When the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington looked for something that could bring together as many members as possible from the metropolitan’s diverse Jewish community, one idea immediately came to mind: food. The Jewish Food Experience, a new outreach project sponsored by the federation was launched Tuesday, with a website packed with food stories and recipes and with plans for future local events such as the Israel@65 food, wine and music festival scheduled for June.

The focus of the attractive website is mainly and deliberately local. Bloggers (including me) are all from the Greater Washington area, the stories focus on local cooks, restaurants and cafes, and there’s even a section on local Jewish food history written by the Jewish Historic Society of Greater Washington. There are listings of kosher and kosher-style restaurants, grocery stores, caterers, etc. And for Passover, the website now offers a list of the 10 favorite Passover recipes by local foodies.

The Jewish Food Experience hopes to become a model for other communities around the country and to lead the way in showing how food can bring together a community. The goal is to “reach out and bring together Jews of all ages and backgrounds around the food that we all love,” said Susan Barocas, JFE’s project director.

The project’s target audience is members of the community who are not involved in any other aspect of Jewish life, not the intellectual nor the spiritual aspect. “Our aim is to help build their connection to their own Jewish identity,” said Barocas. Jewish food and the stories and memories it evokes are a natural way to get connected to the community. The Jewish federation has in mind young professionals, families (mainly with young children) and interfaith couples as those who can benefit most from this outreach effort.

Ellen Kassoff Gray and Todd Gray, Washingtonian restaurateurs, are exactly the kind of family the project is targeting. “Todd married into Jewish food,” said Barocas and this marriage recently led to a new cookbook: The New Jewish Table - Modern Seasonal Recipes for Traditional Dishes (St. Martin’s Press, 2013), which contains Todd’s own interpretations of traditional Jewish recipes he learned from Ellen. The couple hosted JFE’s launch party at Equinox, one of the restaurants they own in the district. Chef Todd Gray and his staff laid out a breakfast buffet with dishes from the book to a house full of food journalists and bloggers from around town, included deputy editor at the Washington Post Food Section Bonnie Benwick, and Joan Nathan, both of whom are also on the JFE advisory council.

The chef demonstrated how to cure gravlax in beets, orange zest and tarragon - which was very tasty, citrusy and interesting.

One thing that was not mentioned during the launch party was the issue of kashrut. When trying to reach out to interfaith couples or to people who were not yet drawn into the Jewish world, a strict kosher content might be a drawback. On the other hand, the JFE would like to keep the website and events as inclusive as possible, open also to kosher-observant members of the community. It is something the JFE has yet to decide on.

Recipe: Beet-cured salmon gravlax

From the cookbook The New Jewish Table - Modern Seasonal Recipes for Traditional Dishes by Tood Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray

Makes 2 pounds (at least 8 thinly slices servings)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cointreau

One 2-lb. salmon fillet, with the skin on

2 cups kosher salt

2 cups sugar

2 small beets, peeled and grated (about 1 3/4 cups)

1 tablespoon toasted fennel seeds, crushed with a mortar and pestle

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves

1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cheesecloth, for wrapping, one piece about 3 feet long

Toasted bagel and cream cheese , for serving (optional)

Directions:

1. Season the salmon: Rub the cointreau over the salmon flesh. Combine the salt, sugar, beets, fennel seeds, orange zest and black pepper in a medium bowl. Unfold the cheesecloth and lay it in a shallow pan large enough to hold the salmon, centering it so the edges are free to wrap over the fish. Spoon half of the salt mixture into the pan, smoothing over the cheesecloth. Place the fish skin side down on top. Spoon the remaining salt mixture evenly over the fish, covering as much as possible.

2. Cure the salmon: Fold the cheesecloth edges up and over the fish. Place a heavy plate on top of wrapped fish and refrigerate for 24 hours.

3. Slice and serve: Remove the pan from the refrigerator. Unwrap the fish, brush aside the salt mixture, and lift the fish from the pan. Wash the fish under cold water to remove the remaining salt. Dry well with paper towels. Slice very thin, lift from the skin, and serve with toasted bagels an cream cheese.



Open gallery view Baltic rye bread with lox. Credit: Inga Vitols