Classic eastern European comfort food: homemade egg noodles tossed with braised cabbage and poppy seeds. A perfect vegetarian dinner to honor Queen Esther this Purim.
The Jewish festival of Purim begins at sundown on Wednesday February 28. Purim commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from a murderous plot and therefore is a joyous, even raucous, ocsasion. In essence, Purim is the Jewish “carnival” holiday where people are encouraged to dress in costume, make merry, and drink to excess.
The story of Purim begins in ancient Persia when King Ahasuerus sets aside his queen in favor of a beautiful girl named Esther who, unbeknownst to the King, is Jewish. Haman, the King’s most important minister hates the Jews because they refuse to bow to him and plots to kill all them. Esther reveals to the king that she herself is Jewish and exposes Haman’s plot. The king orders that Haman be hanged on the very gallows he built for the Jews and the Jewish people are saved.
There are a few food traditions associated with the festival of Purim. Perhaps the best-known Purim food are hamantaschen, a triangular cookie that is said to resemble murderous Haman’s hat. Another slightly more obscure Purim tradition, but one that I quite enjoy, is to eat poppy seeds.
There are different stories about why Jews eat dishes containing poppy seeds at Purim. One poetic tale is that Queen Esther subsisted on poppy seeds during a three-day fast while she prayed to God to repeal the evil Haman’s murderous decree against the Jews.
Another is that when Queen Esther was living in the court of the Persian king, hiding her Jewish faith, she subsisted on a vegetarian diet of nuts and seeds to avoid breaking the laws of kosher. Indeed, many Jewish families eat a vegetarian or even vegan meal on Purim in honor of Esther’s adherence to a vegetarian diet rather than violate the kosher laws.
Whatever story you prefer, eating foods with poppy seeds at Purim honors Queen Esther’s bravery and her devotion to her people. That makes eating foods with poppy seeds my favorite Purim tradition. Last year at this time, I shared a recipe for a poppy seed cake with a Meyer lemon glaze that showcases how well the nutty, earthy flavor of poppy seeds works in desserts.
This year, I want to remind you all that poppy seeds also work in savory dishes. I was reminded of the versatility of poppy seeds myself this summer when my husband and I spent a week in Central Europe, where poppy seeds are cherished. One of the very best things we ate on our trip was a dish of potato noodles with poppy seed and pistachios at the famous restaurant Steirereck in Vienna.
Now, that dish was a dessert; it’s true. But a savory dish of poppy seeds, cabbage and noodles is classic Eastern European comfort food. And that dish, which also has the benefit of being vegetarian, is my idea of perfect Purim food. Topped with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt, these chewy noodles with sweet and sour braised cabbage and crunchy poppy seeds is both novel and hauntingly familiar at the same time.
Traditionally, this dish would be made with green cabbage, but I much prefer red cabbage, which is not only prettier but somehow less intimidating. Maybe because the heads of red cabbage are typically smaller than those monster green cabbages lurking in the bins on the bottom shelves of the produce department?
I also highly recommend fresh pasta for this dish. I love to make fresh pasta when I have the time and, truth be told, with the KitchenAid pasta roller and cutter attachment for the stand mixer, it isn’t even that much work to do so. So I definitely encourage you to try to make your own pasta. But if that is not realistic, store-bought would be lovely as well.
So this Purim, don’t just eat a few soggy hamantaschen and be done with it. Embrace poppy seeds as the new iconic Purim food. And start with this homey dish of noodles with braised cabbage and poppy seeds. If, like me, you have Ashkenazi, eastern European blood running through your veins, a dish like this is in your DNA. Trust me.
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- Pinch salt
- 6 TB butter
- 1 yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 small head red cabbage, quartered, cored and thinly sliced or shredded
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 TB poppy seeds
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the eggs, flour and salt in a food processor and pulse until the dough begins to come together. If the dough is too dry (depending on the humidity of the air and flour) add water 1 tsp at a time until the dough comes together.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
- Wrap pasta dough in plastic and set aside for at least thirty minutes and up to one hour.
- Meanwhile, prepare the cabbage. Melt 4 TB of the butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until softened, about five minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the shredded cabbage and toss to combine. Add the apple cider vinegar. Saute the cabbage until softened and tender, about twenty minutes, lowering the heat if necessary to prevent scorching. Set aside.
- Divide the pasta dough into four pieces. Keeping the other pieces covered, flatten the first piece of dough with your hands to allow it to fit in the pasta roller.
- Roll the dough out into a thin sheet using a pasta roller or a pasta-rolling attachment for a stand mixer. Begin at the lowest setting and continue rolling, increasing the setting each time, until the pasta sheet is thin enough to see through, usually the number 6 setting.
- Cut the pasta into fettucine ribbons by hand or using a cutting attachment for the pasta roller. Then cut ribbons in half with a knife.
- Wrap the noodles into little nests and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If your noodles seem sticky, dust with flour. Cover.
- Repeat with remaining three pieces of dough.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta just until al dente, about two minutes. Drain.
- Toss pasta with the cabbage mixture. Add poppy seeds, remaining 2 TB of butter and toss to combine. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt if desired.
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