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Traditional Jewish Cooking
By Bossie Krapfman
Well, ladies, if you have a husband like mine, who thinks that The Eternal Jewish Values are based on the food that his mother gave him (and believe me, it really is a embellished memory, if you have ever tasted your mother-in-law's cooking). Anyway, if you have to please the big guy in a Jewish Food type manner, then here is a great one - Kishke.
In the old days, kishke was made by stuffing the intestines of a cow with tasty pasty type foods - kinda mixing the obscene with the beautiful, unless, the concept of a cow's intestine (kishke is Yiddish for intestine) does not bother you. Today, however, we seem to bypass the problem of the intestines. Most modern factories make kishke in a plastic tubing, some just wrap the filling with paper that falls (or comes) off somewhere during the eating process.
It was the walls of the intestines that really gave the kishke the flavor, provided that they were properly cleaned out. Of course in the "good old days" sanitation was nil, and that could possibly answer why kishke had its unique flavor.
But we modern day ladies can opt to purchase it in the super, unless of course you are plagued with a husband who swears that the store made kishke is not as good as the homemade variety. Well, we must remember that the quickest way to a husband's wallet is through his stomach, so there is an easier method than cleaning a disgustingly filled intestine, you know, they don't give them enema's before they slaughter the cows, so imagine what was in those intestines - yeech!
The following are the ingredients that I use. You'll note that I use whole-wheat flour. I feel that with our junk food generation, we ladies are responsible for inserting something of nourishment into the bodies of our family.
(At this point, I want to digress a bit and let you know the two principles that I adhere to as a health food nut, the first principle is "Whole Wheat or No Wheat". No one in my house is going to be served anything that I prepared that has white flour or white sugar. That is an important principle.
The second principle, which is just as important, is that it is forbidden to eat junk food in front of anyone. Only when no one is looking. Don't forget it!)
OK, back to the ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of oil
- 2 stalks of celery
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 1 1/2 cups of flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
The first thing to do is to grind the celery, carrots and onion in a food processor. Once they have reached a consistency that tells you that they aren't going to get smaller, add the flour and turn the processor back on until they are mixed well. Next add the oil and spices and mix very well.
Layout a large sheet of aluminum foil on the table. We are going to use the aluminum foil instead of the kishke intestines to hold everything together. I haven't the time to see if they sell plastic tubing that could be used instead, so I suggest you leave it go also.
Take the mixed ingredients from the processor and roll it tightly into a tube shaped mess. Grease up you piece of aluminum foil with some margarine and then roll the aluminum foil tightly around it.
Bake it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, (I forgot what it is in centigrade sorry) for about 1 1/2 hours. Slice it and serve it as a side dish (remember it tastes better served with out the aluminium foil).
I must admit the truth at this point; we do a bit different than that. I bake it for only 1/2 hour in the oven. Then on Friday afternoon, after I have prepared my cholent, I pop it into the pot, letting lie on the top. We leave it on the stovetop until Shabbat afternoon, when the big man comes back from the synagogue. It is a delicious accompaniment to the cholent.
As the French say, "La Breyout" (I am speaking of the French Jews in Israel.)
Enjoy!
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from the October 2003 Edition of the Jewish Magazine
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