Keeping Ashkenazi Recipes Alive in Paris

Shared by Anna + Claude Polonsky
Recipe Roots: Lodz, Poland and Kyiv, Ukraine > Paris > New York City

In 1905, when a pogrom against Kiev’s Jewish community broke out, part of Claude Polonsky’s family, his paternal grandparents and their parents, fled by boat and planned to resettle in the United States. When the boat stopped in France, they were told the next one to America was departing in six months. They decided to stay, falling in love with the culture and music, and resettling in Paris. In 1920, when Jews in Poland experienced a pogrom, members of his family from his mother’s side, the Horns, moved from near Lodz, in central Poland, also making their home in Paris. 

When World War II started, Claude’s parents were 20 years old and they joined the resistance. While some family members like his parents survived the war, many perished at Auschwitz. One of them was Berko Polonsky, Claude’s grandfather. He owned a tailoring atelier that made custom suits for men. During World War II, administrators from the Nazi regime were installed at businesses in France, including his. “Berko did not want to abandon his staff, so he kept going to work every day,” Anna, Claude’s daughter, explains. In 1944, the Nazis deported him on one of the last trains to Auschwitz. 

Claude at his bar mitzvah celebration with his grandparents in Paris in 1959.

For those who survived, Anna says, life as Jews in France was layered with complex emotions. “A lot of Jewish families had done well in France,” she explains. They felt at home, even welcome, but a deep sense of betrayal after the war. 

Still, her family remained in France and held on to their Jewish traditions as a form of cultural identity, but not a religious practice. “After Auschwitz no one [in my family] kept their faith,” Anna explains. For her father Claude, Judaism was his culture and history and he continued to celebrate the holidays, but without a connection to god and that’s how he raised Anna. 

There was, however, a strong connection to Ukraine and Poland. They listened to klezmer music, read books about Eastern Europe, and kept family stories and recipes alive. Growing up, tsibeles, or soft scrambled eggs with onions caramelized in schmaltz, was a favorite of Claude’s. “His entire childhood... is related to that dish,” Anna says. And, when she was little, klops, a Polish meatloaf made with veal, brisket, hard boiled eggs, and lots of onions, was a staple. 

Anna with her father Claude in France in 1989.

She also fondly remembers trying Jewish recipes from friends whose families emigrated from north Africa, learning about their approach to Jewish traditions. There were bowls of couscous and pots of pkaila, a burnt spinach stew from Tunisia. “I just always love how I have a lot of Jewish friends, but not one of us is the same,” she explains. “We all have our own take on the traditions”

After generations in France, Anna and Claude’s family has not only held on to their Ashkenazi recipes, but updated them as well. “The recipes keep evolving from one generation to another,” Anna says. The family’s apple strudel, for example, is now referred to in French as strudel aux pommes and is made with apples that are cooked as they would be in a tarte tatin, a classic French pastry. Claude’s added orange to the recipe, and Anna’s worked in cinnamon. “We all kept refining it,” she adds. 

Anna and Claude will share these recipes and a few others at a Shabbat dinner in New York City co-hosted by Jewish Food Society and Anna’s branding and design consulting firm Polonsky and Friends. We hope to see you there, but if you can’t make it, these recipes will help bring a taste of Eastern Europe, with some French touches to your own table.

Klops (Yiddish Meatloaf)

Makes: 6 servings
Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients
For the klops:
1 lb ground deboned veal flank 
1 lb ground beef brisket 
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 eggs
4 garlic cloves, minced 
5 yellow onions, minced
3 tablespoons matzo meal or bread crumbs

For the garnish:
4 yellow onions, sliced thinly 
3 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil

Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 8 ½  x 4 ½ inch loaf pan lengthwise with parchment paper, leaving about a 2 inch overhang. 

2. In a large bowl mix the ground veal, ground beef, salt, eggs, garlic cloves, onions and breadcrumbs until combined well. 

3. Place the mixture into the loaf pan and flatten the top layer evenly. 

4. Place the loaf pan onto a sheet tray and into the oven, baking the klops for about 40 minutes until deep golden brown on top.

5. Meanwhile, make the garnish: Heat up about 3 tablespoons of butter or vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining onions to the pan and saute until caramelized, about 20 to 30 minutes. 

6. To serve, lift the two pieces of parchment paper to pull the klops out of the loaf pan and place onto a serving plate. Discard the parchment paper. Sprinkle the caramelized onions on top of the klops. Serve the klops in slices.

Cook’s note: Add whole boiled eggs into the center of the klops for a decorative and tasty touch. Prepare the recipe identically, except for Step #3. Instead, place half of the mixture into the pan. Evenly lay 3 to 4 boiled eggs along the center of the pan. Cover the eggs with the rest of the mixture. Continue with the remaining steps.

Cauliflower Beignets

While this recipe sounds more Sephardic, Claude grew up with his Ukrainian grandmother making this recipe. As Anna points out, “As with all Askenazi recipes, it was just the cheapest ingredients, [and] they always could access cabbage and cauliflower.” While the ingredients in this recipe are humble, together they are more than the sum of their parts.

Makes: 4 servings
Total Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour

Ingredients
For the cauliflower beignets:
1 large cauliflower 
1 cup all purpose flour 
3 tablespoons of flat leaf parsley, chopped 
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 shallots, minced 
4 eggs
1 ½  teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons plus 1 ½  teaspoons kosher
1 teaspoon ground black pepper 
2 cups sunflower or another neutral oil 

For the sauce:
1 cup greek yogurt 
Zest of 1 lime 
Juice of 1 lime 
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

For the garnish:
3 to 4 parsley leaves

Preparation
1. Prepare the cauliflower: Bring a large pot of water with 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil. Discard the cauliflower leaves and cut the florets off of the cauliflower core. Discard the core and place the florets into the pot of boiling water until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Strain the cauliflowers for the water and set aside in a medium sized bowl. Smash the cauliflower with a fork to create a mixture with small chunks. 

2. Prepare the beignet batter: Place the flour, parsley, garlic, shallots, eggs, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper into a large mixing bowl. Using a whisk or a large fork, mix and whip the mixture until it is smooth and aerated. Add the mashed cauliflower into the bowl and mix it into the batter until combined well.

3. Fry the beignets: Place a large, preferably deep, saucepan over medium to high heat. Add 2 cups of sunflower oil into the pan. After about 3 to 5 minutes check if the oil is hot by dropping in a pinch of the batter. If the batter sizzles vigorously then the oil is hot enough to start frying. Delicately pour about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the batter into the pan for each beignet. Fry the beignets on each side until deep golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes each. Fry in batches of about 4 beignets at a time. Monitor the oil temperature during frying, adjusting the heat as needed. Once cooked, transfer the beignets to a paper towel lined sheet tray to drain any excess oil.

4. Prepare the yogurt sauce: In a medium sized bowl mix the greek yogurt, chopped cilantro, lime zest and juice, olive oil, salt and pepper until combined well. 

5. Garnish the beignets with parsley. Serve hot with yogurt sauce on the side.

Tsibeles

Makes: 6 servings
Total Time: 30 to 45 minutes

Ingredients
6 eggs
5 onions, roughly chopped 
3 tablespoons schmaltz, duck fat or sunflower oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation
1. Place a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the schmaltz. Once the schmaltz is hot add in the onion and saute until soft and lightly caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes.

2.  Crack the eggs into a medium mixing bowl. Pour the eggs into the pan with the onions and immediately mix the eggs and onions well and let cook for about 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle salt and pepper into the mixture. Once the eggs are a set on the bottom, stir the mixture until the eggs are just cooked through and are in large chunks, about another 2 to 3 minutes. 

3. Serve hot.

Strudel Aux Pommes (Apple Strudel)

Makes: 8 servings
Total Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes or 2 hours and 40 minutes (if preparing dough from scratch)

Ingredients
1 pack store-bought pie crust dough (2 pie crusts) or homemade dough

For homemade dough:
4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ⅓ cup butter or margarine, chopped into cubes
1 cup cool water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon butter or margarine for the pan

For the filling: 
5 tablespoons butter or margarine to caramelize apples
6 to 7 golden apples, peeled, cored and cut in half lengthwise
1 orange, cut in half crosswise and de-seeded
1 lemon, cut in half crosswise and de-seeded
3 tablespoons golden raisins
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 egg, whisked
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Preparation
1. Prepare the homemade dough (if using): Place the flour, salt and sugar into a food processor. Pulse 3 times until combined. Add the butter and pulse until the butter pieces are similar to the size of green peas. Pour half of the water into the mixture and blend for about 15 to 30 seconds. Add the remaining water and vanilla extract. Process until the dough comes together as a ball of dough. Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and quickly bring it together into a ball. Divide the dough into 2 pieces and quickly shape each piece into flat circle with a diameter of about 6 inches. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish with butter. Set aside. 

3. Caramelize the apples: Place a large saucepan over medium heat. Add about 5 tablespoons butter and place the apple pieces into the pan, flat side down. Caramelize on each side until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes each. Remove the pan from heat and set aside to cool.

4. Make the citrus filling: Place the orange and lemon into a food processor and blend until combined and smooth. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Stir in cinnamon, sugar and raisins. Set aside.

5. Shape the dough: Sprinkle a bit of flour onto a clean working surface. Roll out each piece of dough into a 13 x 17 inch rectangle, about ⅛ inch thick. 

6. Transfer one piece of rolled out dough into the baking dish and gently press it into the dish on all sides, leave a bit of an overhand of dough on all edges. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly on the bottom layer of the dough. Lay the caramelized apples over the breadcrumbs in one layer. Pour the citrus mix over the apples evenly. Lay the second piece of rolled-out dough over the filling. Pinch the dough edges to seal the strudel on all sides. Brush the surface of the strudel with an egg wash. With a sharp knife cut about three 4 inch diagonal slits into the top of the dough. Evenly sprinkle 1 tablespoons of sugar on top.

7. Transfer the strudel into the oven and bake for about 50 minutes until the crusts are a deep golden brown and the filling is cooked through. Check the strudel halfway through and if the crust on top browns to quickly cover it loosely with aluminum foil.

8. Serve the strudel warm.