by Gil Marks
Kreplach, like all Ashkenazic noodles, are made from wheat flour bound with eggs, not the semolina conventional in the Mediterranean. Originally, kreplach were filled with chopped cooked meat, which was typically a way of stretching and enhancing leftovers or a tight budget. Lung and chopped liver were once particularly widespread. After a meat shortage befell Europe in the sixteenth century, fruit and nut fillings also became popular. For dairy meals, a little soft cheese was substituted. Other standard fillings included cabbage, kasha, mushroom, and, in the mid-nineteenth century, potato, although meat remained the most popular.
Kreplach are rarely eaten plain: Meat types are most commonly served swimming in chicken soup, while cheese or potato are typically bathed in sour cream or, like many dumpings, lightly fried after boiling and paired with sautéed onions.
Kreplach quickly became a much-beloved Ashkenazic delicacy and an integral part of Jewish culture. A popular Yiddish expression for "too much of a good thing" is "Kreplach esn vert oykh nimes" (One even gets tired of eating kreplach). Isaac Bashevis Singer, in his 1956 short story "Gimpel the Fool," wrote, "One night, when the period of mourning was done, as I lay dreaming on the flour sacks, there came the Spirit of Evil himself and said to me, 'Gimpel, why do you sleep?' I said, 'What should I be doing? Eating kreplach?' "
Making noodles by hand was a potchke (bother), so historically Ashkenazic housewives prepared them only once a week or less. Filled pasta required even more effort, meat for the filling was typically expensive and rare, and kreplach could not be stored for any length of time. Therefore, kreplach were generally reserved for special occasions and for four specific holidays: Yom Kippur eve, Hoshanah Rabbah, Purim, and Shavuot. At the meal before the fast of Yom Kippur (Seudah Mafseket), meat kreplach are traditional in chicken soup, as the mystics compare the wrapping of dough with the divine envelopment of mercy, kindness, and protection demonstrated on Yom Kippur. Hoshanah Rabbah (the seventh day of Sukkot) is regarded as the day on which the verdicts of judgment delivered on Yom Kippur are sealed and, accordingly, traditional Yom Kippur eve foods are served. Another symbolic meaning of kreplach is that the filling is "beaten" (i.e., minced), just as willow branches are beaten on Hoshanah Rabbah, Haman was "beaten" on Purim, and sinners theoretically deserve to be beaten on Yom Kippur. All three of these occasions are also days when work is permitted, and the kreplach with their concealed filling have been said to remind us of the days' hidden holiness. Cheese kreplach, with either a savory or sweet curd filling, are often customary on Shavuot. Dairy kreplach were also once served as an occasional weekday treat during the spring and summer when fresh cheese was plentiful.
By the seventeenth century, kreplach were becoming traditional Purim fare among eastern Europeans as well; they were served filled with meat and floating in chicken soup. If featured for dessert, they might contain cherry, plum, or strawberry preserves. Kreplach also came to represent the three-cornered hat or ear ascribed to the villainous Haman.
Kreplach, spelled creplich, was first mentioned in English in Israel Zangwill's Children of the Ghetto (London, 1892). A recipe for "Creplech" appeared in the first edition of The Settlement Cook Book (Milwaukee, 1901).
Meat kreplach, called "meat balls with sport jackets" and "the eternal triangle" by humorist Sam Levenson, became standard at Jewish delis, while hearty cheese ones were a mainstay of Catskills hotels and Jewish dairy restaurants. As a result, cheese kreplach with sour cream was adopted as movie star Jimmy Cagney's favorite nosh, which he enjoyed at various Jewish eateries. Mel Brooks, in one of his 2000-Year-Old Man routines, said about the secret to his longevity: "The major thing is that I never eat fried food. I don't eat it, I wouldn't look at it; I don't touch it. Except maybe once in a while a little schnitzel, a few blintzes, a plate of kreplach." Krepl and kreplach even became geometric terms for a type of triangle. Yet kreplach never achieved the prominence in mainstream American gastronomy as ravioli or wontons, remaining primarily an iconic Jewish food.
(See also Lokshen, Pirog, and Varenik/Varenikes)
Eastern European Filled Pasta Triangles (Kreplach)
about thirty-two 3-inch dumplings
[MEAT]
Filling:
2 tablespoon vegetable oil or schmaltz
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef chuck
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or dill
About 1 teaspoon salt
About ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 recipe (1 pound) Egg Noodle Dough, prepared according to directions below, or 32 wonton wrappers
1. To make the filling: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and sauté until the meat loses its red coloring, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley, salt, and pepper. Let cool.
2. After kneading the dough in Step 2 of the Egg Noodle Dough recipe, cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 2½- to 3-inch squares. Reroll any dough scraps.
3. Place 1 teaspoon filling in the center of each 2½-inch square or a heaping teaspoon in the center of each 3-inch square. Brush the dough edges with a little water to moisten and fold over diagonally to form a triangle, pressing out any air. Pinch the edges or press with the tines of a fork to seal.
4. Place on a lightly floured surface or a kitchen towel, cover with a kitchen towel, and let stand until the dough begins to feel dry but is still supple, about 30 minutes. The pasta may be prepared ahead up to this point and refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months until ready to use. Do not thaw before cooking, but increase the cooking time by about 5 minutes.
5. In a large pot, bring lightly salted water to a rapid boil. In several batches, drop the pasta into the pot, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, until the kreplach are tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the pasta and drain.
6. Add the kreplach to hot chicken soup or fry in a little schmaltz or vegetable oil until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
Variation
For the meat filling, substitute about 2 cups Ashkenazic pastry filling, such as potato or cheese (see Savory Fillings), or Pirogen filling (see Pirog).
Krupnik
Krupnik is barley soup.
Origin: Poland
The most common modern culinary usage of barley, other than in brewing beer and distilling liquor, is in hearty soups. The Slavic word for hulled grains, krupa, gave rise to the name of this fundamental Polish and Baltic soup, krupnik. The Jewish Encyclopedia (New York, 1903) includes krupnik in a list of soups common among both Jews and non-Jews.
Although barley served as its basis, this soup always contained other hearty ingredients, notably mushrooms and various root vegetables. Some Jewish versions were pareve, but others were made with meat. When made pareve, krupnik is frequently served with a dollop of sour cream. The Yiddish expression "Beser bay zikh krupnik, eyder bay yenem gebrotns" (Better barley soup at home than a roast at someone else's home) reflects the fact that krupnik was an unexciting staple of the diet in Poland and the Baltic States and a regular weekday meal; in some households it was eaten on a daily basis.
Polish Barley Soup (Krupnik)
6 to 8 servings
[MEAT or PAREVE]
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or schmaltz
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
8 cups chicken broth, beef broth, vegetable broth, or water
1 cup (6.5 ounces) pearl barley, rinsed
1 to 2 pounds fresh mushrooms, sliced, or 1 ounce dried Polish or Italian mushrooms, soaked and sliced
3 medium carrots, chopped
2 medium parsnips or turnips, peeled and chopped
1 large boiling
potato, peeled and diced
1 bay leaf
About 1½ teaspoons table salt or 1 tablespoon kosher salt
Ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sweet paprika (optional)
In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the parsley. Add the broth, barley, mushrooms, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and, if using, paprika. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until the barley is tender, about 45 minutes.
Krushka
Krushka is a Jewish eastern European stew made from veal innards; as in numerous other widespread dishes, humble parts of the animal were transformed into a hearty meal. Like many once-traditional rustic dishes, especially those made from offal, it lost favor in America and Israel.
Kubaneh
Kubaneh is a long-cooked pull-apart yeast bread.
Origin: Yemen
Other names: kubana, kubani, kubneh.
Bread, in various forms, constituted the mainstay of the Yemenite diet. Most of these were very simple loaves, frequently unleavened pancake breads and basic leavened flatbreads. An exception was kubaneh, a yeast bread prepared on Friday afternoon before the onset of the Sabbath, then left to cook overnight. On the Sabbath, following Friday night dinner and sometimes after taking a little nap, many Yemenites had a tradition of going to the synagogue to study or recite psalms with a distinctive melody. Women might also attend, in the women's section, soaking in the music and holy words. It was common for people to bring along jars of sweetened coffee, providing a boost of energy. After several hours, most people would return home to sleep, before rising early to return to the synagogue at sunrise for the morning service. In the morning in every household, Yemenites would enjoy their kubaneh. Some people ate this treat before the morning synagogue service, while others had the custom of taking a break in the middle of services and before the Torah reading and Musaf service, going home to enjoy the kubaneh. Still others waited till after the services, but before lunch.
This unusual Yemenite yeast bread is cooked covered, which steams and bakes the bread, at low temperatures overnight for the Saturday meal.
The secret to kubaneh is not in the dough, but in the cooking. Uniquely, the bread is cooked for a very long time in a tightly covered dish at a low temperature, steaming the bread as well as baking it. Some cooks simply roll balls of dough in fat, while others prepare them like jachnun, rolling them out flat, spreading them with samneh (clarified butter), then rolling them up. The result is a tall golden loaf divided into large balls, with the top part somewhat airier than the bottom. It is soft, but with a heavy, flaky texture and a rich flavor. Eggs in the shell are usually cooked in the pan alongside the bread; the eggs, which turn brown and creamy, and kubaneh are then served together, along with hilbeh (fenugreek relish), rotav ahgfaniyot (fresh tomato puree), and butter, and sometimes spiced coffee.
Since kubaneh was customarily made with samneh, it was not eaten at Sabbath lunch, which featured meat dishes. However, pareve versions were also prepared using oil or, in Israel, margarine. If necessary, after removing the pot from the heat, the container is covered with a blanket to keep it warm until serving. As with other breads, Yemenites customarily do not eat directly from a very large piece, but rather tear off bite-sized portions.
Kubaneh requires a special round aluminum pot, about eight inches in diameter with a fitted cover containing a very small hole in the center, called either a "seer kubaneh" or "seer jachnun." Today, kubaneh is very popular in Israel. It is available in some restaurants, as well as sold in some supermarkets.
Yemenite Overnight Bread (Kubaneh)
8 to 10 servings
[PAREVE or DAIRY]
1 package (2¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast or 1 (0.6-ounce) cake fresh yeast
1½ cups warm water (105°F to 115°F for dry yeast; 80°F to 85°F for fresh yeast)
1 teaspoon sugar or honey
¼ cup vegetable oil or samneh (Middle Eastern clarified butter)
2 teaspoons table salt or 4 teaspoons kosher salt
About 4 cups (20 ounces) bread or unbleached all-purpose flour, or 3 cups white flour and 1 cup whole-wheat flour
Additional flour for rolling
½ cup margarine or samneh, melted, for rolling
8 to 10 eggs in shell (optional)
1. Dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup water. Stir in the sugar and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, remaining water, oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to make a mixture that holds together.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and elastic, 10 to 15 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1½ hours.
3. Grease a kubaneh pan, deep 3-quart ovenproof dish or saucepan, or 10-inch tube pan. Punch down the dough, knead briefly, and form into 1- to 1½-inch balls. Roll the balls in the flour, then in the melted margarine to coat. Arrange in the prepared pan, placing one ball in the center and the remaining ones around it, until all the dough is used. If using, arrange the eggs in the pan. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
4. Cover with the flat top of the kubaneh pan or a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place in a 200°F oven and bake overnight, 9 to 12 hours. Alternatively, without the second rise, cook over medium heat until the dough balls begin to expand, about 15 minutes, invert the kubaneh pot onto a baking sheet or directly onto a blech (a thin sheet of metal placed over the range top and knobs), and cook on the stove top over very low heat overnight. Once you remove the pot from the heat, remove the top to prevent the bread from becoming soggy. Serve warm.
Kubbeh
Kubbeh is a round meat dumpling with an outer grain shell.
Origin: Iraq
Other names: kubba; Azerbaijan: kiufta; Egypt: kobeba, kubeba.
Every Middle Eastern community has its own form of ground meat dumpling and in Iraq and Kudistan it is kubbeh, from the Arabic meaning "dome/ball." Kubbeh is a large meatball encased in a shell of semolina or rice. Iraqi and Kurdish kubbeh, their signature dish, are typically round and simmered in a soup or stew, not fried first like the cylindrical Levantine kibbeh mahshi.
A kubbeh looks something like a matza ball and similarly swells up as it cooks in a soup or flavored broth; the shell has a soft consistency and the meat beneath has a firm texture. The shell absorbs some of the soup and its flavor during cooking, so the ultimate nature of the kubbeh depends on the medium in which it is simmered; the mild kubbeh is intended to complement and enhance a flavorful soup.
Lamb is the preferred kubbeh filling, but beef, veal, chicken, and even fish are also popular. In Israel, mushroom has become a widespread vegetarian version. Unlike the smooth texture of most Middle Eastern ground meat, which is pounded into a paste with a madaqqa (pestle) in a jurn (mortar), the filling for kubbeh is typically slightly coarse. Pine nuts are commonly added to the filling in the Levant, but are not used in Iraq.
Among Iraqis and Kurds, the quality of a cook's kubbeh was once a measure of her culinary skills; the technique was typically passed on from mother or grandmother and perfected through considerable practice. The kubbeh shell is made from a grain, typically semolina, rice, or bulgur; bulgur is more common in the Levant, while semolina predominates in central Asia. If the shell is too thick, it becomes heavy and doughlike and overwhelms the juicy filling. If it is too thin, the filling leaks out. The Iraqi city of Mosul is renowned for its rice kubbeh. Shells made of rice and of a combination of rice and meat are common for Passover.
Iraqis make two basic types of soups for kubbeh, containing various seasonal and favored vegetables: hamudh (sour) and huluo (literally "sweet," but actually denoting one without citrus juice). In Israel, more sugar is typic
ally added, transforming them into sweet-and-sour soups. Spicer fillings are frequently used in kubbeh for huluo soups. Some cooks use rounder kubbeh in huluo soups and slightly flattened ones in hamudh soups.
Kubbeh prepared in a broth dominated by lemon or lime juice and celery, and frequently containing slightly bitter greens, are called chamutzta or hamoustah. If lots of garlic is added to the lemon and greens soup, the dish is known as kubbeh shel paam. Iraqi soups tend to be more delicate and elegant than the rustic Kurdish types. Iraqis have a particular penchant for kubbeh with okra. Meat chunks are sometimes substituted for the kubbeh, but the two are very rarely combined in the same soup. Whether tangy or savory, good soups contain an intriguing balance of elements. These soups are almost always served with white rice.
Kurds also cook kubbeh in a tomato-based broth (frequently also containing beets) called matfuniya (buried) and, in Israel, marak adom (red soup). Matfun is a Kurdish, Persian, and Arabic variation of madfun, akin to the Sephardic word dafina (also meaning "buried"). A nineteenth-century name for Abydos, the burial place of Osiris along the Nile, was Arabat el Matfoon. The name probably refers to the meat "buried/hidden" in the grain shell of the kubbeh, although in a large bowl, the kubbeh could be buried in the red soup and vegetables.
Since kubbeh are labor-intensive to prepare, even for experienced cooks, they are generally reserved for special occasions. Among Iraqis and Kurds, kubbeh are ubiquitous as Sabbath and holiday fare. A typical Iraqi and Kurdish Friday night meal typically features a bowl of soup containing two or three kubbeh. Today, it is not uncommon for home cooks to prepare a large batch of kubbeh and keep some in the freezer for future use.
