Pascale's Kitchen: Tasting memories

For years, I’ve been curating a gastronomic journey from a variety of cuisines around the globe. I bake and cook these dishes, documenting exactly what each step entails so these recipes will not be forgotten.

You could say that I cook memories that people pass on from one generation to the next, and through them I attempt to learn about their individual customs and traditions. Over the years, I’ve turned into a decoder of nostalgic and cherished recipes people have acquired after having spent time in the kitchen with their grandparents.

That’s why I was incredibly moved to hear about the Taste of Memories initiative, which commemorates fallen IDF soldiers and victims of terrorism by posting their favorite dishes, sent in by their loved ones. The initiative was founded by Maj. (res.) Eden Ben Oz Kohali, who has been managing the Taste of Memories website in an entirely volunteer capacity together with other volunteers in Israel since 2015.

Through this special program (covered in the January 5 In Jerusalem), people send in the favorite recipes of loved ones who fell as IDF soldiers or were victims of terrorism; a short description of each individual is also included. The website also contains stories of family meals and gatherings these individuals experienced or what it was like for family members to prepare these beloved dishes after their loved ones were no longer with them.

The Taste of Memories website operates as a digital cookbook accessible to anyone around the world who wants to join in and prepare dishes in their memory.

I’ve chosen four recipes that were favorites of IDF soldiers killed during the current Swords of Iron war.

I am used to approaching people I’ve just met in my perpetual hunt for recipes people associate with loved ones, but this time the feeling was quite distinctive. I felt a mixture of pain and excitement, since these weren’t age-old recipes handed down lovingly by grandparents but cherished memories of our dear soldiers who were plucked away from us way before they were given a chance to live long, fulfilling lives.

I immersed myself in the stories that accompanied each recipe. Each new story I read left me more teary and heartbroken than the previous one, despite the fact that I hadn’t met a single one of the fallen in person. I could vividly see in my mind’s eye how Itay Yehuda would return home on a Friday just as his mother was taking his favorite olive bread rolls out of the hot oven. I imagined him grabbing a hot roll off the baking tray and eating it with a big smile on his face.

I could envision how Liran Almosnino, who was a shepherd, loved feasting on a refreshing salad jam-packed with nourishment and protein after a hard day’s work.

I think about Shimon Alroy Ben Shitrit, who would sit down to a steaming bowl of beet kubbeh soup when he arrived home from the army. Each time he was given leave to visit his family, his mother would lovingly fill each kubbeh with beef and chop fresh beets to create the beautiful purple broth. My favorite part of this story is how everyone who came to the house that day knew from the wonderful aroma wafting out of the kitchen that Alroy was on his way home.

The last recipe I’ve included here – orange juice cake – was a favorite of Adir Abudi. His family describes it as light and fluffy, soft and fragrant, with a layer of powdered sugar on top to add an extra layer of sweetness. This dessert was a constant every time Adir returned home. I can almost picture him walking into the kitchen with his kit bag hanging off his shoulder and not even bothering to put it down before he cuts himself a generous slice of orange bliss.

Equipped with countless recipes and stories about fallen IDF soldiers, I began the process of making each recipe, one after another, in my kitchen at home. Here and there, I had to pause in order to wipe away another tear that had slid down my cheek as I mulled over these bittersweet stories. I wanted nothing more than to make these dishes so that I could host all these soldiers in my kitchen instead of writing about them in the past tense.

Matkonzikaron.co.il or Taste of Memories on Instagram.

The recipes below are presented exactly as the soldiers’ families worded them in the messages they sent to Taste of Memories.

BEET KUBBEH SOUP

Dough:

• 1 kg. semolina, sifted
• 2 Tbsp. salt
• ¼ cup oil
• 3 cups water

Filling:

• ½ kg. ground beef
• A little salt and pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, with leaves
• 3 Tbsp. oil for frying

Soup:

• 1 onion
• 3 beets, cut into pieces
• 1 small container tomato puree
• 2 celery stalks with leaves, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Sweet paprika
• Pinch of sugar
• 2 tsp. citric acid

Prepare the dough by kneading all the [dough] ingredients together, then let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Sauté the filling ingredients, then prepare the kubbeh balls, and add the filling.

To prepare the soup, sauté the onion and celery. Add the tomato paste, 2 of the beets, the spices, and 1.5 liters of water. Bring to a boil; then reduce the heat, and then gently lower the kubbeh balls into the soup. Add the last beet about 15 minutes before the soup is done cooking.

NIGHT SALAD

Efrat, Liran’s wife, recalls how she and Liran would eat this salad together out of one huge bowl at the end of a long day, while they talked about life or watched a TV show together.

• 1 head of lettuce
• 1 cucumber
• 1 tomato or a bunch of cherry tomatoes
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 can of tuna
• 1 hard-boiled egg
• 1 onion
• 1 bunch of parsley or cilantro, chopped
• Any other vegetable(s) you have on hand
• Bulgarian cheese, crumbled (optional)

Chop all the ingredients and add them to a large bowl.

Season generously with olive oil, the juice of one lemon, salt, and pepper.

BREAD ROLLS WITH OLIVES

Itay absolutely adored the bread rolls with olives that his mother would prepare every Friday morning. He especially loved snacking on them when he would come home late at night after spending time with good friends.

• 3.5 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp. yeast
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ cup oil
• 1 cup water, at room temperature
• ¾ Tbsp. salt
• 1 container of green olives, pitted and drained

Egg wash:

• 1 egg, beaten

Topping:

• ¾ cup light sesame seeds

Add all the ingredients, except the salt, to the bowl of an electric mixer. Knead for 7 minutes, then add the salt and knead for 1 more minute.

Grease a bowl, then place the dough in the bowl and let it rise for 1 hour.

Separate the dough into small balls, then add 1 olive to each ball. Brush each roll with egg wash, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 180° until they turn golden brown.

ORANGE JUICE CAKE

Adir loved his mother’s orange juice cake, and would look forward to eating a large slice every time he came home for Shabbat from his army base.

• 4 large eggs
• 1¼ cups sugar
• ½ cup oil
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• 2 cups flour
• 1 packet baking powder

Topping:

• Powdered sugar

Whip the eggs with the sugar for 5 minutes until they are light and fluffy.

Then, lower the speed and slowly add the oil while mixing. Add the orange juice, orange zest, and the rest of the ingredients.

Pour the mixture into 2 or 3 loaf pans.

Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 180° for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry.

Sprinkle powdered sugar on top before serving.

Translated by Hannah Hochner