‘My food prophet mother Evelyn Rose would have loved the new JC cookbook’

Time-saving efficiency for a busy household was always a high priority for Evelyn, says Judi, and that too is reflected in the new book.

“She would have embraced the traybake trend [of cooking a meal in one roasting tin] and was always on the look-out for how to make life easier and save time and effort for busy cooks (mostly women) without sacrificing flavour or deliciousness.”

Evelyn Rose[Missing Credit]

Judi picks out the Moroccan spiced chicken tray bake in Friday Night Feasts, which she says “included the sort of bold spicing and flavours with layers, that she and my father enjoyed, but takes relatively little effort to make. That was another mantra of hers – minimal effort maximum “ta’am” (tastiness).”

Evelyn would surely have revelled in the latest labour-saving technology options: “No doubt these days she would have found clever ways to use an air fryer.” But it’s the liberal use of ingredients like pomegranate molasses, za’atar and silan (date syrup) in Friday Night Feasts that would have gone down particularly well with Evelyn, who was constantly hunting for new flavours.

“She was always adventurous and travelled even from her honeymoon in 1948, which she and my father Myer spent on the Riviera – almost unheard of then. She’d been evacuated to California during World War Two which opened her eyes to all sorts of new produce,” says Judi, a food writer herself and culinary director at Gateways UK, a charity helping young Jewish people.

Gefilte fish from Evelyn became gefilte fish Provençale – the chopped fish patties bathed in a rich tomato and pepper sauce reminiscent of shakshuka instead of the usual fish broth. And she found more flavours in the Middle East.

“Pomegranate molasses for instance – you couldn’t just to Waitrose and get yourself a bottle. You had to go to Israel or do it yourself. She’d tasted pomegranate molasses on one trip but you couldn’t get it here, so when she came back, she took it upon herself to make it.”

Her openness to new ingredients meant she was often asked to help promote fruits like avocadoes, golden kiwis and kumquats by importers keen to crack the UK market.

“In the late 1970’s, she was asked by Israeli importer Carmel Agrexco to develop avocado recipes – we ate them for six months” laughs Judi.

“And I think she would also have enjoyed the Eton Mess ice cream loaf from Friday Night Feasts. Meringue (pavlova) was one of the first things she showed me how to make when I was barely tall enough to see over the kitchen counter.”

​To buy Friday Night Feasts click ‘cookbook’ on the tab at the top of the JC.com homepage. 

Come and celebrate its launch with Victoria Prever, food writers Claudia Roden and Josh Katz and caterer Tony Page on January 19 –  book your tickets here