When I was growing up,(even when I was a young adult—which I’m not anymore. What is 52, an old adult, a young senior?) I thought I’d never make Hungarian fruit soup. It was part of my childhood, a dish my mother had brought over from Europe which like gribenes and fleishig eggs and jellied carp wouldn’t transition into a new millennium and a new world.

But then last Sunday I was at Zol Begadol one of Jerusalem’s amazingly named supermarkets (others are Zol Poh literally cheap here, Sharei Ezra, the gates of assistance and my personal favorite Osher Ad or endless bliss) and I noticed a box of gooseberries in the freezer case.

In case you aren’t familiar, gooseberries are my mother’s favorite fruit soup ingredients. Tart and green, they grow all over Europe especially in Hungary where my parents were both born, but not much in other places.

Whenever my mother could find them, which wasn’t often—they aren’t readily available even in New York City , my parents were in food heaven. And now i had boxes and boxes in eyeshot.

All I had to do was reach down and scoop them into my cart. As I reached down over the freezer, I could almost feel my late father standing next to me, smiling

But then I stopped . I thought about my family, my husband and kids, how they would never go for gooseberry soup-not even if I cooked the soup with a whole bag of sugar , so I left the store empty handed.

But all week long I was haunted. Several times, I almost ran back to the store but each time I stopped. I couldn’t justify the expense—gooseberries are about triple the price of fruit in season, or the travel time. Zol Begadol is 45 minutes from my home.

So I compromised. I made my mother’s Hungarian fruit soup using tart green apples instead.

At first my kids were confused by the idea of fruit and soup. Would they find apple slices floating in a broth of onions and potatoes?

But then my husband forced everyone to have a taste and—the soup got eaten. A few kids even ate seconds. And I’ve been snacking on it the whole week. Yummy.

Here’s how to do it.

Select a dozen fruit.Though I used apples this soup is better and prettier if you vary the ingredients. Plums, peaches, and apricots are wonderful, also sour cherries if you can get them. And of course gooseberries

Slice the fruit and remove pits. Peel apples, Plums and peaches can be cooked with their peels

Place in a pot with enough water to cover and add one and one quarter cups of sugar.

Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon (optional)

Boil together until the fruit are very soft (about 35 minutes but check)

In a mixer bowl, beat together two to three eggs until they are light yellow frothy and thick

And now the tricky part.

Slowly combine the egg with the cooked fruit, dripping in the cooked fruit and cooking liquid into the egg mixture very slowly so that the eggs don’t curdle.

If this freaks you out, substitute one cup of sour cream or yogurt for the eggs and blend half the fruit mixture for a creamier soup..

Refrigerate until fully chilled and enjoy.

END