Photos by Linda Campos

When Inna Khitrik and her son, Alex Khitrik, opened Inna’s Kitchen in Newton more than a decade ago, the Jewish emigres from the former Soviet Union realized a dream unimaginable in their earlier lives. Before they settled in Newton in 1990, the Khitrik family had observed Jewish holidays primarily through special meals shared with family. It wasn’t safe to display one’s Jewish identity in the USSR due to institutional antisemitism, Alex Khitrik recalls.

He remembers the festive meals of his childhood in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg).

Homemade gefilte fish was present at every holiday, he says. The oval-shaped orbs of ground fish, primarily carp, cooked in a broth with onions and carrots, was accompanied with very potent grated horseradish prepared with beets.

Launching Inna’s Kitchen, a catering business with a retail shop, in 2011 was a chance for the mother-son team to honor the cuisine of their heritage and offer dishes that reflect the broad diversity in Jewish foods. Local readers may remember that Inna’s Kitchen was among the first group of local food vendors selected for the Boston Public Market in 2015.

In 2018, after a transition to a larger space, Inna’s Kitchen Culinaria reopened on Commonwealth Avenue in Newton Center, its current home. It is now owned solely by the 40-year-old Alex. Inna has stepped into the position of kitchen manager for The Women’s Lunch Place, a Boston area nonprofit for vulnerable women.

The reimagined kosher food business amplifies Khitrik’s desire to combine his passion for food and his socially conscious and environmentally friendly values. Notably, it boasts its gluten-free, nut-free and dairy-free kitchen, reflecting Khitrik’s continued commitment to offer food for allergy-sensitive customers.

“That’s our focus: to produce foods that enable families to eat together,” Khitrik says.

The meatless kitchen, under local kosher supervision, is certified as kosher-pareve, a kosher food category for so-called neutral foods that are neither meat nor dairy. Khitrik favors locally sourced products and environmentally sustainable practices including using containers and labels that are curbside compostable.

Seasonal produce, including rhubarb for their scrumptious strawberry-rhubarb pie, comes from Ward’s Berry Farm and fish is from Captain Marden’s. The cacao nibs in their nut-free cinnamonsugar babka is from Sueños Chocolates in Watertown.

What else is on the menu?

There’s a wide array of soups, salads, fish entrees and pot pies. Many items are frozen; fresh prepared foods and allergy-friendly baked goods are available on Thursdays and Fridays; preordering is advised. The signature dish is shakalatkes, sold as a take-home kit. It’s a tantalizing global fusion of Eastern European Ashkenazi-style potato latkes served with shakshuka tomato sauce, rooted in North Africa and part of Jewish Sephardic cuisine. Khitrik suggests serving with eggs, any style.

As spring emerges, Inna’s will convert its kitchen to offer kosher-for-Passover catering. Gefilte fish, made with a blend of ground salmon and cod, is always a sellout for the holiday, served with Inna’s homemade horseradish with beets. They’ll offer gluten-free fluffy matzo balls with a flavorful vegetable broth. Tzimmes, a slow-cooked stew of sweet potatoes, carrots and dried fruits, is another popular staple on their Passover menu. Khitrik is still weighing the options for the sweet dessert selections; coconut macaroons are most likely, he says. But he’s considering a gluten-free chocolate-dipped and caramel-style matzo bark, sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

innaskitchen.com
547 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton

This story appeared in the Spring 2024 issue.