. While it may include 15 variations of 3-ingredient chicken dishes (which I’m thrilled about!), it’s also got plenty of gourmet recipes that require an array of flavorful ingredients.
With an on emphasis on healthy, whole, minimally processed ingredients, Levana still manages to pull out delicious dishes that require little more than fresh produce, herbs and spices. Even her decadent desserts maintain a healthy perspective, without requiring a trip to the health food store for specialized ingredients.
The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen is extremely thorough. I now understand why Levana refers to it as her magnum opus, a comprehensive compilation of her life’s work. In the first chapter, “The Pantry”, Levana guides you in the building your pantry, making each and every recipe look so easy. From dressings to jams and sauces to liquors, this chapter lacks for nothing. While titled “Edible Gifts to Yourself and Beyond”, I find this section to be Levana’s gift to the reader. What greater gift is there to a cook than to be able to learn many of the basic recipes required to build a dish?
The cookbook continues with Soups, Salads, Fish, Poultry/Meat, Vegetable Dishes, Grains/Pasta, Breakfast/Brunch, Breads and finally Desserts. While the recipes mostly stay true to Levana’s Morrocan roots, her dishes span the globe, including internationally-inspired recipes like creole chicken with rice, pad thai, cucumber raita chai and tilapia nicoise en papillotte, among many others.
I love Levana’s addition of suggested menu’s, including feasts by cuisine (Moroccan, French, Italian, Israeli, Asian, Latin and Indian), dietary preferences (dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan) as well as themed menu’s (salads, chocolate, kids). You’ll also find three separate indexes – standard, gluten free and passover.
The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen has a little something for everyone. As for me, I’m looking forward to making the Kabocha sweet potato soup, baked snapper with raisins and pine nuts, chicken with apples, millet fritters, blueberry scones and Indian sweet potato pudding.
If I could critique anything about this cookbook, it would only be to say that I would appreciate more beautiful pictures!
Busy In Brooklyn is happy to be giving away a copy of The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen!
To Enter:
1. Share your favorite Rosh Hashana food/recipe in the comments below.
2. “Like” Busy In Brooklyn on Facebook!
Winner will be selected at random on September 13th, 2012.
BONUS ROSH HASHANAH RECIPES
from The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen:
Hot & Sweet Parsnips
1 dozen very thin parsnips, peeled and left whole (settle for 5–6 larger ones, peeled and quartered lengthwise)
2 cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons sugar or Sucanat
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or less to taste
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
Place all the ingredients in a wide heavy pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, or a drop longer, until the parsnips are tender and the liquids in the pot have thickened. Pour the sauce over the parsnips. Serve hot or at room temperature. Makes 8 servings.
Roasted Salmon with Maple Glaze
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon cracked pepper, or less to taste
1 whole side salmon, about 3. pounds, skin off, bones out, trimmed
Preheat the oven to 500F. Mix all but last ingredient in a bowl. Place the salmon skin side up in a baking pan just large enough to fit it snugly in one layer (if you have empty spaces, the liquids will burn). Pour the sauce evenly over the fish. Bake 18 minutes, or a minute or two longer, until the fish is tender but firm to the touch. Transfer to a platter and pour the cooking juices over the fish. Serve hot, or at room temperature. Makes 8 main course servings, or a dozen ample first course servings.
Recipes & photos excerpted with Permission from The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen Cookbook By Levana Kirshenbaum www.levanacooks.com
My favorite Rosh Hashanah dish (in addition to all the simanim at the beginning of the meal) is brisket with dried apricots. Sweet and tender – great for Rosh Hashanah!
I love my mom’s secret sweet kugel recipe. It had always been my favorite comfort food. It has diced peaches, diced pineapple, raisins, etc. It is so delicious!
My favorite Rosh Hashana dish is the Sunken Apple And Honey Tart from KBD
One of my favorite “fooods” on R’Hashana is starfruit. While not really a recipe it brings me back to my childhood. My mom always bought that for me as my “shechinu”fruit.
I also liked you already on fb
Pomegranet Pear Salad with Maple Dressing
Ingredients
1/3 – 1/2 cup butter
juice from 1 lemon
6 Tbsp water
4 Tbsp 100% pure maple syrup (if you’re using Grade B, just use 3 Tbsp)
1/8 tsp cinnamon
6 cups mixed greens (I used a mix of 1/2 dark winter greens and 1/2 spinach)
3 pears
3/4 cup pomegranate arils (or use blueberries and/or strawberries instead)
Directions
Prepare dressing in a small bowl by whisking together almond butter, lemon juice, water, maple syrup and cinnamon. Let sit for about 5 minutes while you slice pears thinly and extract the pomegranate arils (. Toss greens in dressing, just a couple tablespoons at a time, until leaves are just coated. Top with sliced pears and pomegranate and serve immediately.
My favorite Rosh ha’Shanah food is brisket!
Honeycomb icecream
Honeycake, chicken
My favorite receipe for rh is ctually a very simple honey chicken. Honey and soy sauce mixture. I’m a huge fan of levana. Would love to win newest cookbook. Btw levanas honey cake receipe is the best I tasted.try it!.
I don’t have a favorite (yet!)
My favorite Rosh Hashana food is the classic – Apples dipped in honey. One can enjoy them all year round, but they taste extra sweet on the Chag!!
My favorite and that of my guests is Challah filled with apples and cinnamon. They even eat it for dessert!
i love my father’s roasted orange beet salad on Rosh Hashanah and my grandmother’s gefilte fish loaf. It’s wonderful.
Those parsnips look fantastic!
I created this recipe to incorporate the simanim into my Rosh Hashana menu.
Apple and Honey Roast Chicken for Rosh Hashana
http://www.lakosherkitchen.com/2011/09/apple-and-honey-roast-chicken-for-rosh.html
I love, love challah with raisins. But roasted beets with feta cheese (for a dairy meal) isn’t bad, either.
(Liked BIB on fb.)
Wonderful review! I especially like that salmon recipe, will definitely be adding it to my Rosh Hashana menu! The cookbook sounds fantastic, I especially love the menu divisions, feasts by cuisines and dietary preferences! Definitely a cookbook I’ll have to look into!
This looks like an amazing cookbook-it would be a fantastic addition to anyone’s collection!
Great review! There are never enough pictures in cookbooks!
not my recipe- but rosh hashana esq- and delicious!
broiled baby eggplants, with techina drizzled on top, and pomegranate seeds:)
great review! i also received the cookbook and i agree with all your points.
For me, it’s not RH without my family’s apple cake. It’s gooey, sweet, and delicious. I usually make at least 8 batches to get us through all the meals (and a little for leftovers).
May I pls have the apple cake recipe?
I love this book, it is a bible everyone should keep on their shelf.
The idea of using Whole Foods is really ideal. We use way… too many additives in our cooking. It’s nice to be able to retain the natural flavour in our food without drowing it in extras.
On a different not, honey cake is definately my personal addiction at this time of year. I can never have enough. The recipe on this blog is the best. Never fail, super moist.
Shana Tova to all!
To me, there is nothing better than apple buns on Rosh Ha Shana morning!
Nothing tastes better to me that my Bubbie’s honey cake. Last year I found a very similar recipe in Spice and Spirit. I’m definitely going to be adding it to my yom tov menus again
I think I submitted my comment before, but here it is again,
My favorite Rosh Hashanah recipe is a honeycake recipe I made last year. I used a spice cake mix and added honey and golden raisins.
I also like chicken on Rosh Hashanah.
LOVE honey cake made with applesauce…so moist and sweet!!
My favorite would have to be honey cake. Dark and dense, full of spices and sweet wild honey.
My mom’s famous honey cake. It always gets rave reviews! (sorry dont have a facebook)
I don’t really have a favorite RH food but I love challah that’s a little doughy in the middle smothered in honey- yum! Also I love the Caramalized Onion Chicken with Almonds (not sure the official title) in Kosher Pallette
Honey cake for the win.
Best rh food is super fresh warm challah dipped in honey!!!
My grandmothers apple cake
my grandmother’s sweet meatloaf – just smelling it cook reminds us of her.
My favorite Rosh Hashana recipe is busy in brooklyn amazing honey cake.
I love your pomegranate cole slaw!
I like challah with raisins and brown sugar a new recipe i tried last yr and i like apricot jelly chicken
I love sprinkling my challah with cinnamon and sugar or honey before baking it for Rosh hashana. It gives it an extra sweetness!
I love the simanim we eat on Rosh Hashana night, especially the fresh dates we get here in Israel.
I like making my whole wheat challah with a cinnamon sticky bun and chopped apple filling. I roll out the dough like you would for cinnamon buns, roll it up again and shape it into a traditional spiral. I serve it with creamy honey in which I have mixed cinnamon.
the honey challah recipe from busy in brooklyn is by far the best!
love the honey cake! find recipe on BIB page.
Raisin challah. yum
Definitely the brisket!!!
Favorite is taiglach, wait for it all year!
brisket with dried fruit and vegies and a family cake recipe handed down from my grandmother. wouldn’t have yom tov without it!!
liked you on fb and love honey cake
I just finished making strudel. I made my recipe parve and it came out delicious.
My favorite recipe for Rosh Hashana is the “apricot-teriyaki-glazed roast beef and vegetables” from Kosher by Design Short On Time! It is slightly sweet and has fall veggies like squash, yum!
Chocolate Apple Turnovers!
Heres a salad Ill try this r.h
-grated carrots
-grated apples
-raisins
dressing:
-lemon juice
-mayo
-salt
-parsley
Wishing all a Happy & sweet New Year!
sweet honey challah
My family likes a carrot salad of all things! Shredded carrots, raisins, and some OJ (maybe a drop of honey). I blink and it is gone.
My favorite RH recipe is pomegranate sorbet or ice cream!
I love taiglach
My family loves my mother-in laws shredded carrot and pineapple salad with a little lemon juice or sugar.Its a staple in their family!
I like dishes made with the symbolic foods. My mom has made gefilte fish from scratch with a carrot in the middle for wealth and prosperity in the comming year. I have made a salad with apples and pomegranite for abundance of mitzvot and creativity. I have also made a salad with beets, mint and feta, for the deportation of evil and other things that thwart us.
My favorite RH food is definitly Brisket with carrots and potatoes!
a yummy side dish i just discovered,,ksohka in gravy,,buy the kishka,, make the gravy,,,the end!!
My fave RH recipe is honey cake. Here is a link for the recipe.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moist-holiday-honeycake/detail.aspx
May we all be blessed w a happy, healthy sweet new year!
one of my regulars on rosh hashanah is sweet orzo with diced dried apples, dried apricots and craisins with a sauteed onion and some flavoring.
Nothing. NOTHING! beats apple and honey.
I eat it all year ;)
My favorite Rosh Hashanah food is the Black Eyed Peas.
Raisin challah, but only certain ones. Large, moist, threaded with ribbons of cinnamon sugar…
Challah dipped in honey!
One of my favorite recipes has to be this Squash Pie. It melts in your mouth and is so easy to make:
Butternut Squash/Sweet Potato Pie
2-3 large Butternut squash, peeled, cooked OR 4-5 sweet potatoes.
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 rich’s whip
1 Tbs vanilla Sugar
2 Graham cracker pie shells
Preheat oven to 350.
Mash squash/sweet potatoes. Add rest of ingredients and mix well. Pour into 2 pie shells.
Bake for 1 hour.
After reading this, I think your ideas on kosher food recipes are amazing and it will help me to introduce new recipes on kosher food as I am running a kosher food restaurant in Miami. Keep sharing such ideas, thank you.
Happy to hear that, best of luck!