36 | FEBRUARY 29 • 2024 
J
N

L

et me begin by introducing 
myself. I’m a new regular 
writer for the Detroit Jewish 
News, and I’m excited that each 
month I’ll be sharing recipes that 
I’ve vetted. Don’t hesitate to reach 
out if there are par-
ticular recipes you 
would like to see.
While it’s still a 
few weeks away, 
before you know it, 
Purim will be here. 
The holiday of 
Purim is associated 
with several food-
based mitzvot, including giving 
gifts of food and enjoying a festive 
meal on Purim afternoon, as well 
as a number of traditional foods. 
While hamantashen are the 
most ubiquitous Purim food 
here in the U.S., they are cer-
tainly not the only one. Other 
traditional foods from around 
the world are characterized by a 
few key themes: representations 
of Haman, the holiday’s villain; 
foods with hidden fillings, rep-
resenting the hidden identities 
that exist in the Purim story; and 
foods with legumes and seeds, 
representing the diet of Esther, 
the holiday’s heroine, who, legend 
has it, was trying to maintain her 
observance of Jewish dietary laws 
while also concealing her Jewish 
identity.
This legend of Esther really 
resonated with me, especially 
in these current times. Food 
is a source of nutrition, but it 
is also a representation of our 
identity, both in private and in 
public. In college, I lived abroad 
for a semester in Brussels and a 
semester in Hong Kong. Keeping 
kashrut during those journeys 
meant that I couldn’t eat all the 
local delicacies, and it was a con-
stant reminder to myself that I 
was different and, in particular, 
that I was Jewish. While it wasn’t 
always convenient to make my 
way across the city on public 

transportation to procure kosher 
meat, it reminded me and those 
around me of who I was.
In recent months, we’ve seen 
an increase in antisemitic acts, 
which Jews have responded to in 
different ways. On the one hand, 
we might feel empowered to 
publicly show our Jewish identity 
by wearing kippot or Jewish star 
necklaces or other items. On the 
other hand, we might feel that it 
is not safe to do so. Both of these 
feelings are valid, and we can per-
haps look to Esther as a model for 
how to balance these competing 
feelings.
In honor of Esther, I share a 
number of legume- and seed-
based recipes. I hope you are able 
to enjoy these recipes and reflect 
on how your choices reflect your 
identity and what that means for 
how you want to be seen in the 
world. I also hope they provide a 
nice balance to any abundance of 
hamantashen you might be enjoy-
ing for the holiday! 

CREAMY LENTIL 
VEGETABLE SOUP 
Adapted from Beth Moncel, 
Budget Bytes 
Makes 4 servings 
Pareve

Ingredients

16 oz. mushrooms, rinsed and thickly 

sliced 

2 tbsp. cooking oil 

3 carrots, diced 

3 ribs celery, diced 

1 yellow onion, diced 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

½ tsp. dried thyme 

½ tsp. rubbed sage 

½ tsp. dried rosemary 

1 c. brown lentils

3 c. vegetable broth 

1 (13.5-oz.) can full-fat coconut milk 

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions 
Add the mushrooms to a large 
soup pot or Dutch oven along 

Legume- and seed-based 
recipes for Purim.

Food for
Thought

Joelle 
Abramowitz
Contributing 
Writer

FOOD

