by Gil Marks
Karnatzlach reflect the more than three-hundred- year Ottoman domination of Romania, from the early sixteenth to nineteenth century. During that time, many Ottoman foods arrived, as did some Sephardim and their fare. Similar to the Sephardic kefte and Ottoman kofte, the Romanian offshoot karnatzlach are shaped like torpedoes and grilled. However, displaying its European side, Romanian cookery never absorbed the frills of the Middle Eastern influences, and the dishes tend to be simpler and less spicy. The primary flavoring is garlic, and plenty of it. Some people prefer the pure flavor of meat and garlic, while others favor a little spice in the patties. Herbs, such as parsley and savory, are acceptable, as is a little cumin or allspice, reflecting the Middle Eastern influence.
Well-made karnatzlach are juicy and tender. Lean cuts of meat turn out dry, so medium-fat meat is used. These patties are nearly pure meat, containing no binders or fillers, such as eggs or bread crumbs. Because they are made without bread or grains, karnatzlach are popular on Passover as well. Perhaps the most unique feature of traditional karnatzlach is the addition of soda—baking soda or soda water—which makes the patties springy and keeps them juicy.
In Romania, karnatzlach were almost always grilled over charcoal, imparting a smoky accent, or on a grill pan, but some people now fry them. Due to the many Romanian restaurants in Israel, including more than a dozen in Jerusalem alone, Israelis experience the genuine article, properly cooked over an open grill. However, in Israel, during the period of tzena (austerity) from 1950 to 1955, when meat was strictly rationed, Romanians were forced to do the unthinkable—add bread crumbs as filler to karnatzlach.
Karnatzlach are commonly served with slices of mamaliga (corn meal mush) or black bread, assorted salads, sauerkraut, plenty of sour kosher pickles, mustard, and perhaps some well-chilled vodka or "a glezele vayn"—"a glass of wine," an accompaniment Lebedeff celebrated in his song.
Romanian Meat Patties (Karnatzlach)
makes 30 to 32 patties
[MEAT]
3 pounds beef neck meat or lamb chuck, or 1½ pounds beef and 1½ pounds veal
6 to 12 cloves garlic (2 to 4 tablespoons chopped)
About 1 tablespoon kosher salt or 1½ teaspoons table salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon baking soda
1. Process the meat through a meat grinder 3 times or in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Or have your butcher do this. The texture of the meat should be almost a paste, in the Middle Eastern style.
2. Using the flat side of a large knife or cleaver, or in a mortar, mash and schmear the garlic with the salt until smooth. Or puree the garlic and salt with 1 tablespoon water in a blender.
3. Using your hand or a wooden spoon, mix the garlic into the meat, gradually adding the 1 cup water as you mix, about 5 minutes. Cover and refrigerate overnight. This allows the garlic to permeate the meat. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before cooking.
4. Stir the baking soda into the meat. Wetting your hands to ensure a smooth surface, shape the meat into patties about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide with tapered ends. Wetting your hands ensures a smooth surface.
5. Grill or broil the patties about 4 inches from the heat source, turning once, until browned, about 4 minutes per side for rare, 5 minutes per side for medium-rare, or 6 minutes per side for medium. Using a pair of tongs, remove the karnatzlach from the grill; do not use a fork, which releases the juices. Let rest for at least 1 minute to allow the juices to stabilize.
Variation
Spicier Meat Patties:
In Step 3, add ¾ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, about 1½ teaspoons ground black pepper, and 1½ teaspoons ground cumin or ¾ teaspoon ground allspice. Or add 2 teaspoons dried marjoram, 2 teaspoons dried sage, 2 teaspoons dried savory, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, and 1 teaspoon paprika.
Karpas
During the Passover Seder, two ritual "dippings" occur at different times. The first dipping, commonly referred to as karpas, usually consists of immersing a piece of raw vegetable less than the size of a large olive into either salt water or vinegar. The second dipping, performed after eating the matza, is the maror (bitter herb) dunked into charoset. The ritual of karpas occurs near the very beginning of the Seder, immediately after the Kiddush over the first cup of wine and a ritual washing of the hands, the first of two washings. After dipping and before eating the karpas, the benediction "borei peri ha'adamah" (Who creates the fruit of the earth) is recited, the intent being that it also applies to the maror to be eaten later. Most people do not recline while eating the karpas.
The word karpas is borrowed from the Persian, meaning "fine cotton," which in turn derived from the Sanskrit karpasa (cotton). The first appearance of karpas in a Jewish source was, appropriately, in the Persian-era Scroll of Esther: "There were hangings [in the court of the gardens of the king's palace] of white linen, karpas, and blue [wool or linen]." Most Jewish translations of Esther render karpas in its original sense as "fine white cotton," but in the biblical context, it may actually indicate a color, thus meaning a green fabric, reflecting the cotton plant's original hue. In addition, Persians began to use an unrelated word, karafs, to denote celery and parsley, the two close relatives typically confused in the ancient world, which probably led to karpas denoting both celery and parsley in Talmudic Hebrew. (In modern Farsi, celery is still karafs, while parsley is ja'fari; in modern Hebrew, celery is sehlehri or karpas and parsley is petrozillah.)
However, nowhere in the Talmud or even Geonic literature (the time from about 700 to 1000 ce when the geonim, the heads of two major Talmudic academies in Persia and Babylonia, served as the principal authorities of Jewish law and tradition) is this initial Seder vegetable ever referred to as karpas, although the word is used elsewhere in the Talmud as the name of specific vegetables. Indeed, well through the Middle Ages, the first dipping had no formal name and was simply called tibul rishon (first dipping), the act of dunking being the primary point. In addition, there is confusion over what vegetables are used for the first dipping. To further complicate the situation, the Talmud does not mention the name of the liquid in which the first vegetable is dipped.
To avoid any confusion or controversy, the Sages suggested that for the first dipping, any vegetable other than those customary for maror would be preferable. The Babylonian Talmud never mentions any specific vegetables, although the Jerusalem Talmud records that Rav used raw beet greens for the first dipping (certainly tender young leaves). Amram Gaon (857 CE), compiler of the first siddur (prayer book) and Haggadah, rules that if there are two types of vegetables available, different ones are used for the two dippings, but in a situation in which only maror is obtainable, it is used for both dippings. Rav Amram also lists examples of those vegetables recommended for the first dipping: chamah (radish leaves), chasah (lettuce), gargira (arugula), karpasa (parsley), and kusbarta (cilantro). Moses Maimonides (c. 1170) referred to the object used for the first dipping as yerek ahchair (another green vegetable) and all the other early commentators also employed the generic yerek for the first dipping. By the time of the Shulchan Arukh (c. 1565) by Rabbi Joseph Caro, however, the first dipping had officially acquired the designation of karpas, because celery and parsley leaves were the predominant vegetables used for the ritual.
Interestingly, the special coat that Jacob gave to Joseph is described in the Bible as passim, generally translated as "many colored." Rashi points out that this word "denotes a cloak of karpas [green] and blue," a clear reference to the phrase in Esther. Rashi emphasizes that the green and blue hangings of King Ahasuerus reflect the disharmony and animosity of the Jewish community of Persia, which nearly led to its destruction before the community was saved through unity and common concern. Similarly, Joseph's brothers were green with envy, leading directly to the descent to Egypt and centuries of pain and suffering. Consequently, the green karpas (to use a redundant phrase) of the Seder reminds us of the enmity of Joseph's brothers, who dipped the green and blue garment into goat's b
lood, engendering the descent to Egypt. Only through harmony, and through the inclusion and care of the outsider, the poor, and the helpless, can redemption be achieved.
The intent of the term karpas, in terms of the Seder, is not to prescribe a specific vegetable, but rather to indicate any green-colored vegetable, the two most prevalent at the Seder being celery and parsley. The leaves of both plants are also natural antispasmodics and aids to digestion and were, therefore, common at Greek and Roman feasts. However, in sections of northern Europe, where fresh greens were unavailable in the early spring, white radishes, turnips, or, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, raw white potatoes stored over the winter were substituted under the rationalization that the leaves, although not eaten, were green. (Whether the benediction "Who creates the fruit of the earth" can be recited over a raw potato, which is not in the form in which it is normally consumed, is another matter.)
As to what liquid the first vegetable is dipped in, the early sources—Amram Gaon, Saadia Gaon, Maimonides, Rabbenu Tam, Machzor Vitry (c. 1105 by Simcha ben Shumuel, a student of Rashi, of Vitry- en-Perthois in Northern France), and the Sarajevo Haggadah (c. 1350)—all state that the first dipping is, like the second dipping, into charoset. According to Maimonides, all the symbols of the Seder—maror, koraik ("wrap" of matza and maror), karpas, and even the matza—are dipped into charoset. Many Yemenites (Baladi and Dardei), who generally follow Maimonides, still dip the karpas, usually parsley, into charoset; the Shami (followers of the Ari, a tradition brought to Yemen by Syrian Sephardim) use vinegar. Some Iraqis and Indians use lemon juice. The Shulchan Arukh ruled that one should dip the karpas into wine vinegar. Tosafot, reflecting the custom of medieval Ashkenazim, directed that one should dip the first vegetable into wine vinegar or salt water; however, if no other vegetable is available and chazeret (lettuce) must be used for the first dipping, then it should be immersed into charoset for the first dipping. This opinion differs from that of Rashbam, who held that charoset should never be used for the first dipping, and is only appropriate for maror.
Today, some families continue to dip the karpas into vinegar, while many others, particularly Ashkenazim, opt for salt water. The dipping of a green vegetable into red charoset or red wine vinegar at the onset of the Seder was probably inspired by the biblical account of the hyssop leaves that were dipped into blood and spread on the doorposts in Egypt. On the other hand, salt water is symbolic of the tears shed by the Israelites in Egypt, as well as of the liberating waters of the Sea of Reeds. Birth and rebirth inevitably entail pain. Because the tears and moans of the Israelites sparked the redemption from Egypt, the dipping of karpas, representative of renewal and springtime, was appropriately placed at the beginning of the Seder.
Besides contributing to the sense of freedom of the evening, the two hand washings and two dippings were intended to arouse the curiosity of the children, as this was an otherwise unusual practice in Jewish households two thousand years ago. Even today, Sabbath and festival meals commence with Kiddush, which is followed immediately by the washing of the hands with a benediction, then Hamotzi (the benediction over bread). The incongruity of placing karpas and hand washing without a benediction in between Kiddush and Hamotzi was intended to be different and unsettling, thereby immediately sparking questions. Adults tend to be socialized against making public remarks, but children are more observant and more honest, and therefore more likely to cut though the pretense when they see things out of kilter.
(See also Celery, Charoset, Parsley, Passover (Pesach), and Seder)
Kasha
Cooked cereals subsumed under the term kasha were once served at all Slavic feasts and important occasions, including the signing of peace treaties. This practice was the source of an ancient Russian adage describing an implacable enemy: "You can't make kasha with him."
By the second century CE, a standard Persian dish was kashk (kutach in the Talmud and later kishk in Arabic), originally denoting a porridge made from cracked grains fermented with whey, then dried. Later, some Middle Easterners began using keshkek or kishk to denote any type of cooked cereal. The Persian name eventually traveled to eastern Europe, becoming the Slavic kasha and encompassing all grain porridges—fine and coarse, thick and thin, sweet and savory. Incidentally, when leftover kashk was stuffed into animal intestines, the dish became kishke (stuffed derma).
Later, around the early fourteenth century, in the wake of the Tatar invasions, buckwheat, a native of northern China first cultivated about one thousand years ago, arrived in Russia and Ukraine. It quickly emerged as a staple of the diet. Buckwheat, a relative of rhubarb and sorrel, is neither a grass nor a wheat, but botanically a fruit seed. However, since it shares most of a grain's properties, possesses the general nutritional breakdown of a grain, and is cooked like one, buckwheat is usually categorized as a pseudocereal. Buckwheat, a sturdy plant that grows well in cooler climates and even in poor soil, reaches maturity in only sixty to seventy days, generates two crops every year, and is very nutritious.
The Slavic word for buckwheat became grechka or grecha, from the Slavic term for "a Greek," either in association with Greek monks in Orthodox monasteries who cultivated it or Greek merchants who traded it. Consequently, buckwheat porridge is grechnevaya kasha. Buckwheat also was associated with the Tatars and Saracens (some say because of its dark complexion), a term used during the medieval period to denote Arabs and Turks. Among eastern Ashkenazim, who were not prone to making hot cooked cereals, kashe or kasha in Yiddish took on the meaning of "husked and toasted buckwheat groats."
By the end of the fifteenth century, buckwheat had spread to western Europe, where it was most commonly ground into a flour. The Dutch introduced buckwheat to America by planting it in New Amsterdam in the seventeenth century. The English name for the plant came from the Dutch boekweit (beech wheat), as the groats resemble the triangular beechnut.
In early America, almost all the buckwheat sold was in the form of flour. Then beginning in the late nineteenth century, eastern European Jews began to popularize the toasted groats in America. Most Ashkenazic households had a box of Wolff's kasha in the cupboard. Today, the vast majority of buckwheat groats sold in America is still purchased in areas with large Jewish populations, notably New York City, Los Angeles, and southern Florida. As a result, the English word kasha reflects the circumscribed Jewish connotation and not the Slavic.
Buckwheat is ideally suited for Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltic region, where for centuries, along with dark bread, barley, and cabbage, it constituted the daily fare. It is still in those areas that much of buckwheat's popularity lies. Buckwheat is available in flour form as well as in cone-shaped groats (kasha), which are sold both whole and ground into coarse, medium, and fine granulations. Commercial kasha comes plain or toasted, although most brands are now, in the Jewish style, toasted.
Kasha's assertive nutty flavor complements bland foods, such as noodles, and also pairs well with hearty fare, including cabbage and root vegetables. Coating the kasha with a little egg before cooking is a characteristic Jewish practice; it keeps the groats separate and prevents them from becoming mushy. The four favorite Jewish ways of using kasha are with sautéed onions (sometimes along with mushrooms or shredded cabbage), with noodles (kasha varnishkes), in chicken soup, and as a filling for knishes, pirogen, blintzes, strudels, cabbage, and bell peppers. Until relatively recently, filling for a knish was either potato or kasha. In addition to traditional Old World additions to kasha, Americans also mix in some green peas, green beans, chickpeas, carrots, or toasted almonds.
The emergence of the potato in the mid-nineteenth century led to a diminution in the importance of buckwheat on the Ashkenazic table in eastern Europe, a decrease which further continued in America. Kasha was also brought to Israel, where it is called kusemet in modern Hebrew, although some non-Ashkenazim disparagingly refer to it by a similar-sounding generic Arabic expletive. However, to some Ashkenazim, kasha remains a beloved comfort food.
&nb
sp; (See also Blini, Kasha Varnishkes, and Kashk/Kutach)
Kasha Varnishkes
Kasha varnishkes is buckwheat groats mixed with noodles, most often small bow-tie noodles.
Origin: Eastern Europe
Other names: kasha mit varnishkes, kashe un varnishkes, kashe varnishkes.
In the early Yiddish play Die Mumeh Soseh (Aunt Sosya) by Avrom Goldfaden, written in Odessa in 1869, the title character's sister, Khantshe, misinterprets her cousin's question about tsivilizatsye (Russian for "civilization") as tsibilis (Yiddish for "onions"). She proceeds to describe how she fries them and puts them into her "kashe un varnishkes," providing the first record of this now-classic dish of buckwheat groats and noodles. At this early stage of his career, Goldfaden, the father of the Yiddish theater and a native of Starokostiantyniv, Ukraine, was still influenced by the zealously antitraditional elements of the Haskalah (Enlightenment), and may have chosen kashe un varnishkes as a pejorative fare of "the shtetl." Nevertheless, just as Goldfaden soon came to view Jewish traditions with more nostalgia and warmth, eastern Ashkenazim in America began to consider kashe un varnishkes as an enduring eastern Ashkenazic icon.
Around the sixteenth century, shortly after buckwheat arrived in Russia and Ukraine, eastern Europeans began making meat- or cheese-filled pasta; these dishes may have been a by-product of Tatar incursions from Asia or may have been introduced from Italy, or both. Ukrainians took to calling these filled pasta vareniki (little boiled things), from the Slavic var meaning "to boil." In due course, the inexpensive kasha became one of the prevalent fillings; it was typically enhanced by Jews in the Ashkenazic manner with sautéed onions and sometimes gribenes (cracklings). The nutty, earthy flavor of buckwheat groats contrasts with the sweetness of soft, caramelized onions and toothsome pasta. Mushrooms are occasionally added as another counterpoint. It is preferable to sauté the onions and mushrooms separately and then add them to the hot kasha, as their flavors tend to become muted when cooked with the kasha. Pasta stuffed with this filling was known as kashe vareniki. Eventually, cooks figured out that it was easier to simply mix the kasha with some cooked noodles than to go through the tedious process of filling the pasta; the resulting dish was called kasha varnishkes.