Following the trail of pastrami.
I hadn’t been back in decades, but the Lower East Side has a way of making family history taste better. On a recent trip to New York with my son and granddaughter, we wandered the streets where my grandfather, Harry Rabinowitz, began his American life in 1906. We found the fabric store where my mother and aunt once shopped, and then, naturally, we followed the trail to pastrami.
Lunch at the legendary Katz’s Delicatessen was a must. Katz’s history dates back to 1888, when Morris and Hyman Iceland opened a delicatessen on Ludlow Street; the Katz name appeared in 1903. Its location near Second Avenue made it a hangout in the days of Yiddish theater. World War II brought a clever promotional slogan: “Send a Salami to Your Boy in the Army,” but probably nothing has increased the deli’s popularity more than the 1989 film “When Harry Met Sally.” Today the legendary deli is still run by fifth-generation owner Jake Dell.
What else can you do with pastrami besides pile it high in a sandwich? Katz’s features creative recipes on its website like Pastrami Egg Roll, Kung Pao Pastrami and the Pastrami Hash featured here, and it asks others to share.
If it’s lox, sable, sturgeon or herring you crave, Russ & Daughters remains the Lower East Side’s landmark appetizing shop. Founded in 1914 by Polish immigrant Joel Russ, who began by selling herring from a pushcart, it became the first U.S. business to put “& Daughters” in its name. Four generations later, the family business is still going strong – and it inspired cookbook author Dorie Greenspan to create her Lower East Side Brunch Tart from her cookbook “Everyday Dorie” (Houghton Mifflin, $35).
My connection to this neighborhood goes back to 1906, when my grandfather, Harry Rabinowitz, arrived from Slonim, in what is now Belarus, at 21, carrying little more than his carpentry tools and hopes for a better life. Drafted into the czar’s army, he had faced a 25-year stint as a Jewish recruit. As he loved to tell us grandchildren, the czar put Papa Harry on a horse, and the army went this way and he went that-away.
He landed on the Lower East Side, where he shared a room with another immigrant who worked nights. Papa Harry slept in the bed at night; his roommate slept in it during the day. Within a year, he had saved enough to send for my grandmother, Mama Hinda, who arrived in 1907, baby in tow.
More than a century later, I was back on those same streets with my son and granddaughter. I was happy to see Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery, operating since 1910, is still there. (Schimmel began selling knishes from a pushcart in Coney Island in 1896.) But many of our prior haunts, alas, were gone: Fein & Klein Handbags, which opened in 1945 and closed its doors in 2007. Legendary Ratner’s kosher dairy restaurant, which operated for nearly a century before closing in 2002. Schmulka Bernstein, the deli turned first kosher Chinese restaurant in America, which opened in 1957 and closed in 1992.
But then we turned a corner, and there it was: Mendel Goldberg, 72 Hester Street, still in business. My mother and my aunt Estelle often brought my cousin Joyce and me here on their frequent shopping expeditions in the 1950s. Sewing was their passion; they bought fabric not by the yard but by the bolt, and the Lower East Side was where the bargains were. Founded in 1890 by Polish Jewish immigrants Mendel Goldberg and his wife, Chana Henna – Mendel having begun his career selling thread out of a pushcart – by the time of our frequent visits in the 1950’s, the store was a thriving fabric destination. It was, however, not yet what it is today, great granddaughter Alice having turned it into a mecca of “high end couture.”
The Lower East Side may have changed dramatically since my grandfather arrived, but its food traditions have proved remarkably adaptable. Pastrami can become hash, and bagels and lox can become a tart—but the flavors still carry the neighborhood’s immigrant history.
Pastrami Hash with Poached Eggs, Chives & Espelette Pepper
Katz’s advises: Purchase whole pastrami for best results – do not have it sliced. Using your hands and/or a fork, pull or shred the meat and the fat (do not discard the fat).
4 medium-sized scrubbed, whole, and unpeeled waxy potatoes (for example, Yukon gold)
Salt
2 thinly sliced Spanish onions
Canola oil
Pepper
1 pound pulled pastrami* (see note above)
4 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
4 large eggs
Chives, finely chopped
Espelette pepper or paprika
Yield: 4 servings
1. Place potatoes in medium-sized pot, then fill until just covered with cold water; add lots of salt. Bring water to a boil, and reduce to a simmer to cook potatoes until fork-tender all the way through (about 15 to 20 minutes). Pour off water and let potatoes cool enough to handle, then smash them with back of spoon or spatula. Put potatoes in refrigerator to cool.
2. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons canola oil until sizzling, then start to add in the sliced onions one handful at a time. Cook, stirring each handful for 1 to 2 minutes until they begin to soften and turn translucent, then add another handful and repeat until all onions are added. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue stirring every so often. Once they start to get a little color, lightly season onions with salt and pepper. Continue to stir to prevent burning or sticking for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Once caramelized, place onions on a sheet tray, spread them out, and cool in refrigerator.
3. In large mixing bowl, combine potatoes, caramelized onions, and pulled pastrami. Mix well until fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in medium-sized pot, then turn down to a simmer and add vinegar.
5. In large skillet or cast-iron pan, heat canola oil, then add potato and pastrami mix, preferably in one large patty. Press down with a spatula and let cook until browned. Flip and cook the other side until browned.
6. While hash is browning, crack eggs, one by one, into a ramekin or small bowl, then create a gentle whirlpool in the vinegar water to help the whites wrap around the yolk. Slowly tip the ramekin into the pot, whites first, then add additional eggs. Cook each egg for 3 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel. Place eggs on top of hash, then garnish with chives and a pinch of Espelette.
Source:
Lower East Side Brunch Tart
Makes 6 servings
You can prebake the crust up to 2 months ahead and keep it, wrapped airtight, in the freezer.
One 9- to 9 1/2-inch tart shell made with Pâte Brisée (recipe below), partially baked and cooled
1 1/2 ounces cream cheese, cut into small bits or chunks
3 ounces smoked salmon, finely chopped (about 1⁄3 cup)
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion, rinsed and patted dry
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed, patted dry and chopped if large
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
12 to 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1. Center rack in oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
2. Place partially baked tart shell on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Scatter cream cheese over bottom of crust, followed by salmon, onion, capers and dill.
3. Beat cream and eggs together with salt and pepper in bowl until smooth. Pour this into crust, stopping when you’re just below rim (you might have a few drops left over). Top with tomatoes and very carefully slide baking sheet into oven. Bake tart 40 to 45 minutes, or until puffed and set. A skewer inserted into center will come out clean. If center of tart has risen as much as the sides, you can be certain it’s baked through. Transfer baking sheet to rack and let rest at least 15 minutes before serving—it’s best just warm or at room temperature.
Pâte Brisée
Makes 9- to 9 1/2-inch crust, for a 9- to 9 1/2-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom or a 9-inch pie pan
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 large egg
1 teaspoon ice water
Working ahead
You can refrigerate dough up to 3 days or freeze it up to 2 months. While you can freeze the fully baked crust, wrapped airtight, for up to 2 months, I prefer to freeze it unbaked in the pan, wrapped tightly in aluminum foil, with the foil pressed against the crust to create as tight a seal as possible. Bake it directly from the freezer – it will have a fresher flavor. Just add about 5 minutes to the baking time.
1. Put flour, sugar and salt in food processor and pulse to blend. Scatter pieces of butter over dry ingredients and pulse until butter is cut in coarsely – you’ll have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Beat egg and water together and add to machine in 3 additions, pulsing after each bit goes in. Then whir until dough forms moist clumps and curds – you’re aiming for a moist dough that holds together when pinched.
2. Shape dough into a disk, pat it down to flatten and put it between sheets of parchment paper. Roll dough out evenly, turning it over frequently and lifting paper often so that it doesn’t roll into the dough and form creases. Roll dough into circle about 11 inches in diameter. If you’re making a pie now, have a buttered 9-inch pan and baking sheet at hand. If dough is still cool, fit it into the tart (or pie) pan now; if it’s not, slide it, still between the paper, onto baking sheet and refrigerate 2 hours, or up to 3 days; or freeze 1 hour, or (well wrapped) up to 2 months. If you’re chilling or freezing for more than a few hours, wrap dough airtight.
3. If dough has been chilled, let it rest on counter until it’s just pliable enough to bend without breaking. Remove paper, fit dough into buttered tart pan and trim excess dough even with edge of pan. (If you’d like, you can fold excess over and make a thinker wall around sides of tart.) Prick crust all over with tines of fork and freeze at least 30 minutes – an hour or two is better – or up to 2 months before baking.
4. Center rack in oven and preheat to 400°F. Butter shiny side of piece of aluminum foil and fit it snuggly against crust. Fill with dried beans or rice (which you can reuse for crust, but not for eating). Bake crust 25 minutes, then carefully remove foil and weights. If crust has puffed, press it down gently with back of spoon. Transfer crust to a rack (leave it in its pan) for partially baked crust. Or for a fully baked crust, bake crust another 7 to 10 minutes, or until firm and golden brown. Transfer crust to a rack (leave it in its pan).
Source: “Everyday Dorie” by Dorie Greenspan
Jlife Food Editor Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” (Workman) and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook” (an e-book short from Workman), a columnist and feature writer for the Orange County Register and other publications and can be found on the web at www.cookingjewish.com.