Kasha Varnishkes

It's gotten pretty cold here. A big plate of good old comfort food sometimes just hits the spot! Sometimes they bring you right back to when you were a kid! This one does it for me. My grandma used to make this with brisket or stuffed cabbage, it's a perfect side to soak up the gravy! Dinner was definitely going to be Stuffed Cabbage, but I wanted to serve something beside mashed potatoes. I usually serve mashed potatoes with cabbage rolls, but when I was looking for a change, I found this recipe at Epicurious. It just reminded me so much of when I was a kid, we'd go to Brooklyn to see my Grandparents and have dinner with the whole family at the table. It was a fun production every week, the drive to Brooklyn, familiar sights along the way, going up in the elevator, by the time we got to their floor, the door would open, and you could smell the cooking!  We'd try to guess what it was! Always felt bad for the neighbors, so much garlic! So much spice. So much heartburn :)

Grandma made Kasha and Bows often! We loved it! My kids never had it before or so they thought. They actually did have it, when they were very small, my grandma had made it for them. Kasha Varnishkes, but they called it Kasha Veronica's! It obviously never left the same impression as it did for me, or they were probably just too little to remember! Miss Picky liked it, the Big Kid loved it. And the Griller is just so good about eating, whatever you put in front of him is fine, except for a stinky cheese! Besides, he's had kasha and bows before! It's something we grew up with!  So I am trying to make some good food memories for my kids! Aside from the ones where they say "hey, remember when Mommy burnt the muffins? Remember when Mom forgot to take the giblet bag out of the chicken before she threw it in the soup pot?"

Kasha Varnishkes
(Kasha and Bowtie Egg Noodles)
Source: Joan Nathan - Jewish Cooking in America
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

2 large onions, diced
1 package cremini mushrooms, chopped (optional)
2 to 3 tablespoons margarine, butter, vegetable oil or chicken fat
1 large egg or egg white, slightly beaten
1 cup medium or coarse kasha
2 cups water or chicken stock
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3/4 pound large or small bow tie-shaped noodles
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Sauté the onions in 2 tablespoons of the margarine or chicken fat in a heavy frying pan with a cover until golden, then add the mushrooms and saute until soft. Remove to a plate.

Beat the egg in a small mixing bowl and stir in the kasha. Mix, making sure all the grains are coated. Put the kasha in the same frying pan, set over a high heat. Flatten, stir, and break up the egg-coated kasha with a fork or wooden spoon for 2 to 4 minutes or until the egg has dried on the kasha and the kernels brown and mostly separate.

Add the water or stock, to the frying pan and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the onions and mushrooms, cover tightly, and cook over low heat, steaming the kasha for 10 or 15 minutes. Remove the cover, stir, and check to see if the kernels are tender and the liquid has been absorbed. If not, cover and continue steaming for 3 to 5 minutes more, until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the bow-tie noodles according to the directions on the package. Drain.

When the kasha is ready, combine with the noodles. Adjust the seasoning, sprinkle with the parsley and coriander. If desired, add a bit more margarine or chicken fat. Sprinkle with a little parsley, for garnish.

The dish can be made 1-2 days in advance and reheated, uncovered, in a 350°F oven. If it seems dry, add 1/4 cup chicken stock

Stuffed Cabbage (Holishkes)
Source: Syd M
Printable Recipe

2 heads green cabbage
2 pounds chopped meat
1 egg
2 slices white bread slices, soaked in water and then squeeze out the water
3 15-oz cans tomato sauce
1/4 cup rice (uncooked)
1 cup brown sugar, more or less to taste garlic powder, to taste

Some optional ingredients I found along the way:
Raisins (not for me)
crushed gingersnaps (someone else's mother suggested this!)
a big squeeze fresh lemon juice (1 lemon) or more, to taste!

Boil the cabbage for a few minutes to soften, and remove the outer leaves when cooled. You can also freeze the cabbage heads overnight, but who has room in the freezer for two heads of cabbage? Or you can steam it for a few minutes in the microwave.

In a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven, combine 2 1/2 cans of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup brown sugar, lemon juice and raisins, if you're using them, and some garlic powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Taste to see if you need more sugar, garlic or lemon juice. Add crushed gingersnaps if you want, I got that idea when I was checking out recipes from a friend's mom. I tried it a few times, but now I don't bother!

Mix meat, eggs, bread, 1/2 can tomato sauce, rice and about 1/3 cup brown sugar. Make a small meatball and place it near the stem end of the leaf, fold stem over the filling, fold in the sides and roll it up firmly. Envelope style. Place the cabbage rolls carefully in the sauce (seam side down) and add chopped pieces of the cabbage and raisins if you want. Simmer at low for 1 1/2 hours or more, I let it simmer for a long while. If you see that there is not enough sauce, add more tomato sauce.

I'm joining Suzy over at Kitchen Bouquet for another Flashback Friday!

Tweet