Encyclopedia of Jewish Food

by Gil Marks

  Iraqis and Kurds brought kubbeh to Israel in the 1950s and the dish eventually spread to other Jews; it became the culinary term most identified with Mizrachi cookery, the equivalent of the Ashkenazi gefilte fish. Commercial frozen kubbeh are found in Israeli markets and butcher shops, where the flavoring is typically milder in the central Asian manner, rather than spicier in the Levantine style. There are Israeli restaurants specializing in kubbeh soups and many grills offer these soups as well. Israelis have begun to spread their passion for kubbeh to America, where the dumplings can now be found in some Jewish markets and restaurants.

  (See also Kebab, Kefte, Kibbeh, and Kufta)

  Iraqi Filled Dumplings/Kurdish Filled Dumplings (Kubbeh)

  about 32 dumplings

  [MEAT]

  Filling:

  3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

  1 large yellow onion, minced

  20 ounces ground lamb, beef, veal, or chicken

  3 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

  3 tablespoons chopped celery leaves (optional)

  About 1 teaspoon table salt or 2 teaspoons kosher salt

  About ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

  ½ teaspoon ground turmeric or ¼ teaspoon cayenne

  Shell:

  ¾ teaspoon table salt or 1½ teaspoons kosher salt

  About 1¾ cups water

  Ground black pepper to taste (optional)

  2 teaspoons vegetable oil (optional)

  2½ cups (15 ounces) fine semolina (not semolina flour)

  2 quarts kubbeh soup (recipes follow) or any chicken or vegetable soup, boiling

  1. To make the filling: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the meat and sauté until it loses its red color, about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess fat. Stir in the parsley, salt, pepper, and turmeric. Let cool.

  2. To make the shell: In a small bowl, stir the salt into the water. If using, add the pepper and/or oil. Place the semolina in a medium bowl, stir in the salted water, and knead to make a smooth, supple dough. Cover and let stand to firm and hydrate, about 20 minutes.

  3. To form each shell, with moistened hands, shape about 2 tablespoons kubbeh dough into a smooth 1-inch ball. Place the ball in the palm of one hand. Using the index finger of the other hand, push into the middle of a ball to form a hole, then move your finger in the hole while pressing the outside of the ball against your palm (squeezing and turning the ball), hollowing out the ball. Stuff the cavity of each shell with about 1 tablespoon filling and press the open end to enclose the filling and seal the top. (Alternatively, for easier forming, press the shell balls into thin, flat 3-inch rounds, spoon about 2 teaspoons filling into the center, bring the edges together over the filling, press to seal, and reroll into a ball with an even shell.)

  4. Some cooks leave the balls round, while others, particularly in the north of Iraq, slightly flatten them. Place on a baking sheet or dish lined with parchment paper or wax paper, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The kubbeh may be prepared ahead up to this point and frozen for up to 3 months; do not defrost before cooking.

  5. Add the kubbeh to the boiling soup, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer until the kubbeh are cooked through, about 30 minutes. If the soup becomes too thick, add a little more water.

  Iraqi Tangy Dumpling Soup (Marak Kubbeh Hamudh)

  6 to 8 servings

  [MEAT or PAREVE]

  3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  2 medium onions, chopped

  ½ cup tomato paste or 3 tablespoons tomato paste and 2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes

  8 cups chicken broth or water

  About ¾ cup fresh lemon juice or 1 teaspoon citric acid

  1 to 6 tablespoons sugar

  2 teaspoons paprika

  About 1 teaspoon table salt or 2 teaspoons kosher salt

  About ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

  In a large nonreactive pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste (but not the chopped tomatoes) and stir for 2 minutes. Add the broth, lemon juice, sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, and, if using, chopped tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes. The soup can be prepared ahead up to this point, stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, and reheated.

  Variation

  Iraqi Dumplings In Tangy Beet Soup (Kubbeh Aduma/Kubbeh Shwandar/Khelo Hamudh):

  With the broth, add 1 pound (3 medium) peeled beets cut into 1-inch cubes and increase the cooking time before adding the kubbeh to about 40 minutes. After simmering the beets for 20 minutes, add any combination of 5 to 6 stalks celery cut into 2-inch pieces, 8 ounces chard cut into pieces, 8 ounces trimmed okra, 8 ounces peeled and cubed pumpkin, and/or 2 thickly sliced zucchini and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.

  Kuchen

  Kuchen is a generic German and Yiddish word for a baked good, although it generally specifies a cake; the term was first applied to cakes around 1650. (In some parts of eastern Europe, lekekh was the generic word for cake.) Originally, kuchen were made with a rich yeast dough (feine heifeteig). The dough was typically pressed onto a baking sheet or into a large baking pan and the resulting baked goods were subsumed under the category of blechkuchen (sheet cakes). Popular varieties included puterkuchen (buttery yeast cake, sometimes topped with sliced almonds), streuselkuchen (crumb cake), mohnkuchen (poppy seed cake), zimtkuchen (cinnamon cake), kaesekuchen (cheese cake), rahmkuchen (cream cake), apfelkuchen (apple cake), and zwetschgenkuchen (plum cake). The advent of chemical leavenings in the nineteenth century led to easier versions of traditional yeast-raised kuchens. Cakes leavened with baking soda or baking powder were known as blitz kuchen (lightening cake), as they could be put together rather quickly. German Jewish women, in particular, took to the new nineteenth-century institution of the kaffeeklatsch (coffee chat), an hour or so of coffee drinking and socializing with other women; accordingly, they developed a wide array of kuchen to serve with the coffee, many of which later became standards in the American Jewish repertoire.

  Beginning in the 1840s, dire economic and social conditions in Germany spurred a mass immigration to America, including many Jews, who settled in the urban areas of the East, as well as in frontier communities in the West. By sheer numbers, German immigrants were bound to affect their new homeland; in particular, they transformed American baking and language. Nevertheless, as with other immigrant groups, it took many decades for the newcomers to become accepted by the general population, and for demographic changes to spark changes in American culture. Among the German dishes appreciated by Americans as well as eastern European immigrants were kuchen, the term first recorded in English in 1854. Kuchen became even more popular when cooks began adapting them to the new chemical leavenings and when the home oven became widespread.

  Edna Ferber, the German Jewish author of, among other works, Giant and Show Boat, drew from her upbringing in Wisconsin for Fanny Herself (New York, 1917). The author described the spread for the meal to break the fast of Yom Kippur at one house, noting the custom of German Jews "to begin the evening meal, after the twenty-four hours of abstainment, with coffee and freshly-baked coffee cake of every variety."

  She continued, "The pantry was fragrant as a garden with spices, and fruit scents, and the melting, delectable perfume of brown, freshly-baked dough, sugar-coated. There was one giant platter devoted wholly to round, plump cakes, with puffy edges, in the center of each a sunken pool that was all plum, bearing on its bosom a snowy sifting of powdered sugar. There were others whose centers were apricot, pure molten gold in the sunlight. There were speckled expanses of cheese kuchen, the golden-brown surface showing rich cracks through which one caught glimpses of the lemon-yellow cheese beneath—cottage cheese that had been beaten up with eggs, and spices, and sugar, and lemon. Flaky crust rose, jaggedly, above this plateau. There were cake
s with jelly, and cinnamon kuchen, and cunning cakes with almond slices nestling side by side."

  The word kuchen, however, proved too foreign sounding for many Americans and, instead, the anglicized rendering of the Teutonic kaffeekuchen, "coffee cake," became the new name in America. The term was first recorded in an 1870 cookbook, where it referred to butter cakes flavored with coffee. However, drinking coffee with coffee-flavored cake proved redundant and, instead, the term came to be applied to yeast kuchen and the easier new chemically leavened butter cakes.

  Aunt Babette's (Cincinnati,1889), a cookbook written by a German Jew, provided a recipe for an "English Coffee Cake," a coffee-flavored butter cake leavened with soda and cream of tartar. There was also a separate section entitled "Coffee Cakes," encompassing an assortment of German yeast-raised kuchen and other pastries. Besides using the term in the section title, the author refers to one of these cakes as "kaffee kuchen" and two as "coffee cake." In the German tradition, the recipes in the "cake" section are leavened with chemicals, while all the baked goods in the "coffee cakes" section are raised with yeast.

  As the twentieth century progressed, the easier baking powder coffee cakes became the most common types. Coffee cakes are generally lightly covered with glaze, streusel, or cinnamon-sugar topping—never frosting. Unquestionably, the favorite kuchen topping has long been streusel (from the German streusen, "to scatter"), a simple pastry of flour, sugar, butter, and sometimes some spices. Streusel is called crumble in England, a word and food that only appeared in Britain in the twentieth century.

  Eastern European Jews in America typically clung to their fare, or to Americanized versions of it. When it came to baked goods, however, they acknowledged the German superiority by readily adopting kuchen and many other German baked goods into their repertoire. Coffee cakes rank among the most popular of comfort foods—they are welcome at breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, sisterhood meetings, and, as the name indicates, coffee breaks. Pareve versions containing margarine or oil are sometimes made for meat occasions. However, the best-flavored kuchen, whether made with yeast or baking powder, are dairy versions made with butter and/or sour cream, and Ashkenazim commonly serve these at the meal following Yom Kippur, on Shavuot, at a dairy Sabbath kiddush, and at the melaveh malcha (accompanying the queen) party following the Sabbath. For the latter occasion, spices are sometimes added to the batter and topping, reflecting those used during the Havdalah ceremony signaling the end of the Sabbath.

  (See also Bialy, Kakosh (see recipe variation under Hungarian Poppy Seed Roll (Makosh)), Kugelhopf, Makosh/Mákos Beigli, and Zwetschgenkuchen)

  Ashkenazic Sour Cream Coffee Cake (Smeteneh Kuchen)

  one 9-inch square or bundt cake/6 to 9 servings

  [DAIRY]

  Streusel Topping:

  ½ cup (3.5 ounces) granulated or brown sugar, or ¼ cup each

  ½ cup (2.5 ounces) all-purpose flour

  ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  1/8 teaspoon salt

  ¼ to ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg or cloves (optional)

  ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter or margarine, softened

  ½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans, grated coconut, golden raisins, or chocolate chips, or 1 cup any combination (optional)

  Batter:

  2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour

  1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  ½ teaspoon salt

  ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

  1 cup (7 ounces) granulated or brown sugar, or ½ cup each

  4 large egg yolks or 3 large eggs

  1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream or plain yogurt

  1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

  1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (325°F if using a glass pan). Grease a 9-inch square baking pan, 9-inch Bundt or tube pan, or 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper or wax paper, grease again, and dust with flour.

  2. To make the streusel: In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and, if using, nutmeg. Cut in the butter to make a mixture that resembles coarse crumbs. If desired, stir in the nuts.

  3. To make the batter: Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Blend in the sour cream, vanilla, and, if using, zest. Stir in the flour mixture.

  4. Spread two-thirds of the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Carefully cover with the remaining batter and sprinkle with the remaining streusel.

  5. Bake until the cake is golden and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 50 minutes for a 9-inch pan, or 1 hour for a Bundt pan. Set on a wire rack and let cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Wrap the kuchen and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

  Variations

  Cheese Coffee Cake (Kaesekuchen):

  Combine 8 ounces softened cream cheese, ¼ cup sugar, 1 large egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Spread over the top of the batter, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides.

  Fruit Coffee Cake (Fruchtkuchen):

  After adding the middle layer of streusel, top with 1 cup peeled, cored, and thinly sliced apples; 1 cup peeled, pitted, and sliced peaches; 1 cup pitted cherries; or 1 cup blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries.

  Kufta

  Kufta is meat, usually lamb, pounded smooth, seasoned with local spice favorites, and formed into football-shaped patties or balls.

  Origin: Middle East

  Other names: Azerbaijan: küfte; Balkans: kiofte, kjofte; Bulgaria: kiufte; Calcutta: kofta, koofta; Georgia: kufta; Greece: keftaidakia, keftike, keiftede; Morocco: kefta, kifta; Persia: kiufta, kufteh; Romania: chiftea; Serbia: cufte; Sephardim: kefte; Turkey: köfte.

  Chopping and pounding are ancient ways of tenderizing tougher cuts of meat. Until the 1860s and the advent of the mechanical meat grinder, this was done by hand and was very labor-intensive. Typically, Middle Easterners pounded meat into a smooth paste in a jurn (mortar) with a madaqqa (pestle). Most Middle Eastern cooks prefer ground meat with a smooth texture.

  The most widespread use of pounded meat was in meatballs. Kufta, from the Persian word kuftan (to pound/to smash), refers to the original Middle Eastern method of preparing ground beef. The Arabs, in particular, were responsible for disseminating meatballs far and wide, including the Iberian albondigas. Variations of the word kufteh referring to patties and meatballs can be found in most Middle Eastern and North African cuisines. Early medieval Arabic cookbooks contain recipes for meatballs, typically the size of oranges.

  Unlike the Sephardic kefte, the Middle Eastern (Syrian, Lebanese, and Iraqi) variations generally do not contain bread crumbs or eggs. Instead, the loose meat disassociates and congeals when subjected to heat. The meat, though, is typically mixed with chopped onions, parsley, and locally favored spices. It is formed into balls or patties and then prepared by one of several methods: fried in a thin layer of oil, baked, simmered in hot liquid, or wrapped around skewers and grilled; the latter method produces kufta kebab, the most widespread version in modern Israel. Azerbaijan is particularly renowned for its many filled meatballs.

  Throughout most of history, preparing ground-meat was a time-consuming and strenuous process; accordingly, ground meat dishes were expensive and reserved for special occasions. More recently, they have become everyday fare. In Israel, fried and grilled patties are frequently eaten as a sandwich in pita bread, topped with a little chopped cucumbers and tomatoes and perhaps a drizzle of techina (sesame seed sauce) and harissa (chili paste).

  In 2000, during the second intifada in Israel, Shimon Ohana, a new border policeman assigned to the Gilo section of Jerusalem, was hit in the chest with a bullet while protecting a young child. Ohana literally di
ed, but was somehow revived and his heart was mended by the doctors at Hadassah-University Hospital in Ein Kerem. After eighteen days in a coma, Ohana woke, but could not or would not eat anything. Finally, his mother hurried home to make his favorite food, spicy Moroccan meatballs, returning with a large pot the following morning. The young private tasted his first mouthful of food since the attack and began to grunt. The sounds were a request for more and he ate four meatballs right then and there, and more in the following days as he recuperated.

  (See also Albondiga, Kebab, Kefte, Kibbeh, and Kubbeh)

  Azerbaijani Stuffed Meatballs (Küfte Tabrizi)

  about 12 medium meatballs

  [MEAT]

  1 pound ground lamb, beef, or veal chuck

  1 medium yellow onion, minced

  1 large egg

  ½ cup yellow split peas, cooked and mashed, or ¼ cup raw long-grain rice

  1 teaspoon lemon juice

  ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon or ¼ cup chopped fresh mint

  ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

  ¼ teaspoon saffron strands or ground turmeric

  About 1 teaspoon salt

  About 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

  12 pitted dried plums

  Chicken broth, beef broth, or water

  1 cup cooked chickpeas or green peas

  1. In a large bowl, combine the meat, onion, egg, peas, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, saffron, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

  2. With moistened hands, form the meat mixture into twelve 2½-inch meatballs. Place a plum in the center of each ball.

  3. Place the meatballs in a large saucepan and add broth to cover. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 45 minutes.

  4. Add the chickpeas and heat through.

  Variation

  Large Azerbaijani Stuffed Meatballs:

  Form the meat mixture into 2 to 3 large balls. Place 1 peeled hard-boiled egg in the center of each meatball. Place in a greased pan, add ¼ cup water, and bake in a 350°F oven for about 1 hour.