Miri Rotkovitz
Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
---|---|
233 | Calories |
11g | Fat |
27g | Carbs |
7g | Protein |
Nutrition Facts | |
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Servings: 4 to 6 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 233 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 11g | 14% |
Saturated Fat 3g | 16% |
Cholesterol 41mg | 14% |
Sodium 179mg | 8% |
Total Carbohydrate 27g | 10% |
Dietary Fiber 2g | 7% |
Total Sugars 4g | |
Protein 7g | |
Vitamin C 2mg | 12% |
Calcium 23mg | 2% |
Iron 1mg | 7% |
Potassium 235mg | 5% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |
This is a traditional recipe for Jewish kasha varnishkes made with sautéed onions, cooked bowtie pasta, and buckwheat groats or kasha.
When you make this dish, cook more kasha than you'll need so you can make kasha croquettes (cooked kasha mixed with finely chopped onion, an egg, and fine bread crumbs) that are baked for 40 minutes until crunchy all over. They're great with mushroom sauce.
Jewish kasha varnishkes has unlimited potential—mix it with mushrooms or mandarin oranges and raisins to be used as a stuffing for veal or poultry or served as a cold salad.
Experiment a little, because the sky's the limit. This is such a soul-warming comfort dish (and tastier than those uninitiated might imagine), it's perfect for fall and winter.
Ingredients
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4 tablespoons schmaltz, rendered chicken fat, or oil or margarine for a vegetarian dish
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2 large onions, sliced into thin rounds
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4 ounces uncooked bow tie pasta, or more to taste
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2 cups chicken stock, or salted water for a vegetarian dish
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1 cup kasha, toasted buckwheat groats
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1 large egg, at room temperature and beaten lightly
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Salt, to taste
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Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients.
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Melt schmaltz in a large skillet and add onions. Sauté over medium-low, stirring frequently until onions are turning brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove onions to a bowl and set aside.
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Cook bowtie pasta in 2 cups chicken stock or salted water until al dente or done to your liking. Drain, reserving liquid, and set aside.
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While the pasta is cooking, mix uncooked kasha with beaten egg, coating well. Warm a medium skillet that has a lid and turn kasha into the pan, patting down flat. Cook, stirring often, until kasha has separated into individual grains.
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Deglaze the pan you cooked onion in with the reserved hot chicken stock or pasta cooking water by pouring it into the pan with the kasha. Stir, bring to a boil, stir again, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook until tender, 20 to 40 minutes. Toward the end of cooking, set cover slightly askew to allow any liquid to fully evaporate.
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In a large saucepan, combine onions, pasta, and kasha, mixing well. Season to taste. Reheat and serve hot as a side dish or main course.
A Little More About Kasha
Kasha to Ashkenazic or Eastern European and American Jews means toasted buckwheat groats, but to Russians, Poles, Ukrainians, and others, kasha can mean any number of grains, including millet, barley, oats, buckwheat, and others.
Where Does the Word Varnishkes Come From?
The name varnishkes is said to have come from the Ukrainian word vareniki, which today is a filled dumpling along the lines of Jewish kreplach or Polish pierogi (pierogen in Yiddish), but was originally a rectangular noodle in Ukraine. And, indeed, that's what bowtie pasta is—rectangles of dough pinched in the middle.
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