I love to read cookbooks, food magazines, and cooking web sites for inspiration. Frequently the recipes featured will be totally unsuitable for the Jewish kitchen. It may be a prohibited item (like shellfish or pork), or a dish that mixes meat and dairy.
I want to state upfront that I do not keep kosher and I’m not super strict with my diet, but I do have a typical Jewish palate and certain Gentile dishes just don’t appeal to me.
My solution has been to take these recipes and adapt them to suit my own tastes. Here are some things that have worked well:
1. Substitute
If a dish calls for a prohibited meat, substitute another. I once saw a recipe for a pineapple/cherry ham. It was very eye-catching and I figured by using chicken I could take the basic idea and still enjoy it. I don’t know how the ham tasted, but my chicken version was awesome!
2. Separate
Simply separate the meat and the dairy, so each person can mix what they like at the table. Let’s take burgers for instance. All of the burgers would be cooked plain, and those who like cheese can add it later without upsetting those who do not. This tip works especially well if you’re part of an Interfaith family.
3. Swap Dairy for Parve
Most casseroles aren’t suitable for the Jewish kitchen, due to the meat/cheese mix. By swapping cow milk products for parve ones, you can safely enjoy the recipe. Any of these items would work in place of regular milk and/or cheese:
* Soy
* Rice
* Almond
* Coconut
If you’re baking, most recipes that call for butter can be made successfully with oil.
4. Remake a classic
Remove the meat/sausage from a traditional lasagna and it’s still good as a plain dairy version. Clam chowder can be turned into a tasty salmon or cod chowder. “Lobster” salad can be made with any mild white fish mixed with tomato juice. Supposedly, there’s even kosher bacon.
Obviously, if you keep strictly kosher, these ideas may not go far enough. They will, however, help most members of the Jewish community that want to eat “Jewish” in the modern world.
I love this list you put together. I am more strict with my kosher (my kitchen is completely separated), so your step 2. would not work for me, but I definitely do the other three and it makes using non-kosher recipes much easier.
This is a fabulous list of tips. As you know, I don’t keep strict kosher, but we do keep kosher-style by abstaining from pork, shellfish, and mixing meat and dairy. I’ve subbed chicken in where most recipes call for pork and have started serving burgers with hummus or avocado spread instead of cheese. It makes so many more recipes accessible for the Jewish table!