Av/Elul 5777 Berkshire Jewish Voice • jewishberkshires.org Page 19 BERKSHIRE JEWISH VOICES Traveling with Jewish Taste The Gefilte Manifesto By Carol Goodman Kaufman

Ashkenazi spirit” into your ev- for its resemblance to a eryday eating and drinking.” snail’s spiral. However, The syrup itself was super I was certainly familiar easy to prepare, especially with crescent-shaped since the rhubarb patch in rugelach, and the recipe my backyard garden was at for the schnecken looked the height of its springtime eerily familiar. On poking glory. And the flavor? Refresh- into some culinary histo- ing, but do go light on your ry, I learned that in the pouring unless you like things United States, and even very sweet. A little syrup goes in Israel, these delectable a long way. treats are often mistak- This cookbook has an en for one another, even entire chapter on pickling, though the Germans tra- something I had only tried a ditionally prepare a yeast Fair warning: The recipes couple of times before. The dough that yields some- in The Gefilte Manifesto: New recipe for Cardamom Pickled thing more like cinnamon Recipes for Old World Jewish Grapes intrigued me and, buns than the rich, sweet Foods are strictly Ashkenazi, since I happened to have all cookies that are the cream so you won’t find a recipe for the ingredients in the house, I Authors Jeffrey Yoskowitz cheese-based rugelach. falafel, shakshuka, or a nice gave it a shot. I was pleasantly and Liz Alpern No matter what you call sabich. But the Ashkenazi rec- surprised by the sweet-tart them, the result is absolutely ipes you will find are not nec- mix of flavors rendered by a A most amazing aroma winter, not on a hot summer’s delicious. essarily exactly like Bubbie’s. mix of spices and chile pepper, filled every corner of the house night. The authors, Jeffrey Yoskowitz white wine vinegar, and sugar. during the long cooking time. Finally came dessert, so and Liz Alpern, have added These crisp little orbs would And the result? A delicious, if I chose Bessie Weinstein’s some interesting updates to be a great addition to a mezze heavy, mixture of meat, beans, Schnecken. Given that my their Old Country dishes, so tray. barley, onions, garlic, and ancestors came from Eastern you’ll find everything from a Drinks and appetizers are potatoes. This is a dish proba- Europe, I had never heard of kimchi-stuffed cabbage to a nice, but I still needed to make bly best served in the dead of this German pastry, named pierogi stuffed with lentils and supper. The Leek and Onion chard. But then, you’ll also Frittata sounded yummy; after find a nice, traditional haman- all, it was made with three taschen. types of onions, one of my all- Before I get into the recipes time favorite foods. What could themselves, let me vent my be bad? Cardamom Pickled Grapes displeasure with the publisher. Because I was preparing Want to make a statement at your next party? Put these I’ve said it before and I’ll say it the recipe for review, I followed lovely little orbs on the table. Yoskowitz and Alpern give an again: Cookbooks need to have it faithfully, even though I alternative use: pulsing them to make a relish to pair with bindings that allow the book to did question the call for 2½ soft cheeses. lie flat! My JNF blue box had teaspoons of kosher salt. With to be put into service to hold puckered mouth, we regret- down the pages. (The upside fully had to dump the eggs as Ingredients was that I realized it was time they were far too salty. A word 1½ pounds seedless 1½ heaping teaspoons to turn it in to the Hadassah to the wise, and especially to red or black grapes green cardamom lady.) the sodium conscious: If you 1½ cups white wine vinegar pods, lightly crushed Now, for the food. I started make this recipe, cut down the 1½ cups sugar 1 dried chile pepper off in the chapter on beverages, salt! ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus a ¾ teaspoon ground wherein Yoskowitz and Alpern The week was flying by and pinch allspice do their take on the late 19th/ my calendar was full, so I de- 1½ teaspoons whole black early 20th century Lower East cided to try the Spicy Hungar- peppercorns Side practice of infusing seltzer ian Cholent. Even though the 1 cinnamon stick with light flavors. Rhubarb recipe called for lima beans, Syrup is one of the syrups they not my favorite legume, I was claim will bring “a bit of that willing to take one for the Directions: team. And, it was the perfect opportunity to test-drive my Wash the grapes well and remove them from the stems. Place in a clean quart-size jar. new Crockpot. But first, a confession: In a small saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients to make a brine. Having learned my lesson with Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. the frittata, I did not follow the Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring well. recipe faithfully. I didn’t want Remove the brine from the heat and let cool until warm but not hot. to take any chances, especial- ly given that kosher meat is Pour the brine over the grapes and close the jar. expensive. Throwing out a few Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating. eggs is tolerable; throwing out Let sit for 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving. a chuck roast is not. I cut the The grapes will stay delicious in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks. salt drastically, figuring that I could always add more if needed. After all, kosher meat has already been soaked and salted. Also, I chose to leave out the optional hot paprika, but did use the called-for dried Carol Goodman Kaufman is a psychologist and author with a passion for travel and food. She is chile, thinking I could always currently at work on a food history/cookbook, tracing the paths that some of our favorite foods have add more heat later. taken from their origins to appear on dinner plates and in cultural rites and artifacts around the world. She invites readers to read her blog at carolgoodmankaufman.com and to follow her on Twitter @goodmankaufman.