Food History

It’s Friday night and time for a couple more recipes from my grandmother’s 1950s notebook. When these run out I might have to find another ageing notebook, but I’m right for a little.

This week has been a bewildering one on a number of fronts, none of which are at all relevant to this blog. I’m going to make them relevant, though, since bewilderment is something that either needs to be shared or needs to stop entirely. Tonight’s recipes are three that really should not belong in an entirely Jewish cookbook from Melbourne. They demonstrate that not all Jewish families keep kosher, and that when my father married my mother he gave up some foodstuffs from his life for good. I don’t know if it was the sacrifice of bacon and lard, but my parents had an extraordinarily good marriage. OK, so bacon and lard aren’t the only foodstuffs my father gave up, but he was the first to admit that the sacrifice was worth it.

Casserole Rabbit
Cut the rabbit into meat joints & brown in casserole with a little butter. Add 3 or 4 small onions, a clove, salt & pepper & 2 tablespoon stock. Allow to cook slowly for 2 to 3 hrs. Thicken with flour before serving.

Banana Savoury Rolls
Take 7 slices cold boiled ham & spread with thick apple sauce. Peel 3 bananas cut in halves (lengthwise) & roll in grated cheese. Lay the banana on the ham. Roll up secure with tooth pick. Place under griller turning until cooked. (about ¼ hr) Baste with butter occasionally. Serve hot with French mustard.

Curried Lobster
Prepare lobster cut into pieces. Make a curried sauce and put lobster & cook for a while. To make curried cut a small onion very fine. Put a lump of butter in saucepan & brown onion. Then add some plain flour stirring all the time then add curry pour gradually some stock or milk also juice of lemon until it is a thick consistency. Serve on platter. A rice ring in centre lobster around & legs of lobster around also slices of lemon.

PS These are recipes I can never taste, being brought up in a kosher home and all. If anyone out there gives them a go, I’d love some cooking and tasting notes.

food history, kosher, Australian kosher, unkosher food, recipes, lobster, banana, ham, rabbit