This week, Cooks Compete features Yerushalmi Kugel. For obvious reasons, I can’t submit my own, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to share my favorite recipe.
I barely communicated with the Rebbetzin with words. The family only spoke Yiddish, and my Yiddish was (and is) terrible. I can get by in Hebrew, though, so we managed with some Hebrew, lots of motions, laughing, and the language of an understanding that doesn’t need actual words.
My friend would translate all the little stories that I’d missed, and it was worth every minute. Aside from my weekly routine of sifting a few bags of flour, I felt like I was on the receiving end of this experience. I’d watch the Rebbetzin cook and bake; I don’t think I ever saw a written recipe, yet everything was delicious. Very traditional, but delicious.
One thing that stood out in my mind was the Yerushalmi kugel. It was always done by the time we got there on Thursday, so I never actually saw her make it. But after I got married and moved to Israel, I called the Rebbetzin for the recipe. She went through it with me slowly in Hebrew. Many of the measurements were in tablespoons instead of cups, and this is the recipe I use until today.
Every time I open my personal cookbook to this page, I get a wave of nostalgia, and we never fail to mention how legit Yerushalmi it is!
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