Pictured here from left are: Aunt Lilly, Uncle Julie, Aunt Sylvia, my in-laws Ida and Ben Siegel, and Bessie and Sam Babitch.
My mother-in-law, Ida (Babitch) Siegel, was the middle of three girls. After she died, at age 65, I stayed in regular contact with her sisters, Aunt Lilly and Aunt Sylvia. The three Babitch girls were different, one from the next, but they were similar in that each kept an immaculately clean, Kosher home, and each was a good cook.
While Aunt Lilly carefully adhered to the laws of kashrut, at home and when eating in restaurants, one of her famous dishes is for baked “clams.” I don’t know if Aunt Lilly actually ever ate clams, but I guess it didn’t matter. This dish was one of her specialties.
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds sole fillet
Salt to taste
3 cups water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¾ cup onions, minced
8 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
4 ounce jar pimento, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
8-ounce can parve flavored bread crumbs or freshly made bread crumbs
¼ cup soy milk, more as needed
5 tablespoons mayonnaise
“Clam” shells* for serving
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In 2-quart saucepan set over high heat, steam fish in 3 cups boiling, salted water until fish flakes when touched with a fork. Drain the fish, flake the fish into small pieces and then set in a medium bowl.
In frying pan, set over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add onion and sauté until golden, but not brown. Set aside to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, place cooled, fried onion, fish, garlic, parsley, pimentos, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs, soy milk and mayonnaise. Mix well. Add more mayonnaise if necessary to have mixture soft, yet firm enough to hold together.
Place mixture into “clam” shells. Bake for 30 minutes until top is light brown and hot.
* You can find clamshell shaped baking dishes here.
Yield: 6
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