Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous : My Search for Jewish Cooking in France

672 Pages·2010·13.34 MB·English

by  Nathan

Also by Joan Nathan
Joan Nathan’s Jewish Holiday Cookbook (revised) The New American Cooking
The Foods of Israel Today
Jewish Cooking in America, Expanded Edition
The Jewish Holiday Baker
Jewish Cooking in America
The Jewish Holiday Kitchen
The Children’s Jewish Holiday Kitchen
An American Folklife Cookbook
The Flavor of Jerusalem (with Judy Stacey Goldman)

This Is a Borzoi Book
Published by Alfred A. Knopf Copyright © 2010 by Joan Nathan
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random
House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
www.aaknopf.com
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nathan, Joan.
Quiches, kugels, and couscous : my search for Jewish cooking in France / by Joan Nathan.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-59450-1
1. Jewish cooking. 2. Cooking, French. 3. Jews—France—Social life and customs. I. Title.
TX724.N38 2010 641.5’676—dc22 2010020280
v3.1

In memory of Annie (Nanou) Cerf Weil,
July 24, 1944-April 16, 1988,
a dear friend who introduced me to the France she loved so well,
but who died much too early
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Appetizers
Soups
Salads
Breads, Both Sacred and Secular
Fish
Chicken, Duck, and Goose
Beef, Veal, and Lamb
Quiches, Kugels, Omelets, and Savory Soufflés
Grains, Pulses, Couscous, and Rice
Vegetables
Desserts
A Sampling of French Jewish Menus
Glossary of Terms and Ingredients
A Source Guide
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
EACH BOOK I WRITE transports me to new worlds filled with research and human
relationships. Without the melding of the two there would never be satisfying results.
During this period, which lasts for three to five years, my work becomes my life.
This book took me into homes throughout France. My hope is that the reader will be
enriched by my account of these experiences and the recipes gleaned from each
adventure. When I started studying French in high school, little did I know how helpful
it would prove to be throughout my career. My proficiency in French opened so many
doors, as did my lifelong friends and relatives who led me throughout France to
otherwise unavailable sources willing to break bread with me.
I have many people to thank, in addition to those appearing throughout the book, to
whom I am eternally grateful. During my trips revisiting France in the past few years, I
felt like a peeping Tom, watching home cooks and chefs in their kitchens, and forging
new friendships.
Thanks to Connie and Dominique Borde, Catherine and Jean-Bruno Dufort, Hélène
Goldenberg and Richard Moos, Marthe Layrle, Patrice and Herb Miller, Claudine and
Henri Moos, Elie and Gotz Schreiber, Irene and Michel Weil, and Sandrine Weil and
Mathias Laurent, who opened their homes to me.
In each city, people have extended themselves to lead me to the right cooks to tell
this story and have had the patience to talk with me. Without the help of Yves
Alexandre, Gilbert Brenner, Georges Dalmeyda, Marie-Christine Daunay, Lydia Elhadad,
Peggy Frankton, Jacqueline Frydman, George Gumpel, Michel Gurfunkiel, Nathalia
Hercot, Natan Holchaker, Julie Mautner, Alex Miles, Gérard Monteux, Professor René
Moulinas, Lucie Optyker, Jean Paulhan, Gilles Pudlowski, Bernard Saltiel, and Patricia
Wells, I could never have been so well accepted into the French Jewish communities.
The staffs of museums and libraries have been invaluable: Carol Ambruster and Peggy
Pearlstein of the Library of Congress; Marc Masurovsky of the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum; Rebecca Federman, Roberta Saltsman, David Smith, and Michael
Terry of the New York Public Library; the staff of the Alliance Israélite Universelle in
Paris; Isabelle Pleskoff at the Jewish Museum of Paris; and the remarkable Philip and
Mary Hyman, who let me work in the wonderful world of their private library.
Elizabeth Alpern, Amy Bartscherer, Claire Blaustein, Jan Buhrman, Sandra Di Capua,
Krista Gallagher, Maria Gudiel, Merav Levkowitz, Theresa McCulla, Doug Singer,
Jennifer Visick, and Rebecca Wall have helped me invaluably in the kitchen and with
research.
In addition, I want to thank all these people in the United States, who have led me in
the right direction: Howard Abarbanel, Ann Amernick, Daniel Boulud, Lori Chemla,
Annick Delacaze, Richard Delerins, François Dionot, Carol Goldberg, Katja Goldman,
Barbara Greenwood, Jean Joho, Francis Layrle, Dalya Luttwak, Patty Ravenscroft, Trina
Rubenstein, Jonathan Sarna, André Soltner, Jeffrey Steingarten, Cathy Sulzberger, and
Paula Wolfert.
Yves Alexandre, Jennifer Breger, Beatrice Fink, Thomas Head, Professor Lisa Leff,
Sheila Malovany-Chevallier, Professor Ted Meron, Professor Pamela Nadell, Professor
Susan Suleiman, and Eveline Weyl have carefully read over the manuscript. Knowing
how busy their lives are, I greatly appreciate the time they spent on me. Thanks, too, to
the marvelous MacDowell Colony, where I worked on the introduction.
And, of course, my three children, Daniela, Merissa, and David, and my husband,
Allan, once again put up with my obsessions with this fascinating and delicious topic for
these past few years.
My agent, Gail Ross, and editors Pete Wells and Nick Fox at The New York Times have
been 100 percent behind me. I also want to thank the extraordinary people at Alfred A.
Knopf. Sonny Mehta first saw the vision for this book. Ken Schneider helped me through
various computer glitches, always in good humor, Maria Massey carefully saw the
manuscript through production, and Kristen Bearse created the fabulous design of the
book.
But most of all my editor, the legendary and phenomenal Judith Jones, went over
every word of the manuscript, at least once, encouraging me to tell this amazing story
and urging me to craft the book in my own words.