March 28, 2002 - From The Jewish
Exponent, Brian Mono
Judging from the full tables on Sunday, the Gershman Y ought to consider serving brunch every weekend.
About 100 people waited patiently in line for a vegetarian, kosher, buffet-style brunch prepared by chefs from the famous Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, N.Y., and the Philadelphia-based Peachtree & Ward Catering company. The event was part of the annual "Book and the Cook" series sponsored by KitchenAid.
The emphasis at this particular palatable affair was on Sephardic foods, highlighted by a smokey, custard frittata with sweet potato and zucchini (see following recipe), which Jon and Lori Weinrott of Peachtree & Ward Catering prepared individually in disposable six-ounce cupcake tins, rather than a larger baking pan.
The 17-year old Peachtree & Ward Catering began offering kosher food only last year, after the Weinrotts purchased Catered Affairs, a local catering company that receives kosher supervision from Rabbi Joseph Toledano, religious leader of Congregation Mekor Baruch in Merion Station.
Participants also dipped into a simple Moroccan-spiced salmon with cumin, served with yogurt-tahini dressing; an orzo salad with olives and feta cheese; an Israeli couscous served with a sweet dressing, dates and currants; and a standard Israeli salad - with just a dash of zatar.
The beverage table featured a pitcher of Peachtree's own syrupy-sweet peach bellinis, as well as kosher-for-passover champagne from Kedem, which many participants mixed with orange juice to create individual mimosas.
As vegetarian chefs, Moosewood Restaurant co-owners David Hirsch and Sara Robbins say they find Sephardic cuisine more interesting to prepare not only because it's more "exotic," but because there are a greater variety of ingredients to work with.
"Sephardic Jews lived in a part of the world with more exposure to all kinds of vegetables," explained Hirsch - foods like peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, olives and pine nuts. Eastern European Jews, on the other hand, were often limited to potatoes, carrots, turnips and parsnips, tough tubers that could survive the harsh winters.
When Hirsch and Robbins stepped up to the display table to make a dish, they gave the audience step-by-step instructions on how to prepare an olive tapenade.
Why that particular choice?
"After all," said Hirsch, "everybody's got a recipe for potato kugel."
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