farfel

{{Short description|Small pellet-shaped or flake-shaped pasta}}

{{about|the Jewish pasta|the puppet character used in Nestlé advertising|Farfel the Dog}}

{{More citations needed|date=October 2008}}

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| type = Pasta

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| main_ingredient = Egg noodle dough

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File:A tray of matzah and mushroom farfel served on Passover.jpg and mushroom farfel served on Passover]]

Farfel (Yiddish: פֿאַרפֿל, farfl; from Middle High German varveln) is small pellet- or flake-shaped pasta used in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. It is made from a Jewish egg noodle dough and is frequently toasted before being cooked. It can be served in soups or as a side dish. In the United States, it can also be found pre-packaged as egg barley.Nathan, Joan. Jewish Cooking in America, Knopf: New York. 1994 (Pp. 286-87)

During the Jewish holiday of Passover, when dietary laws pertaining to grains are observed, "matzah farfel" takes the place of the egg noodle version. Matzah farfel is simply matzah broken into small pieces.

The Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Hasidic movement, is said to have eaten farfel every Friday night because the word was similar to the word farfaln which means "wiped out, over and finished". He considered the noodles symbolic of the end of the old week.Jewish Soul Food: Traditional Fare and What it Means, Carol Ungar, Brandeis University Press, 2005, pg 25