When General Allenby entered Jerusalem in 1917, the Jews of the city were celebrating Chanukah and the Christians were preparing for the feast of Christmas. Allenby, leading the British expeditionary force that expelled the Turks from the Holy Land was welcomed enthusiastically by the Jewish and Christian residents of the city and, because it was close to Christmas, he was asked if there was a special dish he would like prepared for his own celebration. Allenby did not pause at all before replying that he would gain great pleasure from a plum pudding. It was at the Convent of the Sisters of Zion (also known as the Ecce Homo convent) that Dominican nuns prepared this treat for the general.

In various parts of the world, different dishes are considered de rigueuer for Christmas dinner. Englishmen and women could probably not survive the holiday without turkey and the French would find life most trying on this special day if deprived of their roast goose. Germans demand duckling with apples and Americans have settled in comfortably with baked ham served with yams. Because Christians from each of those nations reside in Jerusalem today, each of these dishes is well known in Israel. But, regardless less of whether one is in Madrid or London, Jerusalem or Weisbaden, there is no dish more highly valued as a Christmas dessert than plum pudding.

The origins of this delicacy are found in the 10th century when it was served as a first course, porridge-like dish. The dish as we (and General Allenby) know it was devised by Guillaume Tirel - or Taillevent, as he preferred to call himself - the personal chef of King Charles V of France. In 1375, the king informed his chef that he would be hosting a Christmas party for 600 of his subjects and specifically requested that some "new and exciting sweet course be set forth for my pleasure". Taillevent, one of the first great chefs of France, proved more than up to the challenge when he devised plum pudding for his monarch.

Taillevent's pudding has undergone a variety of fortunes over the last six centuries. The Pilgrims who settled in America outlawed lawed the dish because it was "so sinfully rich that it distracts man from his proper thoughts of the Creator". Nineteenth-century Baptists declared it "unfit for the consumption of moral churchgoers" because of its alcoholic ingredients. Albert Einstein declared the dish a "gift from the gods"; England's Queen Victoria, who dearly loved sweets, insisted that it be served not only on Christmas "but on all the holidays worthy of our royal note".

Robert Kennedy ate it in the company of Marilyn Monroe; Henry VIII sent one to Anne Boleyn while she was awaiting execution; and France's Cardinal Richelieu declared it to be "worthy of Paradise".

It may shock the British, who always thought an English cook devised the dish, to realize that the first recipe for the pudding appeared in Taillevent's own book Le Viander in 1375. It may come as somewhat of a surprise to others to learn that the dish most universally prized at Christmas tables was invented by a Jew. Taillevent was born of Jewish parents from the city of Lyon. His cookbook, from which the following recipe is adapted, is probably the oldest French cookbook extant. It enjoyed a phenomenal reputation not only during his lifetime but in succeeding centuries, when it became one of the first books to be printed on the Gutenberg berg printing press.

When Taillevent died in 1395 at the age of 69 he was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Lyon. His tombstone, although considerably worn by time, still stands and portrays him in the honorary dress of a royal sergeant at arms, complete with helmet and mace, his shield emblazoned with three cooking pots, each inscribed with a Star of David.

Plum Pudding

For the sauce:
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 egg whites, beaten lightly
1 Tbsp. cognac or rum

For the pudding:
1 cup flour, sifted before measuring
1 tsp. each baking powder and powdered cinnamon
1/2 tsp. each salt and powdered nutmeg
1/4 tsp. each powdered cloves and allspice
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
5 eggs, beaten until frothy
3/4 cup milk
225 gr. suet, chopped finely
juice and rind of 1 lemon
3 cups raisins
3/4 cup mixed candied rind, chopped
1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds
1/2 cup dark rum or cognac hard sauce for serving (recipe follows)

Make the sauce by creaming together the butter, sugar and egg whites until thick and fluffy. Flavor with the cognac and chill well before serving.

Resift 3/4 cup of the flour together with the baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. Combine these with the brown sugar and breadcrumbs. Into this mixture add, alternatively, the eggs and the milk. Add the suet, lemon juice and lemon rind.

With the remaining flour combine the raisins, candied rind, and almonds and add these to the mixture. Add the cognac folding in well. Transfer the pudding to a 12 cup mold or bowl, cover with a double layer of aluminum foil and set on a trivet in a pot with about 2 1/2 cm of water. Cover and steam for about 4 1/2 - 5 hours, adding water as necessary to maintain the level. Serve with the hard sauce. (Serves 12).

Hard Sauce

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 egg whites, beaten lightly
1 Tbsp. cognac or rum

Cream together the butter, sugar and egg whites until thick and fluffy. Flavor with the cognac and chill well before using.

© Daniel Rogov