Family genealogy
The dishes
Family variations include small cigarettes or balls.
1) In bread form: I use 650g of ground beef and 350g of ground veal, which I mix together in a large bowl with 3 beaten eggs. Then I add 80g of matzo meal (matzo flour or potato starch) to this mixture. Next, I chop a whole onion and incorporate it into the meat. I season with salt and pepper and mix everything together.
I shape it into a loaf, coat each side with breadcrumbs, then place it in an oiled baking dish. I turn it over halfway through baking, after about an hour.
2) In the form of balls: it takes longer.
The preparation is the same, but instead of the "bread" shape, I make balls, which I coat with breadcrumbs and fry in a pan.
Once a crust has formed, I add them to a dish prepared beforehand:
- melt 3 to 4 sliced onions in hot oil;
- peel potatoes, either small potatoes or large potatoes cut into quarters.
I place the potatoes on the bed of onions: I cover them with a little water with coarse salt (and a beef bouillon cube).
- I place my meatballs on the potatoes, with the water just covering them.
- I cover and let it cook for an hour and a half over medium heat (3 or 4).
The potatoes are "ayngekokhts", as my mother used to say.
It is difficult to escape, on any good Ashkenazi table, the beetroot-tinted horseradish (the red one) and the "Polish-style" pickles with salt.
When we were little, we used to go shopping with our mother in Belleville.
I can still see the shopkeepers, as if it were yesterday, on Rue de la Présentation and Rue Louis Bonnet.
The bakery where they sold "khalleh" and "yiddishe Broit", this brown bread topped with cumin seeds, and cakes, including Kouglof.
Opposite was the grocer with his barrels of brine filled with large gherkins.
My mother used to buy them in large glass jars, which she would bring home.
My grandmother had taught him to make a potato and pickle soup (which we called "pickle soup") whose recipe I don't really know.
I think the potatoes (cut into small wedges) were cooked in the pickle brine, and she added a few pickles cut into small rounds. This soup was divine!
I haven't forgotten the "sprats", those little smoked fish, wrapped in newspaper, which were our delight!
The Kneidler
These small balls of unleavened bread flour (matze mael) are eaten in the broth of the prepared dish.
Ingredients : 250g of matzo meal, 5 eggs, 3 tablespoons of oil, 1/2 glass of water and salt, pepper.
Recipe: Beat the eggs until frothy, then add flour, oil, water, salt, and pepper. Mix everything well and let it rest for 1 hour in the refrigerator to thicken.
Make balls the size of a walnut (with wet hands).
Boil 2 liters of water or take some broth from the prepared dish and drop the dumplings in. They will rise to the surface; let them cook for another minute.
The Polish tzimes
A classic dish on festive tables in Polish Jewish cuisine.
The beef simmers for hours with carrots and dried fruit, becoming incredibly tender while absorbing the bittersweet sauce.
Traditionally, cuts of beef with streaks or bones are used for braising, such as flank (short ribs), brisket, or shin or chuck.
Traditional recipe for Polish-style beef Tzimes:
Ingredients
- Meat : 1 kg of short ribs (flanken) or beef brisket, cut into large pieces
- Carrots: 600 g (cut into thick slices)
- Dried fruit : 150g pitted prunes, soaked for 1 hour in water, and 50g raisins
- Onions : 2 large onions (sliced)
- Sugar / Honey : 3 tablespoons of honey (or brown sugar)
- Fat : 2 tablespoons of neutral oil (or schmaltz, duck/goose fat)
- Spices : 1 cinnamon stick, 1 pinch of nutmeg, salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Liquid : Beef stock or water (approximately 50 cl to 75 cl) or juice from prunes that have been previously soaked.
Preparation
1- Sear the meat : In a large cast iron casserole dish, heat the oil or schmaltz. Season the pieces of beef with salt and pepper, or the juice of soaked prunes.
Then sear them over high heat on all sides until well browned. Remove the meat and set it aside.
2- Sweat the onions : In the same pot, reduce the heat and add the sliced onions. Sauté them for about 5 to 7 minutes until they are translucent and lightly browned, scraping up the meat juices from the bottom of the pot.
3- The first simmer (the meat): Return the meat to the pot with the onions. Add the honey, cinnamon stick, and nutmeg. Pour in the stock (or prune water) until it just covers the meat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer gently for 1½ to 2 hours. The meat should begin to tenderize.
4- Adding the carrots and dried fruit : Add the thick carrot slices, prunes, and raisins to the pot. Gently stir to coat them in the cooking juices.
5- The final confit : Simmer uncovered (or partially covered) for another 45 minutes to 1 hour. The beef should be absolutely tender (shredded with a fork), the carrots should be meltingly soft, and the sauce should have reduced to a rich, glossy syrup.
The oven alternative : For even more even cooking, after adding the carrots you can put the closed casserole dish in the oven at 160°C for 1 hour 30 minutes.
Remove the lid for the last 15 minutes to caramelize the top.