I wanted to include this Baron family recipe because it underscores how rooted in poverty Jewish cuisine is. This is a traditional spread to be served on crackers or toast, an easy and inexpensive canapé. It shows off the versatility of the egg, the power of schmaltz to enrich, the forcefulness of the gribenes to flavor, and the power of the onion. Onion and egg, that's it. In its plainest form—egg, sautéed onion, gribenes, schmaltz, salt and pepper—it's good but very plain. Arthur Schwartz's version, chopped by hand and mashed slightly with a fork, is even plainer-eggs, schmaltz, salt and pepper, enlivened with raw onion. That said, its greatness lies in this simplicity.
Lois is going to get a little huffy, but I've fallen back on my habit of giving this a little sparkle with some minced shallot macerated in lemon, a kick with cayenne, a little more depth of flavor with fish sauce, and a nice crunch from some diced celery folded in-but it's up to you. No matter how you make it, it goes great on water crackers, matzo, thinly sliced toast, and would be a great garnish for a green, leafy salad. For a more fanciful canapé, combine it with chopped liver.
This recipe can be doubled.
