New cookbook shares Minnesota immigrants’ stories of survival and resilience

There are recipes representing 32 countries in a new cookbook, and the authors have the pantries to prove it. The Peruvian pepper paste aji panca, timur peppercorns from Nepal, Vietnamese ngo gai or culantro, black jeera seeds for lamb biryani — they’re all a new part of their cooking repertoire now.

A trio of authors — two lawyers and the former Star Tribune Taste editor — interviewed immigrants to Minnesota and compiled their recipes into a keepsake collection that tells the stories of their journeys through food. “Kitchens of Hope: Immigrants Share Stories of Resilience and Recipes From Home,” is out June 17 from University of Minnesota Press.

“The most fun part, when we were testing recipes, is all the spices that we were using and the ones we were unfamiliar with that we were becoming accustomed to — you know, your kitchen just smells fabulous," said Lee Svitak Dean, one of the authors and the former Star Tribune food editor.

Dean joined her sister, Linda S. Svitak, and Christin Jaye Eaton to pen “Kitchens of Hope,” with photos by former Star Tribune photographer Tom Wallace.

The book has recipes for Mexican mole verde, Hmong chicken soup, Ukrainian pirozhki, Pakistani khichdi, Mongolian buuz (dumplings), among many others. But it’s not just measurements and detailed instructions on folding sambusas or stuffing cabbage rolls; each recipe comes from a person with a story to tell about how, and why, they came to the United States.

Svitak, a retired trial lawyer, and Eaton, an attorney who has done pro bono work for cases involving immigrant status, were colleagues at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, and both became involved with the Minnesota nonprofit the Advocates for Human Rights.

Many of the immigrants featured in “Kitchens of Hope” came to the authors through the Advocates for Human Rights, and the book’s proceeds will go to that organization, which provides free legal help to asylum seekers and people who have been subjected to human rights abuses.

Svitak has volunteered with the organization for more than a decade, and a colleague brought up the idea of writing a cookbook about the people the organization had helped.

“That’s an interesting idea,” Svitak thought, “but not something you do alone.”

She turned to her sister, who, in addition to writing about food for four decades at the Star Tribune, is the author of “Come One, Come All” and co-author of “The Ultimate Minnesota Cookie Book.”

“It was kind of remarkable,” Svitak said about working with Dean. “We both have our own spheres that we have expertise in, and I have always admired her writing and her creativity, but I don’t really see how the sausage is made, how you think about how to style a plate or how to make something, or all the things that go into a cookbook. To see it in real time, face-to-face, I thought it was really special.”

It turned out that Svitak and Eaton’s skill sets in the legal realm were equally suited to cookbook writing.

“I’m always amazed by how much legal writing does actually make you a better creative writer,” Eaton said. “And for the stories, you know, we interview people for a living in a sense. You’re asking questions of people, listening to their answers and figuring out how to translate what they told you in a way that’s accessible to others.”

The book is organized not by cuisine or course, but by the themes of the stories the contributors have shared: community, resilience, opportunity, justice, hope and celebration.

While some of the contributors are well known restaurant chefs in the Twin Cities (Oro by Nixta’s Gustavo and Kate Romero, Vinai’s Yia Vang), the majority are what the authors describe as “everyday people,” home cooks who carry on their family histories through food.

“People came here with hope and they brought with them many, many contributions, not the least of which is all the food traditions, and that’s what we wanted to tap into,” Dean said.

Many of people featured in the book had harrowing stories about leaving their homes and arriving in the United States. Those needed to be handled with care, the authors said.

“We wanted to show the face of immigration, because that’s not one that is really shared. We see a very packaged impression of immigration, much of which is negative,” Svitak said.

“There’s a tendency not to know the people behind the immigration numbers, so this was an opportunity to give voice to those individuals to tell their stories in a way that some of them had never been asked before,” Dean added.

Some of the stories were ultimately too sensitive to publish.

“We had some beautiful, compelling stories where people decided they weren’t comfortable being in the book, people fleeing some type of danger or violence,” Eaton said.

But food was always the throughline.

“Some people on their travels, they had nothing with them except their recipes in their hearts and their minds,” Svitak said.

For all the challenges and uncertainty conveyed in these stories, there are also joys of flavor, memory, nourishment and above all, comfort.

“We asked people specifically for recipes that evoked home, so we got the really special ones, the one their grandma made when it was a special day, or the pozole or the pho for the big family gathering,” Eaton said.

The contributors “knew instantly” which recipes they wanted to share in the book, Dean said. “They fell into that comfort food category, and then also the celebration food. Those are the big moments in people’s lives.”

By: Linda S. Svitak, Christin Jaye Eaton and Lee Svitak Dean, with photos by Tom Wallace.

Publisher: Available June 17 from University of Minnesota Press ($29.95).

About: Immigrants share their stories of resilience and food from their homeland. More than 32 countries are represented through 60 recipes.

Book launch: Join the authors for a talk and book signing June 21 from 5-7 p.m. at Norway House, 913 E. Franklin Av., Mpls. Tickets are free but registration is requested, as space is limited; register at z.umn.edu/62125

Serves 6.

Note: This recipe is from Alena Levina, who emigrated from Belarus. Plan ahead because this soup definitely improves if it is refrigerated for at least several hours before serving. Hard-cook the eggs in advance, if using for a garnish. For the cucumbers, peel the skins if they are too thick. Alena suggests that small cucumbers with thinner skins, usually available only at farmers markets, are preferred. “They’re so crunchy, I feel like they make this dish better.” From “Kitchens of Hope,” by Linda S. Svitak, Christin Jaye Eaton and Lee Svitak Dean (University of Minnesota Press, 2025).

Directions

To make hard-cooked eggs: Place the eggs in a small pan, cover with water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat, cover the pan, and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain the water and add cold water, repeating until the eggs have cooled. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the soup: Scrub the beets and cut off the greens (you can save the greens for another dish). Place the beets in a pot, cover them generously with water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook the beets until just soft, about 30 to 40 minutes. Drain and discard the water and let the beets cool. To peel them easily, push firmly near the top end of the beet and the skin should slide off. You may want to use kitchen gloves to keep your fingers from getting stained.

In a large bowl or pot, combine the kefir (or buttermilk) with 5 cups water. Grate the beets (there should be about 2 cups) and add to the kefir mixture. Add salt and sugar, then the onions, dill and cucumbers. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.

To serve the soup: Divide the chilled soup into bowls. Garnish with fresh dill, a dollop of sour cream, radish slices, and/or croutons. Peel the hard-cooked eggs and slice them in half. Garnish each bowl with half of an egg.

Serves 2.

Note: This recipe is from Alya Jawaid, who was born in the United States but was raised in Pakistan, where her father was from. For this recipe, plan ahead, as the lentils and rice need to soak for 30 minutes. Moong lentils are also called moon dal on some packaging. Garam masala is a spice mixture of at least eight elements, widely available. From “Kitchens of Hope,” by Linda S. Svitak, Christin Jaye Eaton and Lee Svitak Dean (University of Minnesota Press, 2025).

Directions

Rinse and soak the lentils and rice together for at least 30 minutes. In the meantime, warm the vegetable oil or ghee in a large pot over medium heat and sauté the onions until soft. Add the cumin seeds and sauté for 30 seconds.

Drain the water from the lentil and rice mixture, and add the mixture to the onions with salt to taste. Add the ground cumin and garam masala, if using. Sauté the mixture for a bit, then add 1 cup water or chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and let the mixture simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more liquid if the mixture is sticking or if the water evaporates before your desired consistency is reached.

When done, serve family-style with a bowl of Greek yogurt, your favorite kind of pickles, mango relish or Green Mint Chutney, and a salad of thinly sliced cucumbers and tomatoes dressed with lemon juice.

Makes about 1 cup.

Directions

To toast cumin seeds, warm them in a dry pan over low heat until fragrant.

In a blender, process the mint, cilantro, jalapeño, lemon juice, salt, garlic and toasted cumin seeds until the mixture is smooth and velvety. Taste and adjust the salt and lemon juice as needed. Serve over Khichdi or other dishes.