Alkes mit Floymen (Dumplings with Prunes)

This dish is one my maternal grandmother (my bobe, who lived with us when I was a child) often made. In the 1960s, when I first went to Israel, my great aunt Chaieh Levin made this dish for me and gave me the recipe.

1-2 pound pot roast (or similar cut of beef)

1 pound prunes

1 onion

juice of one lemon

salt and pepper

• Put prunes in a pot and just cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. 
• Put meat and the onion into a roasting pan. 
• Add the prunes and the liquid in which they were cooked. 
• Add the lemon juice. 
• Roast meat in a 350º F oven until tender, for about 1-1½ hours. 
• About half an hour before the meat is cooked, add alkes (below) to the roasting pan.

For the alkes (the dumplings)

2 eggs

1 glass water

2 tablespoons smaltz (chicken fat)

1 cup matzoh meal*

salt and pepper

water or stock in which to boil the dumplings

• Beat the eggs 
• Add the smaltz and continue to beat. 
• Add half the water, then half the matzoh meal, mixing well after each addition. Repeat. 
• Cover mixture and leave it stand in the frig to thicken, about  30 minutes to 1 hour. 
• With wet hands, make small balls (or alkes). 
• Drop them into large pot of boiling water (or stock), immediately reduce the heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Note: Alkes can be made in advance and kept in frig until needed.

 

* Matzoh mel is flour made from Matzoh. It can be purchased in stores that sell Kosher food.

My Mother’s Chopped Liver

My mother came from a Jewish community in a small village in Poland (Yashenovke, not far from Bialostok). This was traditionally eaten as the entrée for the Friday night (shabbot) meal.

1 pound fresh chicken livers

2 cups finely chopped onions

3 hard-boiled eggs

3 tablespoons smaltz*

salt and black pepper to taste

gribenes** (optional)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• Sauté the fresh chicken liver in vegetable oil, 4-5 minutes. Liver should be cooked through, but soft. Don’t overcook. 
• Remove from frying pan and permit to cool. 
• In the meantime, fry the onions in the shmaltz over a low heat, until the onions are soft and light brown. 
• When the liver is cool enough, grate on a coarse grater, or chop finely. 
•  Add the onions and the smaltz to the liver. 
• Grate, or finely chop, the hard boiled eggs, and add them to the liver. 
• Season with salt and pepper. 
•  Add the gribenes. 
• Mix everything well and chill for 3-4 hours.

Serve on a piece of lettuce garnished with a tomato, or with kosher dill pickle. I like it with pumpernickel bread.

* Smaltz is chicken fat. It is made by melting down (rendering) the fat and skin of a chicken. The liquid fat is then poured into a jar and chilled in the refrigerator.

** Gribenes are the very flavourful (spicey) bits of skin that do not melt down when making smaltz. They are a bit like kosher “bacon rind” and about as healthy.