Catering to a wide audience

Haredi cooking maven Efrat Libfroind rejects the notion that her beautifully illustrated new cookbook is too intricate for the average working parent. If you don't have time, 'don't make the scallion curls,' she says

By ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN
Efrat Libfroind 311 (photo credit: Courtesy of Feldheim)
Efrat Libfroind 311
(photo credit: Courtesy of Feldheim)
One might assume that a Jerusalem kollel wife with six children would not have the time or wherewithal to assemble mini-deli sandwiches on homemade bread with aioli sauce, or to fashion intricate salmon mousse and roasted pepper rollups – let alone write and direct the production of a coffee-table cookbook in Hebrew and English versions. But one would be wrong.
Efrat Libfroind, author of the new Feldheim Publishers books Efrat Libfroind Magisha and the English translation Kosher Elegance: The Art of Cooking with Style, says the secret is using everyday staples in creative ways.
“Except for the desserts, everything in the book has simple ingredients, nothing crazy; fish, meat, fresh vegetables,” she says. “I think everyone can follow the steps. The difference is the presentations. You can serve a beautiful dish without putting in too much effort, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Whether or not everyone who peruses this book for its sheer beauty would agree that the recipes are as effortless as Libfroind claims, clearly many other haredi women are eager to give them a try. After the English version came out in May, large audiences came to Libfroind’s demonstrationsignings in East Coast Orthodox enclaves such as Borough Park and Crown Heights in Brooklyn, Monsey in suburban New York and Lakewood, New Jersey.
“We had an event for 900 ladies in Crown Heights,” reports Libfroind, speaking on the phone at 9 p.m., after the youngest of her two- to 18-year-old brood was settled for the night. “About 7,000 people have bought the book in Hebrew and English, and it’s already in its third edition in Hebrew. I know it’s gorgeous, but I want to hear that people tried the recipes and they were successful. We worked hard to make everything exact, with detailed directions.”
Fourteen years ago, as a 24-year-old mother of two, Libfroind took several baking courses while summering in New York with her family. At the time, she was reluctantly earning a living teaching seventh-grade boys, hoping one day to be in business for herself.
“Those courses gave me the push to go into this world, and I came back to Israel a different person,” she says in fluent English, the result of summers at Camp Hedva in the States, and private language lessons that her sabra parents insisted upon.
Thinking of it as a business investment, Libfroind scraped together the cash for serious culinary courses in Spain, France, Germany and Italy – despite the fact that they were not kosher.
“I couldn’t taste anything ever, and sometimes I was the only Jewish student in the class. At the beginning, it was hard, especially going around the world and being pregnant or nursing most of the time, but as I grew older it was much easier, and it brought me to where I am today.”
Where she is today encompasses much more than her new books. Now a professional pastry chef, Libfroind teaches six culinary courses every week at a continuing education institute primarily for teachers on sabbatical. Located in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Geula, the institute doubles as her test kitchen.
“I’ve been teaching for years – hundreds of ladies every week – so my recipes are tried and true,” she says. A few new ones were tested out with friends and family.
She organized the 115 recipes not by course or food type, but in groupings labeled “Sophistication,” “Occasions,” “Brunch,” “Hors D’oeuvres,” “Layers,” “Simplicity,” “Sushi,” “Temptation” and “Chocolate,” the last two devoted to desserts. Every recipe occupies its own folio, directions on the left and depiction of the results – styled by Rafael Zuraivin and photographed by Shiran Carmel – on the right.
“I had been dreaming about a book for years, and this is what I wanted it to look like,” she says. “There are thousands of cookbooks, and I wanted mine to be totally different and fun.”
No time, no artistic ability? She’ll have none of that.
“So don’t make the scallion curls,” she says. “You don’t have to follow the directions 100 percent. People send me pictures of how they adapted my recipes – doctors and lawyers, busy ladies, not ladies who stand in the kitchen all day.”
She’s gotten feedback from incredulous professional chefs in Israel, who are predominantly male. “They don’t believe a frum lady wrote this book – they think I must be hozeret b’teshuva [a recent returnee to the faith]. I did grow up in Tel Aviv, but I’m a dosit regila [ordinary religious woman].”
She regularly contributes recipes to Binah magazine in the States and Hamodia, Israel’s English-language haredi newspaper.
She doesn’t let it bother her too much that Hamodia’s policy on women’s images does not allow her photo to be shown on its pages, content to have the attention focused on her creations.
What’s next for Libfroind? “I am planning to perhaps open a patisserie and to write a second book, a concept book,” she reveals.
AVOCADO-SALMON SUSHI
The original version of this sushi recipe calls for seaweed and raw fish.
Many people are intimidated by these unfamiliar ingredients, but I love the combination of avocado and sushi and didn’t want to pass it up entirely. The compromise: a recipe that is similar to the original, minus the intimidating ingredients.
For authentic sushi, purchase sushi rice or risotto rice. These types of rice have a higher starch content than other varieties, making them sticky and easier to roll in sushi. The recipe also contains a mixture of vinegar and sugar, which makes the rice even stickier and prevents it from falling apart when slicing the rolls. Don’t skip this important step!
2 firm, ripe avocados
Rice: 2 cups sushi rice or risotto rice 2 cups boiling water 3 Tbsp. oil 4 Tbsp. vinegar 2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. sugar
Salmon: 2 slices fresh skinless salmon fillets 2 Tbsp. oil 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 pinch paprika 1 pinch salt 1 tsp. soy sauce
Filling: 1–2 carrots, julienned 1 firm, ripe avocado, cut into long strips (optional)
Rice: Heat oil in a pot. Rinse rice in a strainer, add to pot, and saute for a few minutes. Add water and cook until all the water is completely absorbed. The resulting rice should be sticky. Heat vinegar with salt and sugar in a small pot.
Cook until boiling and add to rice. Let rice mixture cool.
Salmon: Cut salmon fillets through their width, creating two thinner rectangles.
Cut each rectangle into 3 long strips.
Saute strips in a frying pan with oil, garlic, paprika, salt, and soy sauce for 4 minutes.
Avocado: Spread a sheet of plastic wrap over your work surface. Peel the 2 avocados, and then use a peeler to “peel” the fruit itself, creating long, thin strips.
Arrange the slices, overlapping, on the plastic wrap to form two 3 x 5 inch (8 x 12 cm.) rectangles.
Spread a thin layer of rice over one of the avocado rectangles. In the center, place a carrot stick and a sauteed salmon strip. If using avocado strips, place one next to the carrot and salmon. Roll up the avocado with the help of the plastic wrap and seal tightly shut. Repeat the process with the remaining avocado rectangle.
Freeze rolls for half an hour and cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm.) slices.
Tip: To make sushi-rolling easier, you can purchase a very inexpensive sushi mat at specialty cooking stores. Spread the plastic wrap over the mat and follow the instructions above.
Makes 2 small roll-ups, 6 slices per roll-up