1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (111 page)

Sixty percent of the horseradish in America grows in Collinsville, Illinois, where the soil is rich in potash, a key nutrient in its growth, and every June since 1988 the town has hosted an International Horseradish Festival that includes parades and lots of Bloody Marys—a drink that would amount to little more than spiced, spiked tomato juice without the inclusion of this memorably rousing root.

When choosing horseradish, look for a root that has green tops and is not too dry and woody. Buy only the amount of the root you plan to use, and store it in a tightly-covered jar in the refrigerator to help it retain freshness. Grate it in a food processor, and stand back when you open the lid—the emanating gases will have a powerful kick. (If possible, open the processor bowl out-of-doors or through an open window.)

Add salt to taste and pack the grated root in a nonreactive, narrow bottle made of glass or ceramic. Pour in just enough distilled white vinegar to cover. Store the bottle, covered, in the refrigerator. If it darkens, throw it out—and never cook prepared horseradish, as heat destroys its flavor.

Mail order:
For prepared horseradish, Zabar’s, tel 800-697-6301,
zabars.com
; Brede Foods,
bredefoods.com
. For fresh horseradish, Melissa’s Produce, tel 800-588-0151,
melissas.com
.
Further information and recipes:
From My Mother’s Kitchen
by Mimi Sheraton (1979);
The Book of Jewish Food
by Claudia Roden (1996);
The New York Times Jewish Cookbook
edited by Linda Amster (2003);
foodnetwork.com
(search preparing fresh horseradish);
bonappetit.com
(search prepared horseradish).
Tip:
For a good supermarket brand of prepared horseradish—both white and reddened with beets—try Gold’s.
Special events:
International Horseradish Festival, Collinsville, IL, June,
horseradishfestival.net
; National Horseradish Month, July,
horseradish.org
.

Generally featured in kosher-style restaurants, tossed with the butterfly-shaped pasta known as
varnishkes
, nicely gritty, brown kasha often gets a bad rap, suffering from heavy doses of butter, oil, or margarine and way too much time on a steam table. But when properly cooked, kasha is a nutty, richly flavored accompaniment to all sorts of braised or roasted meats and poultry. It cushions meaty textures, absorbs pan juices and velvety gravies, and is beloved not only by Jewish cooks but also throughout eastern Europe and Russia, where it is the standard enhancement for duck and goose, and a fluffy, sprightly stuffing for roast suckling pig. More interesting than rice, high in fiber and rich in B vitamins, kasha is gluten free, and so a boon to celiac sufferers, providing them with the elemental satisfaction that grains bring to a diet.

Technically, kasha is buckwheat groats—a grass, not a grain, which in the United States grows most prolifically near Buffalo, in upstate
New York. Once milled, it can be ground into three grain sizes: coarse, medium, and fine. The first two are the more interesting as main-course garnishes, while the fine grain lends itself to being cooked as a breakfast porridge.

The best way to cook kasha is as directed on packages of Wolff’s, the brand most commonly available in American supermarkets. (Kasha is also sold in bulk in many health and natural foods stores.) The raw grains are coated with beaten raw eggs and parched in a hot, dry skillet until each grain stands separate. Boiling broth or water are stirred in, along with seasonings, resulting in grains that are firm outside but tender within and that retain their texture even when reheated. Added interest might come by way of minced fresh chives and sliced, sautéed mushrooms stirred in just before the kasha has finished cooking.

Mail order:
thebirkettmills.com
(search pocono organic kasha; wolff’s kasha); amazon.com (search wolff’s kasha whole; wolff’s kasha medium).
Further information and recipes:
The New York Times Jewish Cookbook
edited by Linda Amster (2003);
The Book of Jewish Food
by Claudia Roden (1996);
epicurious.com
(search wild mushroom and onion kasha; kasha varnishkes).

Fresh out of the oven at New York’s Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery.

Today’s puffy, hot, and fragrant knishes (ka-NISH-es) would have been downright insults to the Jewish and southern Ukrainian home cooks of yore. In these versions, individual pielike portions of this meal-in-a-crust are kept warm under cover, their rather simplistic flour, water, and oil crusts becoming steamy and soggy—a failure we generally overlook, beguiled as we are by savory fillings of nutty kasha, earthy mushrooms, soothing cabbage or sauerkraut, or an unctuous fluff of mashed potatoes.

But at its most ethereal, a knish is wrapped in a yeasty bread dough, rolled very thin so it turns deep golden brown and truly crusty, thus providing contrast to those soft fillings. It will not be an individual portion but rather will be made in a big, fat ring (Ukrainian style) or a robust horseshoe (Jewish style) to be sliced into portions and served while still steaming hot.

One of the Jewish knish’s most succulent, traditional fillings is a mix of lightly sautéed and chopped chicken livers tossed with sautéed onions, cooked kasha, and cracklings of the rendered chicken fat known as schmaltz (see
listing
), along with plenty of ground black pepper. The combination produces such mouthwatering aromas during baking that it’s a wonder the knish isn’t pulled from the oven before it is half done. For Ukrainians and Russians, the ring-shaped Easter knishes named
piroshky
are near bursting with a pungent mix of onions and garlic and juicy sauerkraut, or sometimes with peppery and garlicky ground beef.

The proper ambiance for the best knish experience in the U.S. is Brooklyn’s Coney Island boardwalk in winter, when a hot knish in the hand is worth two pairs of woolen gloves as protection from the damp seaside chill. Just watch out for hungry seagulls.

Where:
In New York
, Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery, tel 212-477-2859,
knishery.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Knish: In Search of the Jewish Soul Food
by Laura Silver (2014);
The Book of Jewish Food
by Claudia Roden (1996);
cookstr.com
(search knish schwartz);
thedailymeal.com/best-recipes/knish
.

What gives a kosher-style delicatessen its incomparable aroma? A telltale barrel of cool, bronze-green dill and garlic pickles made from unwaxed Kirby cucumbers. With their snappy texture and juicy interiors, classic kosher pickles taste only of salt, garlic, dill (both fronds and seeds), and a pickling spice mix of coriander and mustard seed, bay leaves, black peppercorns, and tiny, hot red chile peppers. No sweet spices such as nutmeg, cloves, or allspice need apply, and a pickle brine at its best and most authentic is made without the inclusion of vinegar or alum as aids for crispness and shelf life. The degree of pickling is determined by the amount of time the cucumbers are left in the brine—but to true connoisseurs, nothing less than full sour is worth considering. Although lovers of “new” pickles would argue the contrary, in kosher-style pickles any hint of bright green on the skin is a sign of an under-pickled cucumber.

Makes 24 to 30 pickles

24 to 30 small, very firm Kirby cucumbers, uniform in size and free of bruises or brown spots

7 or 8 cloves garlic, unpeeled but lightly crushed

1 teaspoon coriander seed

1 teaspoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

4 or 5 tiny dried red chiles, or ½ teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes

3 bay leaves

12 to 14 sprigs fresh dill, preferably with seed heads (crown dill), well rinsed, plus 1 teaspoon dried dill seed, if seed heads are not available

¾ cup kosher salt

1.
Thoroughly wash a wide-mouthed 3-quart crock, glass jar, or bean pot. Carefully rinse each cucumber, rubbing it gently with a cloth or soft brush to remove all traces of sand. Do not break the skin.

2.
Stand the cucumbers on end, filling the crock or jar. A second vertical layer of cucumbers can be added if the vessel is tall enough. The cucumbers should hold each other in place but should not be crammed together. Add the garlic, coriander and mustard seed, peppercorns, chiles or
hot red pepper flakes, bay leaves, and dill sprigs and seed.

3.
Mix 3 quarts of water with the salt and stir until the salt is completely dissolved. Pour the salt water into the crock so that it completely covers the pickles. The brine should overflow so you are sure that there are no air pockets. If there is not enough brine to do this, place the crock under slowly running water and fill it until overflowing.

4.
Dry the outside of the crock and place it on a stainproof surface in a dark, cool corner, but not in the refrigerator. A temperature of between 65°F and 70°F is just right. Fit a small dish or wooden disk directly over the pickles inside the mouth of the crock. It must rest directly on the pickles and should not be made of metal.

5.
Weigh down the dish or wooden disk with a jar or glass filled with water. Cover the crock and weight loosely but completely with a double thickness of cheesecloth or a clean dish towel.

6.
Every 24 hours, remove the cover and weight and check the pickles. Skim off any white or gray foam that has risen to the surface. Jiggle the crock slightly to distribute the spices and always return the weight to the top. After about 5 days, taste the brine for seasoning, adding more salt or other seasonings if the brine seems bland.

7.
The pickled cucumbers will be half sour in 4 to 5 days and fully sour in 10 days. The pickling time depends in part on the room temperature—the warmer the room, the faster the cucumbers will pickle. When the pickles have reached the degree of sourness you like, they can be stored in their brine in tightly closed jars in the refrigerator, where they will stop souring and become nicely firm in about 24 hours. If the jar lids have a metal lining, to prevent corrosion, place a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap over the mouth of the jars before screwing on the lids. Covered in brine, the pickles will keep for about 5 weeks, if they are not eaten long before that.

Variation:
Pickled green tomatoes are as enticing as the cucumbers, although harder to find well prepared. You can follow the same recipe as for the cucumbers, but the pickling will require a bit more time. Begin with small, totally green, very firm tomatoes of a uniform size, and prick the surface all over with a needle, making tiny holes. Then follow the instructions for brining the cucumbers and allow to ripen for 10 to 12 days.

Retail and mail order:
In New York
, The Pickle Guys, tel 888-474-2553,
pickleguys.com
.
Mail order:
Guss’ Pickles, tel 718-933-6060,
gusspickle.com
; for cucumbers, Rising River Farm, tel 360-273-5368,
risingriverfarm.com
; for pickling cucumbers and crown dill, Melissa’s Produce, tel 800-588-0151,
melissas.com
; for dried dill seed, Penzey’s Spices, tel 800-741-7787,
penzeys.com
.
Tip:
The perfect time for pickling is midsummer, when Kirby cucumbers are at their peak and dill has gone to seed.

Golden and crunchy on the outside, soft, tender, and oniony on the inside, fried potato pancakes—or
latkes
, as they’re called in Yiddish—are the highlight of the Ashkenazic Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Also known as the Festival of Lights,
the holiday has its roots in the second century
B.C.
, when the Romans besieged a group of Jews known as the Maccabees. Determined to die in rebellion rather than be captured, they faced the problem of repairing their desecrated temple without enough oil to light the lamps during rebuilding. Enter a miracle: a tiny jar of oil that lasted eight days and nights, long enough to obtain more oil and restore order.

On Hanukkah, Jews commemorate that remarkable event by frying foods in oil—chiefly latkes for Ashkenazic Jews, and the crullers known as
sufganiyot
(see
listing
) for the Sephardim.

Potato latkes are distinctive for their oniony, salty goodness. There are several secrets to turning out an ideal one, which will taste something like hashbrowns, French fries, and potato chips, all rolled into a single addictive disk. First, the potatoes should be grated on a traditional box grater (a food processor is only a fair substitute, turning out watery shreds), alternating with onions; this keeps the grated potato from darkening and ensures that the onion and potato are thoroughly combined. Second, this is one time to throw precaution to the wind and opt for Crisco shortening, the very best fat for crisp and clean, flavorless frying. If you can’t muster up the courage, rely on corn oil, the next best frying medium. Once fried, latkes should be drained on paper towels, and they may be held uncovered on a rack in a 375°F oven for about 20 minutes.