For This French Filmmaker, There’s No Yom Kippur Without Boulou
Photos by Penny De Los Santos, Food Styling by Judy Haubert, Prop Styling by Vanessa Vazquez
Shared by Audrey Garcia
Recipe Roots: La Goulette, Tunisia > Vincennes, France
When she was little, actress and director Audrey Garcia’s favorite part of Yom Kippur was during ne’ila, the service that concludes the holiday’s prayers. She would sneak into the area where the men prayed and join her uncle under his tallit, or prayer shawl. “I really loved this moment — it was very moving,” she says.
After services, her family would gather at her grandparents’ home in Vincennes, just outside Paris, to break the fast together. The first bite was always a slice of her grandmother’s boulou dipped into water cut with orgeat, an almond syrup. “There’s no Yom Kippur without boulou — that’s for sure,” she explains. Flavored with orange blossom water, the cookie (sometimes referred to as a bread or cake), is traditionally enjoyed by Tunisian and Libyan Jews, but is little known outside of those communities.
Audrey’s grandfather, Joseph, in front of his shop, Chez Jojo in Paris, 1980’s.
In Audrey’s family, the recipe comes from her grandmother Daisy, who moved to France in 1956 with her husband Joseph from La Goulette, an area next to the port of Tunis. Her grandfather opened Chez Jojo, one of the first Tunisian grocery stores in Paris where he made his own harissa and Daisy cooked out of a small kitchen in the back for weddings and bar mitzvahs in their community. “I used to spend my Saturdays in the grocery, surrounded by spices, customers from North Africa, Africa, Asia, France...and Arabic music,” Audrey shares.
After her grandmother passed away, all of the women in her family took on the responsibility of making boulou. And, while the base recipe is the same, everyone has their own finishes, some mixing in more chocolate, others nuts or raisins. There’s a bit of competition around who makes the best version.
For Audrey, she’s always felt making boulou was expected of her. “I grew up with the idea that to be a woman and most of all a mother, you must cook,” Audrey explains. In her first film, “Le Boulou,” she plays with her family’s gendered expectations. Despite not sharing their perspective, baking boulou and maintaining this part of her heritage is deeply important to her, Audrey says. “Baking is also [a way of] showing and giving love without saying a word.”
Boulou (Orange Blossom Cookies With Seeds and Nuts)
“There’s no Yom Kippur without boulou — that’s for sure,” filmmaker Audrey Garcia explains. Flavored with orange blossom water, the loaf-style cookie (sometimes referred to as a bread or cake) is traditionally enjoyed by Tunisian and Libyan Jews, but is little known outside of those communities. In Audrey’s family, it’s the first bite eaten after the conclusion of the Yom Kippur fast, along with orgeat syrup cut with water. It’s also served during shiva, the seven days of mourning after a Jewish funeral.
The chocolate chips, golden raisins, and almonds in the filling are all optional and can be adjusted to your taste. In Audrey’s family, everyone has their own take on it.
Makes: 20 servings
Total time: 15 minutes active + 55 minutes inactive
Ingredients
3 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons AP flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
1 tablespoon anise seeds
3 eggs + 1 egg yolk, divided
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
½ cup sunflower oil
2 tablespoons almonds, roughly chopped (optional filling)
2 tablespoons golden raisins (optional filling)
2 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional filling)
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
In a stand mixer, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla sugar and anise seeds.
Mix in the 3 whole eggs one at a time. Pour in the orange blossom water, sunflower oil and ⅛ cup warm water and continue mixing. The dough should be moist and slightly sticky. Place into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 10 minutes.
Separate the dough into two balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. With wet hands, press the balls into long loaves. The dimensions of the loaves should be around 12 inches long by 3 inches wide.
Sprinkle a combination of your fillings of choice over the loaves and lightly press them into the dough. Fold up the sides and press them together so that the filling is now in the center. Press down to flatten the loaves to be 1 inch thick. Place the baking sheet into the fridge for an additional 30 minutes to set the loaves.
Remove the loaves from the fridge, brush with the beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake the boulou for 30 minutes until golden brown.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set the loaves aside for about 5 minutes or until they have cooled a bit to the touch and are still warm on the inside. Slice the boulou into ¾-1 inch thick slices and allow the cookies to cool completely. to room temperature.
Serve with a side of orgeat syrup.
