The Italian-Kosher Cookbook
By Ruth and Bob Grossman
Galahad Books, 1973
When I first saw this book, I thought it was a gag book, but
a quick look showed that while it is humorous, it's actually quite useful for
those wanting Italian food that conforms to Kosher rules. A follow-up to the
Grossman's Chinese-Kosher Cookbook, it
follows the same pattern of adapting classic dishes of one cuisine to meet
dietary laws while maintaining respect for the initial cuisine
Chock full of puns and Yiddishims, the book is funny--but
the humor can pall after a bit. Every single title has a pun or joke or two. It
gently lampoons a certain kind of Jewishness--that of the New Yorker immigrant
and its second-generation. Full of bubelehs, schlmiels, and nudniks this is an enjoyable light read.
The recipes are supposedly the creation of "Grandma
Slipakoff", who peppers her recipes with constructions like:
"…an artist you should be in the kitchen."
"This will make plenty for 4-5 people and maybe tonight
you'll skip yourself the dessert."
By turns nostalgic, silly, and practical, the recipes look
like they work, though they might be a little under-seasoned--but not
atypically so for its publication date. For example, the Lasagne Spinaci
Mazeldik is a straight-forward cheese and spinach lasagne, but is considered
"spicy" despite having only 2 cloves of garlic, and a few tablespoons
of basil, parsley and oregano. Oddly, it also calls for a cup of breadcrumbs to
thicken the tomato sauce. That's
going to be one solid lasagne.
Other recipe titles that caught my eye:
Stuffed Eggplant Indigestione
Qvelling Cod Filets
Gefilte Fish Fra Diavolo
Um Gepahtch Kid Matzoh Brei Parmigiana
Since Italian cuisine values vegetables and grains, as well
as having a rich Jewish history, creating Kosher dishes isn't too difficult.
I'd like to see how the Grossmans handled shrimp and pork dishes in their
preceding work or the omnipresence of butter in the book that followed on
Kosher French cuisine. I'll keep an eye out for both at the next book sale.
