Although I was raised in a Jewish household and enjoyed many "Jewish
foods" that my mother prepared, like gefilte fish, chicken soup with
knaidlach or kreplach, chopped liver, potato kugel, a sort of
customized cholent, and matzo brei, we never had farfel. So when I
noticed a display of Manischweitz Matzo Farfel in a store, I bought a
box.

According to the ingredient panel on the box, the contents were made
of matzo flour (whatever that is) and water. It looks like crumbled
matzo, but coarser than matzo meal.

I asked my wife just what farfel was and how one prepared it. She had
no idea what it was made of but did recall that her mother used to put
it into chicken soup, but couldn't remember whether it was cooked or
otherwise processed before being added.

I dug out my schmaltz-stained copy of Sarah Kazden's "Love And
Knishes" in which I found a recipe for making farfel and, I believe, a
recipe for farfel kugel or somesuch dish, but no mention of other
uses. The recipe called for eggs and flour only.

Joan Nathan's "Jewish Holiday Cookbook" included a farfel kugel
recipe, but no other comment on farfel.

Online I did find a few recipes for farfel dishes including farfel
kugel with apples, farfel muffins, and similar.

So what do I want? I'd like to see some comment on farfel; how it's
used (other than the baked goods), its history, anything to help a
farfel-deprived but otherwise lovable septuagenarian.

Thanks,

-Len

> Online I did find a few recipes for farfel dishes including farfel
> kugel with apples, farfel muffins, and similar.
>
> So what do I want? I'd like to see some comment on farfel; how it's
> used (other than the baked goods), its history, anything to help a
> farfel-deprived but otherwise lovable septuagenarian.
>
> Thanks,
>
> -Len

What little I know about falafel is that it is:
primarily coarsely ground and seasoned (cumin) chickpeas (garbonzo bean)
usually formed into small balls or patties and fried
topped with a sauce like yogurt-cucumber-dill


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falafel says:
Falafel (Arabic: ?????; Hebrew: ?????) is a fried ball or patty of spiced
bread, dating back to Biblical times and originated somewhere on the Indian
subcontinent. Falafel is today eaten in India as well as in Pakistan and the
Middle East. It is traditionally served with a yogurt sauce, as a sandwich
in pita bread, or as an appetizer.

Though its origin is uncertain, it is believed that it originally came from
India, where it was made with spiced soured bread. The word "falafel" is
actually an ancient Tamil word composed of three sections: Fa ("worked of,
made of"), La (many, lots), Fel (bread crumbs).

Falafel (at least the Middle Eastern style) is made from any combination of
fava beans and/or chick peas. The Egyptian variation exclusively uses fava
beans, while other variations may exclusively use chick peas. What makes
falafel different from many other bean patties is the beans are not cooked
prior to use. Instead they are soaked, possibly skinned, then ground with
other ingredients and deep fried.

Recent culinary trends have seen the triumph of the chickpea falafel over
the fava bean falafel. Chickpea falafels are served across the Middle East,
and popularized by expatriates of those countries living abroad. Israeli
expatriates have played a crucial role in the popularization of the chickpea
falafel across the western world, especially in the New York City
Metropolitan Area

Ashkenazic noodle "farfel, farfl" (from Middle High German varveln) is a
different thing.

In article >,
LenS > wrote:

> So what do I want? I'd like to see some comment on farfel; how it's
> used (other than the baked goods), its history, anything to help a
> farfel-deprived but otherwise lovable septuagenarian.


We basically use it for a sort of stuffing. First, we make gravy--rather
different than a typical one, but the only one that tastes right to me.
When we cook a turkey, we add two or three onions, three carrots, and
(usually but not always) a stalk or two of celery. They're cut up into
small pieces and cooked with the turkey. When the turkey is ready to be
sliced, the vegetables are removed and put through a food mill or
blender, adding enough of the juice from the pan to make it pourable
(and/or to enable to blender to work with it). This mixture is cooked
down in a small pot over a low flame until it's thicker (by
evaporation), then the hot gravy is poured over a big bowl of farfel and
served. Fabulous stuff; it gets finished very quickly.

--
to respond (OT only), change "spamless.invalid" to "optonline.net"

<http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/>

On Sat 22 Jan 2005 06:02:05p, Scott called across the abyss...

> In article >,
> LenS > wrote:
>
>> So what do I want? I'd like to see some comment on farfel; how it's
>> used (other than the baked goods), its history, anything to help a
>> farfel-deprived but otherwise lovable septuagenarian.
>
>
> We basically use it for a sort of stuffing. First, we make gravy--rather
> different than a typical one, but the only one that tastes right to me.
> When we cook a turkey, we add two or three onions, three carrots, and
> (usually but not always) a stalk or two of celery. They're cut up into
> small pieces and cooked with the turkey. When the turkey is ready to be
> sliced, the vegetables are removed and put through a food mill or
> blender, adding enough of the juice from the pan to make it pourable
> (and/or to enable to blender to work with it). This mixture is cooked
> down in a small pot over a low flame until it's thicker (by
> evaporation), then the hot gravy is poured over a big bowl of farfel and
> served. Fabulous stuff; it gets finished very quickly.
>

Funny, I've eaten farfel before and like it, but I've never prepared
anything using it. A couple of weeks ago I bought a box at the supermarket
and it's just been sitting there waiting for me to figure out what to do.
I think you just gave it to me! Although, I don't want a turkey just now,
but a roasted chicken will suffice. I'll do the vegetables as suggested.

Thanks,
Wayne

In article >,
LenS > wrote:

> [snip]
> So what do I want? I'd like to see some comment on farfel; how it's
> used (other than the baked goods), its history, anything to help a
> farfel-deprived but otherwise lovable septuagenarian.

My grandmother or my mother's side used to use farfel scrambled eggs. It
was one of the few things Grandma Rose made that I disliked. I am not
sure, but I think Grandma Rose just moistened a handful of farfel with
milk and then just put it in a hot pan with butter and eggs and
scrambled them over a medium flame. The reason I didn't like my
grandma's eggs is simply because I am not a big fan of matzoh although I
do like matzoh balls. Farfel is also a popular ingredient in stuffing in
many Jewish homes.

zuuum wrote:
>
> > Online I did find a few recipes for farfel dishes including farfel
> > kugel with apples, farfel muffins, and similar.
> >
> > So what do I want? I'd like to see some comment on farfel; how it's
> > used (other than the baked goods), its history, anything to help a
> > farfel-deprived but otherwise lovable septuagenarian.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > -Len
>
> What little I know about falafel is that it is:
> primarily coarsely ground and seasoned (cumin) chickpeas (garbonzo bean)
> usually formed into small balls or patties and fried
> topped with a sauce like yogurt-cucumber-dill

LOL The poster was asking about farfel not felafel. Two very different
foods.
>
<snip>
>
> Ashkenazic noodle "farfel, farfl" (from Middle High German varveln) is a
> different thing.

Yes that's what was being asked about.

"Arri London" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> zuuum wrote:
>>
>> > Online I did find a few recipes for farfel dishes including farfel
>> > kugel with apples, farfel muffins, and similar.
>> >
>> > So what do I want? I'd like to see some comment on farfel; how it's
>> > used (other than the baked goods), its history, anything to help a
>> > farfel-deprived but otherwise lovable septuagenarian.
>> >
>> > Thanks,
>> >
>> > -Len
>>
>> What little I know about falafel is that it is:
>> primarily coarsely ground and seasoned (cumin) chickpeas (garbonzo bean)
>> usually formed into small balls or patties and fried
>> topped with a sauce like yogurt-cucumber-dill
>
> LOL The poster was asking about farfel not felafel. Two very different
> foods.
>>
> <snip>
>>
>> Ashkenazic noodle "farfel, farfl" (from Middle High German varveln) is a
>> different thing.
>
> Yes that's what was being asked about.

That's funny, I didn't even catch that, though it was referred to at the
bottom of the same article.

Arri London at wrote on 1/22/05 10:12 PM:

>
>
> zuuum wrote:
>>
>>> Online I did find a few recipes for farfel dishes including farfel
>>> kugel with apples, farfel muffins, and similar.
>>>
>>> So what do I want? I'd like to see some comment on farfel; how it's
>>> used (other than the baked goods), its history, anything to help a
>>> farfel-deprived but otherwise lovable septuagenarian.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> -Len
>>
>> What little I know about falafel is that it is:
>> primarily coarsely ground and seasoned (cumin) chickpeas (garbonzo bean)
>> usually formed into small balls or patties and fried
>> topped with a sauce like yogurt-cucumber-dill
>
> LOL The poster was asking about farfel not felafel. Two very different
> foods.
>>
> <snip>
>>
>> Ashkenazic noodle "farfel, farfl" (from Middle High German varveln) is a
>> different thing.
>
> Yes that's what was being asked about.

You know, I wondered how long it would take someone to point out that farfel
could be either matzo or noodles.

My aunt makes egg barley and mushrooms, but calls it "farfel".
She also makes stuffing out of matzo farfel during Passover. Also kugels.

Farfel means "little bits". You need a descriptor to know what kind of
farfel it is, therefore what to do with it.

Farfel used without any qualification usually means barley. Other kinds
are egg farfel and matzo farfel. Egg farfel is a kind of pasta that,
when cooked, somewhat resembles barley. It would not be kosher for
Pesach (Passover). Matzo farfel would typically be kosher for Pesach.
Farfel kugel is usually a barley kugel.

-bwg