Cabbage Varnishkes

This recipe was born of necessity, but it turned out to be a happy accident. I was all ready to whip up a batch of that favorite shtetl classic, kasha varnishkes (toasted buckwheat groats with noodles), topped with roasted vegetables. I was especially psyched to have one of my favorite roasting vegetables, cauliflower, on hand—or so I thought.

Turns out the pale green vegetable languishing in a plastic bag in my fridge was actually green cabbage, not cauliflower. Before I could dash off to the store to pick up an actual cauliflower, my mind drifted to another Eastern European classic: cabbage noodles. This dish of sautéed onions, soft cooked cabbage, and bowties is another favorite of mine, and I got to thinking about what a mashup of the two dishes might look like.

And so—cabbage varnishkes. I can’t get enough of the nutty, earthy flavor of buckwheat, and I’m always looking for more ways to incorporate it into my diet. And, though nothing beats roasted cauliflower, I’m pretty pleased with how this dish turned out. For the kasha, I generally buy Wolff’s and follow the recipe on the back of the box with good results.

I topped these with a couple of tablespoons of poppy seeds, which are a classic accompaniment to cabbage noodles, though this is the first time I’ve incorporated them into the dish myself.

Like quinoa, buckwheat is a pseudocereal—a seed that acts like a grain. It’s a great gluten-free option and comes with tons of nutritional benefits. Packed with protein, buckwheat is also high in manganese, magnesium, copper, and zinc.

Buckwheat is related to rhubarb and sorrel (which just happen to be two other favorite ingredients of mine that don’t get enough love these days, at least not in this country). Native to China, buckwheat arrived in Ukraine and Russia in the early fourteenth century, and from there it spread westward.

I had initially developed this as a Purim recipe, as kasha varnishkes were frequently served at Purim (though it was also eaten all throughout the year, buckwheat being a staple of the shtetl diet), possibly due to the tradition of eating seeds and legumes in deference to Queen Esther’s supposed vegetarian diet while living in King Ahashuerus’s palace—legend has it she avoided meat in order to maintain a kosher diet in the decidedly treif royal household. But, as loyal readers may have noticed, I went a little overboard with the Purim foods and this didn’t make it to be posted in time. Regardless, it’s a delicious, hearty vegetarian main or side for any time of the year.

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Cabbage Varnishkes with Poppy Seeds

The cooking instructions for the cabbage are slightly adapted from this recipe from the Wall Street Journal.

1 onion, chopped

4 tablespoons butter, margarine, or oil

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 head (2 pounds) green cabbage, core removed and leaves coarsely chopped

black pepper, to taste

4 cups cooked kasha

1 package (16 oz.) cooked farfalle or egg noodles

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

In a large sauté pan over medium-low heat, cook onions with 1 tablespoon butter, margarine, or oil and 1 ½ teaspoons salt until softened, about 15 minutes.

Add remaining butter to onions. Once it has melted, stir in cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft, about 40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Toss cabbage with cooked kasha and noodles. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Serve warm.

Sources: Encyclopedia of Jewish Food (Gil Marks, 2010); Rhapsody in Schmaltz: Yiddish Food and Why We Can’t Stop Eating It (Michael Wex, 2016)