“To be Jewish is to be conscious of what one says and what one does,” Jacqueline Meyer-Benichou, who cooks some of Paris’s most elegant kosher food, told me. The head of a real-estate company, with a degree from Les Beaux Arts in architecture, Jacqueline treats cooking as her avocation and considers the presentation of food to be as important as the menu. Living near branches of great gourmet stores in Paris, such as Lenôtre, she window-shops, looking at their food preparations and presentations, and tries to replicate the recipes for kosher dinners at her home. For dessert, she often fills little golden cups with soy-based iced soufflés, as Lenôtre does. “I love perfection,” she said. At Passover, Jacqueline makes beef cheeks or even veal shanks seasoned the Algerian way, with hot pepper and cilantro, and serves them as a main course, accompanied by her Algerian take on cabbage with cilantro and hot pepper. If you can’t find beef cheeks, use veal shanks, stew meat, or flanken—any slightly fatty cut will do. Slow cooking makes the meat tender and delicious. Since it tastes even better prepared a day in advance, reheat just before serving.

　　

Ingredients

at least 8 servings

　　5 tablespoons vegetable oil

　　3 large onions, peeled and chopped

　　4 cloves garlic, crushed

　　2 pounds beef cheeks, beef or veal shanks, stew meat, or flanken, cut into 2 pieces

　　2 bay leaves

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

　　1 tablespoon ground cumin

　　1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

　　2 cups chicken broth

　　

Step 1

Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy pan, add the onions and garlic, and cook until the onions are golden, adding more oil if needed. Remove from the pan, and set aside.

　　

Step 2

Add the remaining oil, and brown the meat on all sides. Return the onions and garlic to the pan, stir in the bay leaves, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, the cumin, and all but 2 tablespoons of the cilantro. Pour the chicken broth over the meat. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer very slowly for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Take the pan off the heat, let cool, then remove the meat with a slotted spoon and cut into 1-inch cubes.

　　

Step 3

Return the meat to the pan, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, remove any fat that has accumulated, reheat the stew over low heat, adjust seasonings, and sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons of reserved fresh cilantro leaves before serving.

　　Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous