Dried chickpeas take an age to cook, and I’ve always opted to make hummus from tinned or jarred chickpeas. Beulah cooked her chickpeas for hummus in a pressure cooker, and I considered doing that for this recipe, but convenience prevailed.
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Lemon fantasy is the most retro thing I have ever cooked. Adam has fond childhood memories of this dessert, which was a staple along with chocolate mousse at their Friday night dinners. In his words, “the combination of fluffy mousse with the jelly topping seemed like a marvel.”
Lemon jelly proved elusive to track down. Raspberry, lime, mango, blueberry… not a problem. I managed to find a packet eventually, but will be exploring new flavours of fantasy if I make this again. (Which I probably will. I now own a jelly mould, and it is a fun dessert.)
Beulah always served lemon fantasy with tinned mandarin segments and cream, so I did as well.
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I first ate gefilte fish in the UK, and didn’t realise that in most of the world they are poached, not fried. It’s a British-Jewish thing to fry them, apparently. Having tried both, I’m definitely team fried gefilte fish, though I can take them or leave them.
I can recall Beulah serving gefilte fish only a couple of times. As a fish hater she may have opted to buy them in, though that wasn’t her style. I’d usually encounter them on platters at catered Jewish events, where little Lyra (another fish hater) would mistake them for falafel.
This recipe was in among Beulah’s handwritten ones. I was intrigued by the pinch of cinnamon and gave it a go. I don’t think I’ve eaten fresh gefilte fish before – they were delicious, warm, light and sort of fluffy.
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Carrot and raisin salad is another regular in Beulah’s repetoire. She kept things simple and all the flavours coming singing through. (I’d be tempted to add green onion, sunflower seeds, grated ginger and orange juice to the dressing etc)
In general, the ingredients that are straightforward in her recipes, but the technique can be fiddly, at least by my standards. Not with this carrot and raisin salad though – the most time consuming bit is grating the carrots.
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Adam’s parents Freddy and Beulah took several trips to Thailand, where they often stayed in the Mandarin Oriental.
Beulah wasn’t keen on Thai food due to a shellfish allergy, but she did love this salad from the hotel’s restaurant and persuaded the chef to share it with her.
I’m sure they managed a more elegant presentation at the Mandarin 😉
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This is a great, classic baked cheesecake. Not some fluffy, whipped cream concoction where you can barely detect the cheese – this one is dense and silky smooth, and flavoured only with lemon zest so the cream cheese flavour comes through.
The gingersnap crust contrasts beautifully with the filling. When I make it next, I’m going to double the amount and bake it a little longer (until firm).
Beulah always served her cheesecake garnished with frosted grapes, so I’ve included the recipe for those here as well.
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Beulah loved bubble and squeak, but the family were less keen. She would have appreciated the practical common sense of the recipe as a way to use up leftover veg.
I followed Beulah’s recipe rigorously, but were I to make it again I’d add a beaten egg or some grated cheese to the mixture to help bind it together. The outside crisped up nicely, but it was still quite soft in the middle. Though maybe it’s meant to be that way?
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Vichyssoise was the third soup in Beulah’s standard repertoire, which she served chilled in the summer months. It’s taken time for me to appreciate cold soup – aside from gazpacho, which I could live on – but I’m coming round. This hit the spot on a hot evening, with a green salad served alongside.
Beulah’s vichyssoise recipe calls for cream or soured cream. I opted for a mix of cream and crème fraiche.
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Adam’s parents Freddy and Beulah ate regularly at Trattoria Trevi, an Italian place on Ballards Lane until it closed, reopening a few months later as a Turkish restaurant.
They were immediate regulars there as well and the Durum became a place for family birthdays and celebrations. Beulah always ordered kisir followed by fried liver or lamb chops. This kisir is based on their recipe.
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Summer pudding is a classic British dessert. Beulah made the first one I ever ate, and given her cooking prowess I assumed it was a MasterChef level dish. I was surprised to learn it has only three ingredients — berries, sliced white bread and sugar.
This picture looks like a crime scene but it tastes delicious. I hope to take a better one next time I make it…;-)
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Baked apples are an underrated dessert in my opinion. They take minutes to prep, are can be served hot or cold, and are healthy to boot. A splash of liqueur (hazelnut works well) before baking, or serving (or both) is a nice touch.
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Along with Omi’s coffee cakes, marmalade tea bread was Beulah’s signature bake. She was a marmalade lover and I always gave her a jar or two from my annual batch.
Otherwise a typical fruit cake, its distinctive, sweet-bitter tang and slightly sticky texture reveals the presence of marmalade. I’d always assumed it was a called a tea bread because it was served with tea, but it turns out the fruit is soaked in strong black tea overnight.
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Chopped egg and onion was a mainstay of Shabbat dinners for Adam when he was a child. He says it’s the combination of cooked and raw onions that made this dish special.
Beulah’s classic chocolate mousse recipe doesn’t call for cream or sugar (aside from what is in the chocolate). On my first attempt, I failed to notice the water added to the chocolate in the bowl. That certainly makes a difference – you need a pourable chocolate mixture to fold the egg whites into, not a thick, Marmite-like paste.
Adam says, “In my memory, these were famed across north London. I can picture mum melting Menier dark chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. You could smell it before you could see it, and when you saw it your hope that chocolate mousse was indeed on the menu was realised.”
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The recipe for these flourless coffee cakes comes from Adam’s German grandmother Lottie.
It’s a simple one, aside from the beating and folding. With only four ingredients and no leavening agent, Omi’s coffee cakes rely on the egg whites for their light, airy quality.
Out of curiosity I searched online, but couldn’t find another recipe like them. The closest was bocca di dama, but made bite-sized and left undecorated.
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This recipe offers a fresh take on my go-to tomato soup. Basil is added at three points – sautéed with the onions, simmered with the tomatoes,stirred in just before serving – and its sweet, peppery flavour shines through.
At family meals, Beulah usually offered a choice of soup – chicken soup with kneidlach and tomato soup with basil for the vegetarians. (Though it was pretty common for people to park their principles for the evening so as not to miss out on Beulah’s chicken soup.)
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I’m a sucker for lemon desserts, and have yet to meet one I don’t like. That said, Beulah’s lemon mousse is near the top of the list.
On family occasions, she always made two or three desserts, in sufficient quantity that people could try them all. While her chocolate mousse and sticky toffee pudding were the fan favourites, when lemon mousse was on offer I always went for it, at least for round one… 😉
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Crumpets crisped in curry butter then topped with a poached egg is a winning combination. Adam’s mum made it for Lyra when she stayed a few days with her. After Lyra reported how delicious it was, we started making it as well.
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For family gatherings, Adam’s mum Beulah often served an array of salads and cold meats. This potato salad with grain mustard always featured.
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I leave the chicken soup with kneidlach to my mother-in-law – a marvellous cook whose chicken soup draws superlatives from anyone who has the good fortune to taste it, whose fluffy kneidlach could potentially float up from the broth in their airy pillowiness.
But faced with a chicken soupless Passover this year, I dusted off my kneidlach making skills and took one for the team…
Ten More Bites 