EST. 2011 BY LIZ RUEVEN
Honey Za’atar Chicken: SO Millennial Kosher
Zaatar Chicken @Chanie Apfelbaum; Millennial Kosher, 2018

Honey Za’atar Chicken: SO Millennial Kosher

Chanie Apfelbaum, author of Millennial Kosher, has created a cookbook that is an inspired expression of our times. While her culinary roots are in traditional Ashkenazic flavors, she has reimagined dishes that are familiar but more globally inspired, uncomplicated without being basic and healthier without compromises.

Her cooking is trendy in the most appealing ways: broader in cultural scope, more savory than sweet and eminently doable. As a busy Mom of five, she is as focused on creating unexpected riffs on shakshuka as she is on using easy to find ingredients.

kosher ramen shakshuka
Ramen Shakshuka @Chanie Apfelbaum; Millennial Kosher, 2018

With Sukkot just days away, and the dishes from Rosh HaShanah and post Yom Kippur break fasts not yet stacked in the sideboard, I’m ready for easy, warming dishes that are as tasty as they are unfussy.

I know you’re with me! For Chanie’s Honey Roasted Za’atar Chicken with Dried Fruit, scroll down to the recipe.

Not familiar with za’atar yet? It’s a versatile, tangy Middle Eastern spice blend made of thyme, sesame seeds and sumac. The sumac lends a lemony note that brightens and balances the sweet dried fruits in this easy chicken recipe. Try it in other dishes, as Chanie recommends in the chicken recipe, below.

While we’re on chicken recipes, one of my favorites in this cookbook is for Tamarind Chicken Wings. Chanie’s love for her mother-in-law’s Syrian cooking comes through in lots of dishes, with interesting headnotes about how she’s fallen in love with so many new flavors and ingredients.

Her passion for combining Ashkenazi and Sephardi cuisines pops up again in her recipe for Moroccan Fish Cakes. Her take on seasoning a loaf of store bought gefilte fish, frying the patties and topping them with a sweet and sour chickpea laced tomato sauce is my #1 “must-try-next” starter. Her headnotes on this recipe had me laughing out loud.

Chanie includes plenty of vegetarian dishes, including Quinoa Pad Thai Bowls, Crockpot Moroccan Vegetable Stew (she prefers this do-ahead, slow cooked dish to traditional Shabbat cholent), Vegetarian Chili and Summer Berry and Feta Salad.

kosher Berry and Feta Salad
Summer Berry & Feta Salad @Chanie Apfelbaum; Millennial Kosher, 2018

Her love of Israeli and Middle Eastern ingredients is another theme weaving through this volume. Israeli Couscous Arancini, where toothsome couscous replaces labor intensive risotto in these deep fried treats, is a great time saving swap. Bookmark this one for new ideas for fried treats on Chanukah.

Plenty of desserts beckon from Chanie’s sumptuously photographed pages. Among those I’m hankering for  are Lemon Meltaways (using coconut oil) and Persimmon Fritters (cause we all need to find ways to use this under appreciated fruit).

That stated, invite me over for Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache Tart with Macaroon Crust (kosher for Pesach and gluten-free) and I will not refuse!

GREAT NEWS! WE’LL BE GIVING AWAY ONE COPY OF MILLENNIAL KOSHER NEXT WEEK SO BE SURE TO CHECK BACK AND ENTER TO WIN!

 

All photos and recipe reprinted with permission from Millennial Kosher by Chanie Apfelbaum; Artscroll/Shaar; April 2018

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xo Liz

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