Sharon Lurie - Cooking with the Kosher Butchers Wife

Thanking people is always the most difficult part of any project completed, not because its hard to say thank you, not because you may forget somebody, but because everyone youve come into contact with during your life, whether good or bad, has had some hand in bringing you to where you are today. However, there are a few people who do stand out with regard to this book.

To my soul mate and incredible husband Ian and our four very precious and special gifts, Baruch, Darren, Ryan and Eden. You are the very essence of my being, the ones who have given me the tools to create this book, and for that I thank you.

To the most unbelievably creative photographer in town, Michael Smith (who just happens to be my brother too!), thank you for allowing me to peep into your professional world of photography, an experience I shall never forget. You are a whizz kid, but didnt we always know that?

To my creative team Rod, Graham, Steph and Lauren (brothers and sisters too!), your invaluable support gave me the faith to transcend all limitations may the laughter linger on forever! To my sister-in-law Brenda, who physically pushed me into the publishers office look where I am a year later!

Finally to my mother and mother-in-law, Nanna Jill and Bobba Roch, your unconditional love and encouragement have allowed me to follow a path in life I never thought I could.

The author and publishers would like to thank the following for the loan of their homeware products: Monsoon, Gently Worn, Mad about House, Classy Junk, Rustic Rose, Congo Joe, Lucky Fish, Grand and Grotty, @home, Die Ossewa and La Grange.

Published in 2006 by Struik Publishers, now Struik Lifestyle (an imprint of Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd)

Company Reg. No. 1966/003153/07

Wembley Square, Solan Road, Gardens, Cape Town 8001

PO Box 1144, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa

www.randomstruik.co.za

Copyright in published edition: Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd 2006

Copyright in text: Sharon Lurie 2006

Copyright in photographs: Michael Smith 2006

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and the copyright holders.

PUBLISHING MANAGER: Linda de Villiers

MANAGING EDITOR: Cecilia Barfield

EDITOR: Irma van Wyk

DESIGNER: Beverley Dodd

PHOTOGRAPHER: the redheads studio Michael Smith

STYLISTS: Natalie Bell, Annaleze Behr and Lauren Weiner

PROOFREADER AND INDEXER: Joy Clack

ISBN 9781770072961 (Print)

ISBN 9781432301637 (Epub)

ISBN 9781432301644 (PDF ebook)

So you thought that being the butchers wife would mean an endless supply of the best cuts of meat wrong! Its that same old story, the shoemaker goes without shoes you know the rest.

The first lesson I learnt, marrying into a fourth-generation family of butchers, was that the popular kosher cuts such as Scotch fillet, lamb chops and veal schnitzel would never make it onto our table. These were for the customers and it was not negotiable. So if it wasnt one of the popular cuts it either landed up on our table or it was made into polony!

After 25 years of experimenting, creating and improvising, I feel confident enough to finally dispel the old myth that because we can only eat from the forequarter we are limited to tough, dry and boring meat! Kosher meat is of the highest grade and quality and hopefully with the notes, tips and recipes in this book, youll never have to be nervous about trying something new.

This book contains a collection of the thumbs up recipes from the most critical bunch around (sons and brothers can be rather harsh) and any previous misconceptions about kosher meat will finally be shechted (slaughtered)!

Cooking with kosher meat doesnt mean we cant be creative. Lamb shanks dont have to be burnt offerings on a Seder plate and poor ol beef shin doesnt have to be a piece of meat bobbing around in a soup pot. It, too, can be uplifted to its full potential as Italian osso buco. Whether its meaty bones, mince or brisket, each and every cut on the forequarter has its own unique flavour and texture and there is most certainly life after Scotch fillet!

Cooking with kosher meat is no different from cooking with any other meat. If its French cuisine you fancy, or tantalising Thai youre trying, making it with kosher meat should be no different. With the ever-increasing kosher products and non-dairy alternatives continually being added to the list of ingredients, we just dont have any more excuses. Almost every kosher caterer in South Africa and elsewhere in the world is able to keep up with the times by offering every type of cuisine imaginable at their functions.

This recipe book contains only meat (fleischik) and non-dairy (parev) recipes. There are a few reasons for this. The dietary laws of keeping kosher forbids the eating of dairy products and meat together. A six-hour period should elapse before dairy can be eaten after meat. Therefore, all desserts, after eating a meat meal, may not contain any milk or dairy products whatsoever.

Most of my family are lactose intolerant (allergic to milk and dairy products) and this, together with a couple of other allergies conveniently thrown in, makes meat and non-dairy products the only option in our home. And as for fish well, my children believe fish look better in ponds than on plates! Besides which I married a butcher and not a fishmonger!

My friend Liora always said: God knew what He was doing when He gave you a butcher for a husband if my family had all these eating problems they would have lived on apples!

So, with all this in mind and the convenience of being a butchers wife with a limited supply of meat, was there ever an option anyway?

Kosher is not a cooking style but rather a lifestyle.

The life of a Jewish person is supposed to be governed by Torah Law, yet most husbands beg to differ, feeling theirs is governed by their mothers-in-law!

Although they may have a positive effect on our health the dietary laws, of course its a fallacy that they are based on health or hygiene. We adhere to them purely because we are told to. This affirmation of faith provides a diet for the soul as well as for the body. I suppose your mother-in-law could lay claim to that too!

There are many areas of concern in the field of Kashrut, but for the purposes of this book we will be dealing mainly with meat recipes and, because of the prohibitions of mixing milk and meat together, the non-dairy substitutes where applicable.

OK, so lets start exploring the forequarter .