Fress: Bold Flavors from a Jewish Kitchen

by Emma Spitzer

Fress, in Yiddish, means: "to eat copiously and without restraint". BBC1 Masterchef finalist Emma Spitzer brings together a melting pot of Middle-Eastern and Eastern European flavors with this contemporary Jewish cookbook. Big on flavor and spice, this is happy, sociable food to feed the soul.

Emma's style of cooking is unfussy and uncomplicated, extracting the maximum taste from the humblest of ingredients without spending hours in the kitchen. Her melting pot of inspiration embraces Poland and Russia, Jewish recipes learned from her mother, travels in Israel, Egypt, Jordan and North Africa, as well as Algerian recipes shared by her mother-in-law.

From Slow-cooked Moroccan Chutney to Duck with Black Za'atar and Puy Lentils, Baharat Spiced Chicken to Apricot and Orange Blossom Frangipane, these recipes are packed with punchy flavors and aromatic spices. Emma also includes delicious family recipes, from Grandpa 'Bugga's' Turkey Schnitzel to Mummy's Golden Chicken Soup.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Judaism, Jewish

240 pages, Hardcover

Published April 4, 2017

Reviews

[Stephen Robert Collins]

BBC's Masterchef first came out back in 1980s with Lloyd Grossman Produced by Janet Street Porter, with guest stars like late Ronnie Corbett who couldn't eat prawns. Like Bullseye was Sunday institution then came back in mid 1990s with Gary Rhodes then in 2004 as big competition it is today. With other versions such as Masterchef USA, India, Australia too.
This an author of cook that proves that don't have to win to win. This another interesting Cookbook on specific subject this time it is subject not meany cookbooks on Jewish food.

[Maya Panika]

Written by a MasterChef finalist, this is not what I would call a specifically Jewish cookbook as such (what is?) but a book packed with family recipes gleaned and adapted from a myriad Jewish communities and varied cultures - Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Algeria and Russia and Poland too. It starts out with a chapter on store cupboard ingredients - the spices, oils and other ingredients you’ll need to work with the recipes in this book, followed by recipes for spice mixes: za’atar, harissa, dukkah and Lebanese 7 spice mix. Then come small, meze dishes, soups, meat and fish, vegetable-based main dishes, dressings, pickles and sauces, sides and salads and finally sweets and baking, including cakes, but no breads (which seems an odd omission).
Most of the recipes are fairly straightforward and the ones I’ve tried have been really quite delicious - like the caramelised butternut squash with whipped feta and zhoug (a green coriander and parsley relish) (p. 178) which would be pretty spicy of you used the full tablespoon of chilli as directed. I’m afraid I’m far too much of a wuss for that and only used half a teaspoon and that was fine for me). The fennel and potato latkes with lemon and chive aioli (p. 162), a Chanukah speciality (all of the recipes have a little intro paragraph with some background to the dish) are so subtle, unusual and delicious. The almond and rose rice pudding on page 217 and the black halva ice cream (p. 201) are simply amazing. I can't wait to try more.
With 240 pages, it’s a pretty big book as recipe books go, heavy too, printed on heavy paper. The whole thing has a pleasingly high-quality feel. Nicely illustrated with plenty of photos, there’s a strong ‘family recipe-book’ theme with family photos as well as the food and a potted history of the author’s family. All in all, an interesting read and a very attractive, unusual and delicious set of recipes.

[Book Grocer]

Purchase Fress here for just $12!

The long-awaited cookbook from the Masterchef finalist, this book travels around the globe to bring you easy, simple recipes that will have your mouth watering. With bold flavours and stunning photography, you will be reaching for this book most nights of the week.

Elisa - The Book Grocer

[Philippa]

If you like Yotam Ottolenghi’s books, particularly Jerusalem, then you’ll enjoy this too! The book is full of many delicious sounding dishes - many of them vegetarian or that could easily be adapted to be so - full of flavour and spice, using familiar vegetables and ingredients in new (to me) ways. Recommended!

[Melvin Marsh]

Decent cookbooks

I’m American so each recipe I needed to convert measurements. Some of the recipes call for things simply not available around here which surprises me. I surprisingly didn’t find as many recipes here that I’d try despite being Jewish

[Gabrielle Weaver]

Loved the fact that a lot of her Masterchef recipes are included in the book

[Nez]

If you want some vegan inspiration - this is not the cook book you need.

[Karen]

Like Ottalenghi only a lot fewer ingredients and far less complicated.