Some of my best food is Jewish

We're not just talking cholesterol-filled bagels here - Jewish cuisine comes from the world over. And guess what? It's healthy and anyone can make it.

Carol Muskoron meets the queen of Jewish cookery, Denise Philips - gets some vital Jewish recipes and finds out that yes, you could cook ‘Jewish' tonight even if you're not Jewish.

 

Q: How did you get into Jewish cookery?
A: I'm Jewish. I trained at Prue Leith 20 years ago. I had my own catering company and when my husband died I closed the business. It was hard to work with three kids butI had a passion for food, I started writing and then I set up my own Jewish cookery school - I could run that in between being with the children. And now I write for the London Jewish news and for 50 synagogue magazines and I've written four Jewish cookery books.

 

Q: What's the latest one?
A: New Flavours of the Jewish Table

 

Q: What was your personal favourite?
A: Modern Jewish Cooking with Style - that's my niche; a modern take on traditional recipes, but I do both traditional and modern. I like to bring a historical significance to my dishes, to show the symbolism of the food, give the history.

 

Q: If someone was cooking their fist Jewish main meal, what would you recommend they try?
A: Roast chicken with apricots and with lemon and rosemary under the skin and red wine poured on.

 

Q: What would go with it?
A: A kugel or saffron potatoes and red cabbage.

 

Q: And what about a starter?
A: Babagonoush - that's an aubergine dip; it's an Arab Jewish dish.

 

Q: And for dessert?
A: An apple strudel.

 

Q: Jews live all over the world, so is there really such a thing as Jewish cookery?
A: Jews travelled - because they've always been persecuted. IN 1492 they left Spain and went to North Afric for example. Whenever they left somewhere they took their cuisine with them and merged it with new local produce and recipes, whilst keeping to the laws of keeping kosher [ie keeping Jewish dietary laws].

 

Q: Do your recipes have to be cooked with kosher food?
A: No, but a Jewish person would use kosher ingredients.

 

Q: Do you welcome the idea of non-Jewish people using your recipes?
A: Yes. I get non-Jewish people at my classes - they're learning to cook modern stylish food, but it happens to be Jewish.

Q: People don't tend to think ‘I'll cook Jewish tonight,' in the same way that they think, ‘I'll cook Italian' or ‘I'll cook Chinese'.  Would you like Jewish cookery to reach that level of integration in our society?

A: Yes, I would. There are now more Jewish restaurants around than ever. There's kosher Chinese, Italian, Persian, Israeli, French, Indian.

 

Q: What's your favourite cuisine?

A: Italian.But I do like Thai and Japanese. I just love food.

 

Q: Jewish food does have the reputation of being very heavy, doesn't it?

A: You're right, it does. But Jewish dietary rules were the first ever set of food hygiene laws. They're based on healthy ideas - Jews don't eat pork because threadworm was a threat back in biblical times; they don't eat seafood because unless it's fresh it can make you ill. Do I look unhealthy? My kids eat well. I eat well. You get fat Italian mamas and slim ones. Don't blame the cuisine!

 

See Denise Phillips' recipes here

What is Date on a Plate? Find out here

Visit www.jewishcookery.com for more ideas on Jewish cuisine 

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