"An acquired taste for texture..." - blog 34 by 'cookingwithmavis'

‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ # 34   …an acquired taste for texture:

                                       ”A Kochaleffel’s Kneidlach”

I’m always one for sssssstrrrrressss…and  ohhh - ”Quel horreur!” such stress!

- My conscience tells me that I should write about Passover recipes…but then again, it  is Easter just on the very same weekend…funny that Easter is ALWAYS  on a WEEKEND!. ...but then again , how would we have “Good Friday”, “Easter Sunday” & “Easter Monday”, if they weren’t on a weekend ?

 "Easter Duck”   

Here in South Africa , we are fortunate, to ALWAYS  have a 4-day “Easter Weekend”…when peoples local , make elaborate vacation plans to escape to the nearest ‘far-flung’ places.

So could I  look forward to ****Easter** eggs*** on Sunday…and feasting for both Passover AND Easter?…of course I  can!  After all, I am secular in belief, and ‘one-for-all ‘ , when it comes to enjoying traditions and food.

For just one whole week, each year, how could I   EVER  forego the  “more-ness ” of Matzos?....double sheets of Matzos spread with copious amounts of soft butter, then sprinkled with sugar and sandwiched together….

Matzos with that very same amount of butter, and as a South African,  that ‘Have-to-Have’ salty spread *Marmite* …. Matzos with peanutbutter & Golden  syrup ….lots of Matzos scrunched in your hands, into simmering left-over chicken broth…..

  Matzos on Easter Sunday topped with lashings of batter for cheesecake filling and baked till golden brown - this called “Geschmirte” matza……..ahhhhhhhh! Matzos!

“Geschmirte” matza……..ahhhhhhhh! 

But too much Matzos will definitely clog-up “ The Sytem ”!

Reason enough to still buy fragrant piping-hot Hot Cross buns from “ Mrs Woolworths ” bloomin’ expensive  food counter (for “My M”  )  …or at a push, from BloodyPack’nPiyClaremont supermarket   - not to mention the assortment  of  ****Easter** eggs***  at   ’ Woolies ‘   too.

Only to be *coerced *! *  by clever marketing at BloodyPack’nPiyClaremont  supermarket  , into paying  excessively exorbitant  prices for the “Kosher-For-Pesach”( Passover ) imported sweets or chocolates that one traditionally gives at this time of the year….10 times  their usual price!

So, as you might well gather, I  shall not starve over this period, I shall not suffer symptoms of  bread-withdrawal.  I  shall enjoy the best of both worlds…..and might too, remember to indulge in an exotic traditional Yemenite Passover recipe-or-two, too!  But those might be for another blog….

Meanwhile, I  shall divulge a Passover tradition, eaten throughout the year, should you wish to   - YES!  KNEIDLACH  (pronounced: “K-nnay-dehh-LLLagh” – the  last syllable being a guttural, rasping noise, from the top back of the throat).  Kneidelach …dumplings {“KnÖdel”}  made from ‘Matza-meal’  - a fine meal especially sold for Passover.

Kneidlach  - definitely an acquired taste - unless you’ve ‘grown-up’ with them!  Hopefully soft and “fluffy”, and delicate in flavour. Kneidlach!

Kneidlach traditionally served with a thin chicken soup….to some of You , known as “ Matza-ball soup ”!    You’ll find a clear Jewish chicken soup recipe in my blog # 4 …scroll to the top right of this page, click on blogs for 2011, then on #4.

It  a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y  irks Me that I  am no longer the youngest around the Passover table, to search for the ‘afikoman’  - that small broken-off piece of Matzos, hidden for the youngest children to find, to win the glorious prize of a whole ten Rand ( about  U.S. $1,10 / €0.90 / £0.75 ) …

********Afikoman ????   

(Hebrew language, based on Greek, “ epikomen”, meaning "that which  comes after") is a half-piece of matzo which is broken in the early stages of the Passover Seder  (dinner).

The head of the household hides the afikoman for the children to find, and rewards them with money. In some families, the children "steal" the afikoman and ask for a reward for its return. Either way, the afikoman has become a device for keeping children awake and alert during the Seder proceedings, until the time it is needed for dessert…

Meanwhile to recipes…

                      

                 A Kochaleffel’s No-fail
             KNEIDLACH

                 Yields about 16

KNEIDLACH

INGREDIENTS: 

3 eggs – beaten well

4 tablespoons warm(tepid) water – add to beaten eggs

Then add:

  3 tablespoons vegetarian schmaltz ( found at the Kosher section in your supermarket …or see blog #20 for homemade recipe)

  ½ teaspoons salt

  ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  Pinch of ground ginger (even ⅛ teaspoon is okay)

  Pinch of white pepper

Then add:

  ½ cup + 1 tablespoon  matzameal

Mix well and chill covered, in fridge for 4 hours or overnight.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil

Then, wet hands and roll mixture into golfball-size balls.

Throw into the rapidly boiling water, and let simmer for 1 hour

Remember to leave room in the pot for these to expand to at least 3x their size.

The texture should be light and springy....not heavy and hard!


Then:

Remove with a slotted spoon, and leave to cool.

To Serve:

Gently heat in chicken broth and serve probably 1 Kneidl per portion!

Perfect to freeze on a tray, then package as individually frozen balls (“Kneidlach”) -  they will shrink in size when frozen, but expand when warmed for at least 30 minutes gently in soup

**Remember to DEFROST ( - lay them on a tray, so as not to stick together), before warming in soup to serve.

INGREDIENTS FOR KNEIDLACH

AN ARMY OF PRE-COOKED
KNEIDLACH

A KNEIDL - SOFT AND
LIGHT...AND 'FLUFFY'

 …until next Thursday, as usual,

           ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’

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