Just in time for Passover, Lisa George is serving up a review of The Modern Jewish Table cookbook by Tracey Fine and Georgie Tarn.

Cookies from The Modern Jewish Table

Tracey Fine and Georgie Tarn. They are the sassy British housewives of Jewish cooking. You can watch them on YouTube, follow them on Facebook, read them on twitter, or write to them at thejewishprincesses@gmail.com. They are trendy, current, hip, gorgeous, energetic, and funny. What’s not to love? Their latest cookbook, The Modern Jewish Table, should be celebrated in Kosher kitchens.

With ten recipes in each chapter, the book is organized in the following categories:

Small Plates

Sensational Soup

Salads – Go Green

Fish with no Fingers

Meat the Main Event

Veg Out

VIP “Very Important Pareve” Desserts

Cake – A Slice of Heaven

Cookies & Tiny Treats that take the Biscuit

Couture Chocolate

Introducing each section are funny quips from the authors along with a short index defining the cultural terms for those readers not familiar with Jewish colloquialisms. Read from the beginning of the Pareve dessert chapter:

“When Moses hiked up the mountain on a forty-day expedition, he returned schlepping our dietary laws. He declared we could no longer eat milk with or after meat, but he didn’t bring with him a Perfect Princess pareve cream, margarine, or dairy-free butter; he obviously couldn’t carry anything else. If he had only taken a Jewish Princess with him, maybe this rule would not have been set in stone. We can only imagine what a begrub he received as Jewish Princesses turned to each other in horror, saying, “Aren’t our lives difficult enough? No hairdresser, no washing machines, and we’re camping?” We can see their raised shoulders and upturned palms spread wide, complaining of yet another headache coming on, “oy” ringing out in unison across the desert as they beseeched, “What are we going to make as a dairy-free dessert?”

Schlepping:  to haul

Pareve:  dairy-free

Begrub:  giving someone a telling off

This hardcover cookbook is filled with beautiful photography, but not every recipe is accompanied by a colorful illustration:  3 photographs per chapter is the average.

I made the Scottish Flapjack Berry Cobbler on page 143 for a family breakfast to rave reviews. The whisky taste was prominent, and it nicely complimented the blueberries I used. It was just as good the second day.

I also prepared the Nutella Cookie Bites on page 183. Not only are they gluten free, but warm out of the oven, they’re wonderful. Mine did not spread when baking, and I’m guessing that’s the effect of our high altitude although usually it’s the other way around for me. They were delightful, and I’ll definitely be making them again. (see attached photo)

The subtitle of the cookbook is “100 Kosher Recipes From Around The Globe”, so it isn’t a surprise that some ingredients are unfamiliar to American cooks. Although the internet makes everything a click away, I started a list of items I haven’t seen at our big City Market:  sumac, persimmons, Chantenay carrots, Adzuki beans, Hawaij, star anise, tomato passata, mini kabanos, flat chestnut mushrooms, chrain, Japanese ginger, sultanas, tamarind, spelt flour, golden syrup, kataifi pastry, McVitie’s Rich Tea Biscuits, and muscovado sugar.

The Modern Jewish Table is full of valuable advice. For example, in the introduction to the final chapter on chocolate, the authors share, “When you break the chocolate, it should have a clean snap. If it doesn’t, then the chocolate contains a higher amount of fat. Place a small piece – we reiterate, small – onto your tongue and allow it to slowly melt. The intoxicating flavors will provide an intense chocolate hit, then a chocolate high, which can turn into an addiction. So be careful, or you could end up on a therapist’s couch sharing chocolate together. Mind you, there are worse things in life to be addicted to – makeup, shoes, handbags, clothes, diamonds…oy, another Princess Problem.”

With Passover beginning on March 30, this year, this is the ideal resource for fresh new recipes to wow your family and friends. You’ll find that you use this beautiful cookbook year-round. If you’re challishing a collection of easy-to-prepare treats for noshing, you need look no further than the latest creation from the Jewish Princesses, Tracey Fine and Georgie Tarn:  The Modern Jewish Table.

— Review written by Lisa George of the Latigo Ranch in Kremmling, Colorado. To read more of Lisa’s reviews, click here. 

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