by Gil Marks
About ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
Additional flour for sprinkling
1 recipe spinach filling (recipe follows) or Gomo (Sephardic Pastry Fillings)
Egg wash (1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)
1. To make the pastry: In a medium bowl, combine the oil, water, and salt. Stir in 1 cup flour. Gradually stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough that comes away from the sides of the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 1/3 -inch-thick rectangle, about 9 by 6 inches. Spread with 2 tablespoons butter and lightly sprinkle with flour. With the narrow end facing you, fold over the top third of the dough, then fold over the uncovered bottom third, forming about a 6-by-3-inch rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough, seam side up, on a lightly floured surface and roll into a ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Spread with 2 tablespoons butter, lightly sprinkle with flour, and fold in thirds as in the previous step. Repeat rolling, spreading, and folding 3 more times. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or overnight. Let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes before rolling.
4. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 3-inch rounds or squares. Spoon 1 tablespoon filling in the center, fold over to form a half-moon or triangle, and press the edges to seal. Place on an ungreased baking sheet, 1 inch apart, and brush with the egg wash.
6. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Spinach Filling
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 medium onion or 6 scallions, chopped
2 cups (1 pound fresh or 10 ounces frozen) cooked, squeezed, and chopped spinach
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ to ¾ cup grated provolone, kashkaval, Muenster, Monterey Jack, or Swiss cheese
About ½ teaspoon table salt or 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Dash of ground black pepper
Dash of ground nutmeg or cayenne (optional)
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the spinach. Let cool. Add the remaining ingredients.
Butter
When raw cow's milk is left to stand, due to the presence of an agglutinating protein, the fat globules cluster and rise to the top. Two gallons of milk yield about six cups of cream, a mixture of suspended fat globules and water. When beaten, the globules bump into each other, which causes the fat to cling together. The more the cream is beaten, the larger the fat clumps grow, producing what we call whipped cream. Churning cream further transforms the mixture from pockets of fat suspended in water into an emulsion consisting of fat, water, proteins, and carbohydrates, what we call butter. The liquid left from making butter is buttermilk.
Butter was discovered in prehistoric times, probably when nomads or herdsmen placed milk into leak-proof bags made from animal skins and hung the sacks onto their animals, and the movement as they traveled then "squeezed" the cream until butter formed. Much later, tools were invented to facilitate the process, such as the ancient machbetzot (wooden churns) found in several locations in Israel. After the cream was skimmed off the milk, the cream was allowed to ripen briefly in order for bacteria to ferment the lactose in it, transforming it into the lactic acid that is necessary for the separation of the butterfat during churning. The actions of these bacteria also give butter its characteristic flavor and aroma. When ready, the cream was placed in a churn and the blades of a wooden dasher worked until the liquid firmed.
Until the advent of refrigeration, butter was generally only used when it was relatively fresh or plenty of salt was added as a preservative. Eventually, people discovered a method to increase its shelf life without salt—by clarifying it. As butter melts, the water gradually evaporates and the remainder separates into three layers: foam consisting of trapped proteins and carbohydrates on the surface, fat (pure liquid butter) in the center, and a whitish layer of proteins and carbohydrates (whey) along with water on the bottom. It is the milk solids that turn rancid, spoiling the butter, as well as burn easily. When most of the milk solids are removed, the remaining yellow liquid is called clarified butter. Clarified butter, however, lacks regular butter's rich flavor.
European-style clarified butter, also called drawn butter, is only melted for about two minutes, then strained without any cooking, leaving some water. Samneh/samna/smen, the Middle Eastern form of clarified butter, historically made from sheep or goat butter, is generally cooked to eliminate more of the solids and water, thereby greatly extending the amount of time it can be stored even without refrigeration. The Indian ghee, frequently made from water buffalo butter, is typically cooked for a lengthy period, during which time the milk solids brown and the sugar caramelizes, imparting a slightly nutty flavor. Ghee is an essential element of northern and central Indian cuisine; coconut or vegetable oil serves that role in the south.
In post-Biblical Hebrew, chemah means butter, which seems appropriate as the word is derived from the root meaning "fury" or "disturbed," reflecting the agitation necessary to make it. Proverbs appears to support this intent as well: "For squeezing milk brings forth chemah, and squeezing the nose brings forth blood; so the squeezing of anger brings forth strife." However, the biblical use of chemah most likely encompassed both butter and buttermilk. When Abraham served his three parched guests chemah and Yael gave chemah to the exhausted general Sisera, it was probably the refreshing buttermilk.
In biblical Israel, a land rich in olive oil, butter was a luxury and minor fat. On the other hand, butter was a mainstay in northern Europe, an area with very limited amounts of oil. In any case, since the time of Abraham, butter and buttermilk have remained an important part of Jewish dining.
C
Cabbage
Cabbage, one of the oldest cultivated vegetables, has been the most widely eaten vegetable in history, a food of the poor and, in some areas, among the few types of produce available. The cabbage's short growing time of about three months allows for several plantings a year and, therefore, yields more of it than any other vegetable. It has also been revered for thousands of years for medicinal purposes, such as for treating coughs and bronchitis. Today, cabbage remains among the world's top ten most widely grown plants.
The original wild cabbage—actually a colewort, as the term cabbage technically refers only to a headed variety—was a loose bunch of leaves attached to a main stalk, similar to its close relative kale, and also very bitter, because it contained a significant amount of mustard oil. Initially, both the leaves and stalk were consumed, but they required pickling or boiling to be palatable. From the wild ancestor, horticulturists over the millennia developed nearly five hundred varieties of cabbage, as well as flowering cabbages (all the same species), including broccoli and cauliflower.
Around the first century BCE, the first head cabbage evolved, possibly in northern Europe; however, it was not widely used until the medieval period, and colewort remained the most important green for European peasants until the seventeenth century. The now-familiar green cabbage, also called white cabbage, with a firm, light green head and mild-flavored smooth leaves, first appeared in Germany around the middle of the twelfth century. The two other main types of head cabbages are the crinkle-leaf savoy, with a milder flavor and softer texture, dating to the middle of the sixteenth century, and the smooth-leaf red (actually more purple). Red cabbage was first mentioned in Germany in 1150, but as a green cabbage with red veins and edges, and it only evolved into the version with the solid purple color on the exterior (the inside of the leaves is white) in the sixteenth century. Chinese cabbages belong to a different species.
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The cabbage/colewort is never mentioned in the Bible, but recorded in the Mishnah. It entered Jewish cooking relatively late in history, probably reaching the Levant around 275 BCE by way of the Greeks. The cabbage's Hebrew name, kruv, derives from the Greek krambe/krámvi, and only came into usage during the late Second Temple Period. It is probable that the Celts, who called the plant bresic, which gave rise to the Latin term Brassica, spread the colewort to the eastern Mediterranean around 600 to 300 BCE, where it was adopted by the Romans, Egyptians, and Greeks, strengthening the theory of a western European origin. Another sign of Celtic influence on cabbage is the relationship of the Celtic caul/crl (stalk) to the Greek kaulion, the source of many words for cabbage. The Greeks and Romans introduced colewort to northeastern Europe, where the Slavs were growing it by the ninth century. Since headed cabbage grows best in cooler climates, northern Europe emerged as the early center of this form of cabbage, which eventually became a mainstay of the diet.
In any case, around two thousand years ago, colewort first emerged as one of the most important plants in the Jewish diet. A Talmudic saying, "Together with the thorn the cabbage is smitten," connotes the importance of the edible colewort in contrast to the problematical thorn. The Talmud considers the colewort as being healthful and sustaining, noting the benefits of "cabbage for sustenance" and including it among "the six things that heal a sick person."
In a listing of chores that noted rabbis performed to help their wives in the preparation for the Sabbath, the Talmud recorded, "Rav Chisda cut cabbage." Cabbage remains festive as well as everyday fare. Since the Teutonic name for cabbage, kohl, sounds like the prominent Hoshanah Rabbah prayer kol mevaser (a voice announcing), Germans traditionally serve cabbage soup (kohl mit vasser) on Hoshanah Rabbah at the end of Sukkot. Some Germans offer a sweetened dish of red cabbage with apples on Rosh Hashanah. Cabbage is among the traditional vegetables in the Rosh Hashanah stew served atop couscous by Moroccans. Around the sixteenth century, the arrival of the concept of stuffed vegetables led to one of the favorite eastern European holiday dishes, stuffed cabbage. Stuffed cabbage and cabbage strudel are served by many Ashkenazic households on Sukkot, while Russians offer a cabbage and meat soup. Cabbage is traditional on Simchat Torah as well, partially because its Hebrew name (kruv) is a homonym for cherub, and a pair of cherubs hovered over the Ark of the Covenant bearing the tablets of the Ten Commandments. Raw cabbage salads entered the Jewish repertoire rather late, as Ashkenazim rarely ate uncooked vegetables; however, these salads subsequently became common and widespread among Ashkenazim for Sabbath lunch.
Colewort and, even more importantly, the headed cabbage, served as northern Ashkenazim's predominant vegetable until the acceptance of the potato in the mid-1800s. For a millennia, cabbage was the most common cooking odor of the shtetlach. Cabbage was boiled, braised, stewed, and pickled for sauerkraut. It also served as the basis for numerous soups and fillings for savory pastries, including strudel, blintzes, piroshki, and knishes. Cabbage was typically paired with another Ashkenazic standard, the onion. A common central European and Ukrainian way of preparing cooked cabbage was to mix it with noodles; this dish was frequently flavored with caraway.
Although less vital to other Jewish communities, cabbage has also been important, especially in Ethiopia and India, where it goes into intensely spiced salads and braises. However, residents of the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia, having numerous other vegetables at their disposal, relied much less on cabbage, although they pickled it, stuffed it, and used it in stews.
(See also Cabbage, Stuffed; Choucroute Garnie; and Sauerkraut)
Cabbage, Stuffed
Origin: Turkey or Persia
Other names: cabbage roll; Arabic: mahshi malfuf; Azeri: dolma; Belorussia: halubsy; Bessarabia: prake; Bulgarian: zelevi sarma; Farsi: dolmeh kalam, tolma; Galicia: holeptshe, tabelakh, teibelekh; Georgian: kombostos tolma; German: gefulte kroyt, gevikelte kroyt, kohlrouladen; Greek: dolma de kol, dolma kalam, samas de kol, yemista me lahano; Hebrew: kruv memulah; Hungarian: töltött káposzta, sorma; Italian: cavoli ripieni; Ladino: samas de kol; Lithuania: goluptshe; Poland: galloptchy, geluptze, golomke, goluptshe, holishike, holoptsche, holubtshe; Romanian: sarmale; northern Russia: goluptsi; Serbia: sarma; Slovakia: holupki, kapusta; Turkish: käbestä dolmasi, lahana dolmasi, lahana sarma, yaprak dolmasi; northern Ukraine: halupki, holubtsi; southern Ukraine: prake.
Already two millennia ago, stewed cabbage was a winter staple in Europe and the Middle East. During the medieval period, peasants in either Turkey or Persia began stewing cabbage leaves wrapped around grains and pounded meat as a way of producing a more substantial dish and stretching limited resources. Eventually, the notion of stuffing cabbage leaves spread throughout much of western Asia and Europe, where it became known by an assortment of names and, as with other well-traveled dishes, developed numerous variations. Middle Easterners and residents of the Balkans generally preferred stuffing grape leaves. It was in eastern and central Europe, the cooler climates there not conducive to growing grapes, where stuffed cabbage emerged as one of the most beloved of festive dishes and comfort foods.
Cabbage leaves, ground beef, and chopped onions are transformed into the Ashkenazic beloved stuffed cabbage.
The Tatars overran Ukraine and Poland throughout the sixteenth century, and probably introduced the concept of stuffed vegetables to those countries at that time. The most available leaf for stuffing in that area was cabbage. It soon became popular peasant fare and was whimsically named after local Slavic words for dove—golub in Russian, holub in Ukrainian, golab in Polish, and teibel or tabel in Yiddish—with a diminutive suffix. Perhaps the stuffed cabbage rolls reminded them of little birds in a nest or in a pot.
While stuffed cabbage arrived in Russia by way of the Tatars, Turks and Middle Eastern Jews introduced the dish to the Balkans and Hungary, then under the control of the Ottoman Empire. There it took names from the Turkish sarma (to wrap) or yaprak (leaf) as well as dolma (stuffed). The term prakes penetrated far enough north as to be common around the city of Lodz in central Poland and in parts of Ukraine. Most of central Europe adopted literal rather than whimsical terms for stuffed cabbage. By following the name, one can identify the direction from which a community's stuffed cabbage entered Europe. The Yiddish name in many American cities or neighborhoods was commonly determined by the dominant immigrant group, until the English "stuffed cabbage" generally supplanted most of the Old World terms.
Today, stuffed cabbage filling consists primarily of ground meat, but throughout much of history, meat was a minor element or even absent. In a time when meat was expensive, mixing a little meat with a lot of filler—besides stretching resources, the filler lightens the texture and binds the meat—and wrapping the mixture with readily available cabbage leaves, usually the less desirable outer ones, proved an ideal and practical way of making something special for a festival or the Sabbath. Middle Easterners and Romanians typically added rice in the stuffing, while Jews from northeast Europe used bread or barley. Among the very poor, sauerkraut, barley, or buckwheat was all too frequently used to stuff the leaves in place of meat.
European-style ground meat tends to be coarser than the smooth Middle Eastern type. Middle Easterners tend to sauté the onions and meat for the filling, while Ashkenazim usually use raw meat and onions, along with an egg to bind. Hungarians add sweet paprika or marjoram, Syrians allspice and cinnamon, Persians dill or mint, and Romanians paprika, savory, and plenty of garlic.
Jews from Hungary, Italy, Romania, and northern Poland prefer a savory sauce, Sephardim enjoy a tart sauce made by adding a little lemon juice, and those from Galicia and Ukraine favor a sweet-and-sour sauce. Greeks also make a version kon huevos y limon, with an egg-lemon sauce poured over the top afterwards. In order to thicken the sauce, Poles added einbren (browned flour) or a zaprashka (roux). In the nineteenth century, tomatoes became a common addition to the sauce, negating the need for a flour thickener. Some eastern European
cooks traditionally use sour salt (citric acid) in the tomato sauce, because, unlike lemon juice and vinegar, its flavor does not diminish during the long cooking time, which is needed to develop the flavor and properly tenderize the cabbage. In America, many Ashkenazim adopted the sweet-and-sour version, commonly adding raisins. Also in America, the proportion of meat dramatically increased and rice became the common grain.
Stuffed cabbage is a beloved Ashkenazic dish, favored as an entrée or appetizer at festive occasions, including the Sabbath, Passover, and weddings, or as just a comfort food. Stuffed cabbage became traditional Ashkenazic fare for Sukkot because cabbage was abundant in eastern Europe at that time of the year. In addition, filled foods symbolize abundance. On Simchat Torah the shape of the cabbage roll resembles a Torah scroll.
(See also Dolma and Grape Leaves, Stuffed)
Ashkenazic Stuffed Cabbage (Holishikes/Prakes)
16 to 18 servings
[MEAT]
White or cider vinegar
1 large head (about 3 pounds) green or savoy cabbage, cored
1 medium onion, sliced
Stuffing:
1½ pounds ground beef
About ½ cup raw rice, dry bread crumbs, or matza meal
1 large egg
½ cup water
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
About ¾ teaspoon table salt or 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
About ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Sauce:
2 cups crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce, or 1 cup each
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup water
2 bay leaves
1 to 8 tablespoons sugar
About ½ teaspoon table salt or 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Ground black pepper to taste
2 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice or cider vinegar, or ¼ teaspoon sour salt
1. Fill a large pot about three-fourths full with water, add a little vinegar, and bring to a rapid boil. Carefully place the cabbage in the boiling water and cook until the outer leaves are pliable enough to roll easily, about 5 minutes. Using a pair of tongs, pull off the supple leaves. Repeat the process until you have 16 to 18 untorn large leaves. Trim the tough center rib of each leaf. Shred any extra cabbage leaves and place in the bottom of a deep heavy pot or baking dish. Scatter the onion over the top.
