Do-ahead dishes:
Pepper your menu with dishes you can make in advance. Shabbas Recipes member, Della Groer’s tip is to serve salads that you can make on Wednesday and Thursday nights.” Salads with a grain or roasted-vegetable base are perfect for this. Just hold the dressing until Friday.
Spitzer makes dishing up her meal easier by serving a couple of room-temperature salads instead of hot veggies, so only the meat and potatoes need to be served last minute. She also does all her meat prep in advance: “Meat is always better marinaded the day before, so I leave it ready to just roast.”
Anne Shooter, author of cookery books Sesame and Spice and Cherish, and another working mum, gets some of her veggies done: “Some sides are even better when reheated and save the hassle of last-minute veg boiling. I particularly like roasted vegetable ratatouille or green beans cooked in a garlicky tomato sauce. Make the day before, then simmer until piping-hot or re-heat in the oven.”
Do-ahead soup and sweets:
Any soup tastes better if made the day before, so always make yours on Thursday,” says Spitzer. “If I’m making chicken soup, I put the lokshen and matzah balls and shredded chicken in the soup bowls ready to just ladle over the soup before serving, makes dishing up so much quicker.
“I have a couple of favourite desserts which get made in advance — my crème brûlée-style noodle kugel and this delicious chocolate fondant.”
Feed the freezer:
The freezer is your friend. A huge number of us rely on it to store a range of raw and cooked dishes. When you are making recipes like soups; matzah balls; challah; cakes and kugels, cook a double quantity and freeze half.
Swap food with a friend:
Groer’s second top tip is to swap food with a friend. “She would make extra dessert and I would make extra side dishes.” I loved this idea — half the work, twice the food!
Stick to staples:
Another popular tip with the group was to stick with familiar dishes. Carrie Bornstein from Massachusetts in the US, recommends finding a few easy, low-effort dishes: “Don’t be afraid to repeat them — often!” Rotate a list of dishes you could make in your sleep.
One-pan meals are also popular with the Shabbas Recipe mavens. Stacey Hart is also a one-pan fan: “I love slow-roasting and one-pan dishes because they are real crowd-pleasers and are super easy to throw together with minimum room for error.”
Helen Goldrein who writes a kosher food blog, Family Friends Food, sticks to a Shabbat formula. “Friday night is protein (usually fish in our house) veg and potatoes. I can do it with my eyes shut and know how long everything takes, so I don’t get caught out at the last minute.”
Super simple starter
“Spread shop-bought hummus on to a platter and top (artfully, if you can) with roasted artichoke hearts and pepper; olives; pomegranate seeds; pine kernels; chopped tomatoes; sliced avocado and perhaps some fried mushrooms.” says Shooter. “
You can even add heated, shop-bought chicken shawarma.
Such an impressive starter and virtually labour free!
Cheats always prosper:
I’m a fan of mixing up bought with home-made morsels and so are many of the home cooks I heard from. Bought dips make perfect partners for a mezze-style spread of dips as a starter. Kugels, pies and vegetable dishes are all popular ready-made choices to buy from kosher delicatessens and supermarkets. And no one minds fruit and ice cream, or even chocolate, for pudding. Upscale that with chocolate bark — which takes minutes — for something a little more special, if you have time.
No bake easy dessert:
Try this sweet treat from Anne Shooter. “Let a tub of parev vanilla ice cream soften, tip into a bowl, then add one of the following: smashed Lotus biscuits and Biscoff spread; smashed Bendicks mints; smashed Florentines; or smashed meringues.
“Stir well, return to the freezer and serve whenever you’re ready.”
Be inclusive:
I loved this tip from Hana Ross in Finchley, who said: “Don’t stress about offering lots of choices and if you’ve invited someone with special dietary needs like vegan or gluten free, make their ‘special’ main the same for everyone but bung in sausages or similar as a side.”
Enlist extras:
Always enlist others to help! “Don’t be shy of asking people to bring things for dinner. I regularly host friends and family and when people offer to bring something, I am always happy to allocate” says Spitzer. Just getting someone else to bring dessert can cut your workload in half.
Child labour:
Many of us forget we have a ready-made work force at home. Spitzer says: “I get the kids helping. My older two are 13 and 11 so when I am in the final throes of dinner, I get them to bathe the little ones, tidy up and put condiments on the table. Kids like helping and feeling useful (most of the time and depending on their age!)”
Leah Silverman’s three- year-old helps her make challah while her nine-year-old follows simple recipes. And if they are used to helping when they are young maybe they will become teenage cooks.
It’s not a competition:
There are no prizes for offering a wedding banquet-style buffet, and the point of Shabbat is a day of rest. Shabbas Recipes contributor, Marilyn Gillis, is 71 so has a few Shabbats under her belt. Her tip? “Your guests will love and appreciate your food and company. Enjoy— don’t kill yourself!”
