There are some really wonderful pastry and baking dishes found in French, Italian, Latin, Asian and American cuisine that call for alcohol and liquors, so if you’re following a Halal diet, or you just want to eliminate alcohol from a recipe (i.e. meals for kids), I’ve come up with a list of all natural Halal substitutes for those – and the results are so delicious! You can get some of the classics in the My Halal Kitchen cookbook. Click on the chart to get the PDF, which you can download, print and hang on your fridge!
To print a copy of the chart above, click on it.Raspberry Flan in the Latin chapter of the My Halal Kitchen cookbook
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It’s a common myth that alcohol burns off completely in the cooking process. Yes, some of it does, that is true. When I was writing the My Halal Kitchen cookbook, it was an essential part of my research to gather the scientific evidence to be able to support this notion. Islamic dietary guideline dictate that alcohol and all of its byproducts are not permissible in a Halal diet, so even a small amount of it is considered najs (impure) and therefore haram, or impermissible- the complete opposite of halal. That said, I was able to find the data backed up in the USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6, which is included as a chart in my book. Below is a chart I’ve created to make it easy for you to use in dishes that call for a variety of alcoholic beverages in cooking and in making drinks- so you can have a wonderful fruity non-alcoholic mojito, pina colada and more- which is delightful and opens up a whole new world of alcohol-free dishes from Italian, Latin, French cuisine, as well as juicy mocktails. (To get my recipe for alcohol-free Pina Colada, you can find that in the My Halal Kitchen cookbook, as well). Simply click on the chart, download the PDF, print and hang it on your fridge or save it in your favorite recipe files to help you in the kitchen!
Spaghetti Carbonara from the My Halal Kitchen Cookbook – Italian Chapter
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This is my fifth and last video in a series of audio discussions about what halal means and how that affects what we put into our bodies. In this presentation, I discuss various solutions pertaining to all the issues I’ve discussed in the previous four videos and how you as a consumer can take action to empower yourself, take control of your health, your consumption decisions, and the trajectory of your family’s food choices. This content is a discussion based on the research that went into my book, My Halal Kitchen: Global Recipes, Cooking Tips and Lifestyle Inspiration which can be purchased on Amazon at https://bit.ly/2UZor3i or on Book Depository with free global shipping worldwide.
I’d love to know your thoughts, comments or any questions you might have in the section below here on my website or on my YouTube channel. Please don’t forget to subscribe to my channel for video recipes and more.
Here’s a reader question I thought everyone everyone could benefit from by answering on the site. Thank you, J. for asking!
Question: There is a recipe that I am trying/going to make. The recipe for the dough has “dry white wine” in it. How can I substitute?
Yvonne’s Answer: Dry white wine usually doesn’t have any sugar (it’s been fermented so long that the sugars have dissipated), which is why it is often used in cooking that doesn’t call for any caramelizing in a dish. To use an alcohol-free substitute, try fresh lemon juice diluted with water (about a 50-50 ratio). If you can find a sugar-free white grape juice, you can try that, too. Use the same amount in the recipe that calls for white wine.
*If you want to substitute for white wine only, you can use something like this no-alcohol, kosher-certified juice. This is a bit of a stocking up kind of purchase, but if you only wanted one bottle you might be able to find it in your local grocery store. Please be reminded that it’s important to have Halal, kosher, or vegetarian-certified juices when following a Halal diet because many apple or other juices are clarified using pork gelatin.
, I’ve also always loved the very classic French Onion Soup, or “Soupe a l’Oignon”, as the French say it.My mom made it at home a couple times but we mostly enjoyed it at some of the restaurants where I grew up eating out with my parents.
There are people who will inevitably ask about the alcohol burn-off rate during cooking. What I have found is that most scientists will agree that alcohol never completely burns off during the cooking process, which is why I choose not to start with alcohol at all, especially since I wouldn’t buy it to begin with and keep it in my house for any particular reason. Therefore, it’s also a great recipe for people who are struggling with addiction and desire to keep away from alcohol in all forms.
One other note: many chefs disregard the idea of substituting wine with juice because they say it’ll make a dish too sweet. Their answer is often to just leave out the wine and/or add chicken broth or water. I believe all these suggestions overlook the idea of the flavor profile we’re after here- in this case, it’s the grape- completely halal in it’s original state, so that’s what I’m after here. Of course if you’d rather not use the juice, that’s fine, too. In my opinion, it’s a lot more fun to cook and taste in the end by doing it with my recipe tweaks here.
Here are some of the basic ingredients I used in the dish: yellow onions (of course) because they cook more softly than white or red onions, concord grape juice (make sure it is gelatin-free), and whole wheat flour.
If you only have all-purpose flour, just use that. You’ll also need butter, olive oil, salt and pepper.
And French bread and gruyére cheese for the top of the soup- that makes ALL the difference, so please don’t skip that step!
The onions need to be slowly cooked for at least 20 minutes. Some classic recipes go even longer than this, but for the amount of onions I’ve included here, that just isn’t necessary.
You have to keep an eye on them carefully so they don’t burn. Once you add the flour, you can add a little of the juice to give it some moisture and allow the smooth blending and incorporation to take place. Essentially, you are making a roux to create thickness in the soup.
Next, you’ll add the concord grape juice. Another note about the juice. Apple juice will not be a good substitute for the grape juice here, and I don’t like it with white grape juice but that is closer than apple.
It looks quite deep in color, but the final result will not be so bright, so don’t worry. Besides, it’s only 1/2 cup of juice.
Next is the beef broth or water if you don’t have that. Lamb broth is too strong for this soup and chicken is too light and changes the flavor, in my opinion, which is why I prefer the alternatives. Beef broth is nice and rich and adds just the right depth of flavor in combination with the other ingredients.
You’ll let that cook for about 15-20 minutes. In the last few minutes, cut your bread fairly thick (1 inch is good) and put the bread under the broiler or in a toaster oven with a couple tablespoons of grated gruyére cheese on top. I don’t like my cheese cooked so much to the point of almost burning it, but if you like it that way, just keep an eye on the toasted bread and cheese and bake/broil it a little longer than I did.
Ladle the soup into bowls and place two pieces of bread into each bowl. Guests can ladle the soup over the bread or eat separately, but most people like to submerge the bread deep into the soup and break up the bread with a spoon, eating it all together.
Oh, yum, yum, yum. I may just have to make this again really soon before spring is here again and I have no excuse to warm up to a nice bowl of piping hot onion soup like this.
To get a copy of the My Halal Kitchen cookbook where you’ll find this recipe and a list of halal food resources, click on the banner below or go to Book Depository where you can also get the book shipped for free globally.
