My Pantry, Part II
How Udi's Grandmother left Egypt with little more than the clothes on her back and a giant tub of Dukkah (+ recipe)
Udi’s grandmother Clemi (Clementina as she was later known), fled Alexandria, Egypt with her husband and two small children in 1949. They brought only the essentials with them, as is customary when running from a country where radical violence against Jews is on the rise and word of the Muslim Brotherhood blacklisting her husband is whispered about in synagogue one day. They had to move fast, that meant only a few personal belongings, some photographs, jewelry hidden inside a teddy bear - only to be thrown into the ocean en route to Israel by Udi’s father who was 1 at the time, and a big tin canister of dukkah to survive on along the way.
The early days of Israel’s founding was haphazard at best. People lived in crowded camps with a real deficit of food and supplies available to them. Clemi spoke of the awful porridge and salted fish provided by the camp for meals. She preferred her white bread and dukkah sandwiches over the “nauseating porridge” and always feared they were running low on her stash smuggled in from Egypt.
A mix of toasted seeds and nuts, pulverized but not powdered, dukkah is an Egyptian staple dating back to ancient times, that in Clemi’s own words is a true “social food.” When friends were invited into her home, which was often, she would first ask, "תֶחֶב נַעמֶל לַק סנדוויש דואה" Arabic for “Would you like me to make you a dukkah sandwich?” To make it truly decadent, she suggested you spread a thick layer of butter on the toast followed by a generous helping of dukkah. She called this version a Tartine de Do’a (dukkah, duqqa, do’a all are known pronunciations of the word).
I never met Clemi, but we gave Loosha the middle name Clementine in her honor. I know that Shabbat dinner at her house smelled of home-cooked food so full of love and goodness it brings Udi’s family to tears thinking about it this many years after her passing (she died in 1997 at the age of 76). Her handmade couscous is the stuff of legends and Udi and his sisters are brought right back to childhood at even a whiff of someone making her artichoke hearts stuffed with meat.
In a book of her recipes that Udi’s family has been writing and putting together for years we found two recipes for her dukkah. One in which she mixes in oil to create a paste for spreading on bread, and the other where she leaves the mixture as is but insists on white bread and butter first. Whichever way you decide to make Clemi’s dukkah I hope you think of her while doing so.
As per my last newsletter all about my spices - I really don’t like waste in the pantry department. Dukkah is a great example on how to treat your spices with joyful abandon. Don’t let them get stale in the cupboard waiting for a recipe. Make stuff with them! You will see dukkah iterations with all sorts of combinations of spices and nuts so you can really mix and match once you get comfy with the process.
Clementina’s Do’a (dukkah)
*easy to make bigger batches if you love it. This makes about 3/4 of a cup
20 grams Sesame seeds
10 grams Coriander seeds
5 grams Cumin seeds
10 grams Flax seeds
10 Grams Walnuts / Almonds
pinch or two of Salt
Roast sesame on low heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring to release the oils until mostly golden brown. Remove from pan. Roast the other seeds for 2 minutes, moving often and remove from pan. Let cool and pulse till granular. I like to use a coffee grinder for this and I stop after 4-5 pulses to retain some textured elements. Separately pulse the Walnuts / Almonds (no need to roast those). Mix in a pinch of salt and taste to see if it needs more. Put in a jar and keep in the fridge.
Clemi’s Tartine de Do'a
Toast a thick piece of sourdough or simple white bread, spread it with good butter, sprinkle generously with dukkah OR mix a small amount of olive oil with some dukkah and spread on toast. A drizzle of honey, if it pleases you.
