Hipping Up The Kosher Kitchen

Ronnie Fein’s “Hip Kosher” features Asian, Middle Eastern and fusion recipes. “When you keep kosher, you have to reach out, branch out,” she says.

Ronnie Fein’s “Hip Kosher” features Asian, Middle Eastern and fusion recipes. “When you keep kosher, you have to reach out, branch out,” she says.

by Randi Sherman
Staff Writer

Ronnie Fein likes to mix things up. The meals she prepares often combine the traditional recipes her ancestors brought from Romania with new and innovative kosher recipes she’s discovered and developed over the years. Now she wants to bring her modern kosher cuisine beyond her dining room table.
“Traditional foods are wonderful, but when you keep kosher, especially today with so many options, you need to reach out, branch out,” she said. “It makes it more exciting to bring in even one new dish to a meal.”
Fein’s new cookbook, “Hip Kosher: 175 Easy-to-Prepare Recipes for Today’s Kosher Cooks,” features flavors from around the world in simple recipes that are more indicative of today’s diverse kosher consumers and ingredients. From raisin curry noodles, a new

take on kugel (page 77), to lime and macadamia nut-crusted turkey cutlets with tropical salsa (page 139), the recipes present a flavor roller coaster.
“Kosher restaurants are serving sophisticated, modern, up-to-date cuisine,” she said. “People want to know ‘how can I make this at home?’ When I speak in front of women’s groups, they tell me traditional recipes are too heavy and take too long to prepare, so they save them for holidays. They want to know what else they can make.”
Having read a lot recently about a surge in the number of people keeping kosher, both for religious and ethical reasons — many regard kosher as more humane and healthier — Fein utilized her expertise as both a freelance food writer and a culinary instructor to create a cookbook with universal appeal. In addition to the recipes are “Kosher Quick Guide” boxes explaining laws of kashrut, laymen’s terms, reheating information, substitutions and serving suggestions.
Many of the recipes are some of her family’s favorite dishes. Fein prepares the grilled salmon with pineapple mango salsa at least once a month and serves it to dinner guests. She recommends the carrot and parsnip soup or the pumpkin bisque to warm the heart and stomach on cold winter days, while the couscous recipes and salads can be enjoyed year-round. Fein suggests the peppers and eggs, an easy version of Israeli shakshouka, for brunch company because of its gentle spice and great flavor. On first reading, the recipes appear complicated, but Fein assured even the novice chef to the contrary.
“None of these recipes is hard to make,” she insisted. “So many can be cooked ahead, and they’re versatile enough for anyone to change them around.”
Fein has run a cooking school out of the kitchen of her Stamford, Conn., home for the past 37 years, and she uses many of the recipes in the book with her students. Fein was working as an attorney in 1971 when she invited a colleague over for dinner. Impressed with her culinary abilities, the colleague asked her to teach his wife, and the cooking school was born. The private, hands-on workshops she runs for up to four people are tailored to her students’ needs, but also usually include some of the seven salmon recipes in “Hip Kosher,” which are perfect for the cook who wants to make something “simple but interesting.”
Fein has led cooking demonstrations at her Conservative synagogue in Stamford, as well as other synagogues in the area. She’s also led discussions about food-related issues, such as Jewish lifestyle and holidays, for Jewish women’s groups and other local organizations.
Through both her classes and the cookbook, Fein hopes to instill her zeal for cooking and food in others.
“Good food can make any dull day exciting. To think about something, even if it’s simple, even if it takes 10 minutes,” Fein said. Now that she’s a proud grandmother of three, food has become even more special.
“When I see my grandchildren eating new things, I love it because it shows a willingness to reach out and see what the world is like.”
With Passover here, Fein has some suggestions to add to your holiday menu. Either the grilled salmon or the pistachio-encrusted salmon can be substituted for gefilte fish, she says, and the soups are good options for the few people willing to abandon matzah ball soup on the holiday. For an entrée, there’s the roast turkey breast with chutney and pears. Spiced oranges are a fresh, light option after a heavy seder meal, and the flourless chocolate cake can also be a great ending dish.
For the seders in her family, “It’s always at my house, and it’s always a crowd.” Fein plans to use many of the “Hip Kosher” recipes, including the mustard-roasted potatoes, to feed her crowd of 23. She’ll also serve roasted lamb and make her own macaroons.
Though she is embracing new kosher recipes, she still loves the traditional meals; she’s just following in another Jewish tradition.
“If you were living in Romania, you cooked kosher-Romanian style,” Fein said. “Our cooking has always adapted to where we are. Now we’re in America, and there’s no one tradition any more.” n
E-mail: Randi@jewishweek.org.

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