A fiddler in the square, Jewish caviar & rosół
my visit to Krakow...
This time last year on a clear and warm night, I was sitting in an open-air theatre in the Galilee, singing my heart out to the well known tunes of Tradition, Sunrise Sunset and If I were A Rich Man, as I watched a live Israeli performance of Fiddler on the Roof. This summer, I relived the history, customs and traditional fayre of this musical on a hot, sultry evening in the centre square of Kazimierz, the Jewish quarter of Krakow, listening to a fiddler play the same melodic tunes, whilst contemplating a menu of traditional Ashkenazi Jewish foods.
During the 1920's Krakow was home to around 50,000 Jews, most of whom were observant and lived in the ‘shtetl’ town of Kazimierz. Today, it is home to a mere 200 mainly elderly Jews, 6 beautifully preserved synagogues, 2 rather unkempt cemeteries, a Jewish cultural centre, and many restaurants serving gefilte fish, chopped liver and cholent…
I was invited to give a cooking workshop on Biblical Grains in Krakow’s Jewish Cultural Centre a few months back, which I was honoured and humbled at the request, and naturally keen to do. I also saw it as wonderful opportunity to do some culinary research for my forthcoming book, which delves into the Jewish cuisine and the traditional dishes that feed us in times of joy, sorrow and conflict.
I arrived in Krakow, excited and nervous in equal measures having never been to Poland before, and found the train station that would take me from the airport to Kazimierz. I had just over 48 hours to cram in the sights, sounds, smells and flavours of this old Jewish town that conjured a whole host of emotions within me, blending its harrowing history with such cultural delights. The train journey of around 20 minutes took me through miles of barren countryside with only the odd farm house dotted through the landscape, and stopping sporadically at a desolate station for passengers to disembark, all of which left me pondering on history gone by.
Preserving the historical, architectural and cultural legacy of Kazimierz has given this quarter a real sense of the traditions that were once part of the everyday lives of the Jewish community and an understanding of the values of the ‘ghetto’, where the home and the synagogue were central to life and the daily routine, with food the central focus particularly for the Sabbath and religious festivals.
The ‘Biblical Grains’ workshop was the main reason for the trip. With my knowledge and culinary experience of cooking with Freekeh, Wild Wheats & Ancient Grains and the indigenous ingredients from The Galilean Kitchen, I was excited to convey to this community how to cook a variety of dishes using the Middle Eastern staples. In return, I was given an old family recipe from the Director of the JCC for Rosół - Polish Chicken Soup, which calls for “beef or chicken”, vegetables including “carrot, cabbage and leek, but no onion”, fine noodles and a good amount of turmeric to “make yellow”. Definitely one for the book…
My culinary tour of Kazimierz took me to Klezmer-Hois and Restaurant, a quaint front room serving ‘carp Jewish style, cymes, choulent and stuffed goose neck’ made from the original recipes and home kitchen of Leopold Kozlowski. He was a Holocaust survivor and the last known klezmer musician, whose music as recorded on The last klezmer of Galicia (2002), was associated with the music of Jewish religious ceremonies and festivals throughout pre war Poland. It is widely accepted by chefs and home cooks that there is very little to distinguish Polish from Jewish foods, a culinary feature of Krakow that stems from the 1750’s when the Jews migrated to Poland and culturally assimilated with the native flavours, ingredients and recipes, in accordance with the dietary laws of kashrut. Dishes such as potato pancakes, cabbage rolls and stuffed carp were eaten by all, however were given the Yiddish titles of latkes, holishkes and gefilte fish.
Chef Aleksander Baron serves “Polish cuisine and the cuisine of Polish Jews” at Kaplony i Szczeżuje in the heart of the Jewish Quarter. His traditional menu with his contemporary spin on each dish is inspired by Fania Lewando, the pre war Jewish vegetarian chef and restaurateur from Vilnius, whose restaurant was said to have been a favorite gastronomic spot for Marc Chagall. Following a tour of his kitchen, the wine cellar that was once stone mikvah ( a bath used in Judaism for ritual immersion to gain purity), and a stop at shelves where large glass containers stood with fermenting sauerkraut, garlic and challah bread, we sat and drank coffee, discussing the wonders of Tzimmes, Kugel and Jewish Caviar.
Tzimmes spelt Cymes in Polish means “more than delicious” which reminiscent of the sweetened carrot stew served at festive celebratory meals, is exactly that. However, when served a large dish full of big pieces of carrot, potatoes and a thick meaty gravy, it seemed to me to be more like the slow cooked Sabbath cholent or hamin, although equally tasty. Also on the menu was Jewish caviar aka chopped liver, challah zur, a challah bread pudding similar to a kugel and Gesie Pipki, goose neck stuffed with gizzards, red wine and spices, all served with a chef Baron’s own twist. Each dish is from the traditional Ashkenazi cuisine, known for taking cheap, locally grown staples and turning them into dishes that would feed the family and anyone in need of sustenance.
With limited time in Krakow and after all I had gone for work, I still managed a visit to Schindler's factory museum and the oldest synagogue in Poland. However, with so much more to see, experience and above all taste, I can’t wait to return to Kazimierz and the hospitality of the people of this city and the tunes of the fiddler in the square.
