Farfel are small pellet-shaped pasta

Pasta

Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...

. Farfel is most prevalent in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine

Jewish cuisine

Jewish Cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...

. It consists of an egg noodle dough which may be cut or grated for use in soups, or served as a side dish. In the United States, it can also be found pre-packaged as egg barley

Egg barley

Egg barley, also egg drops, called tarhonya in Hungarian, is an egg-based pasta grain in Hungary and Eastern Europe, originating probably from the influence of the Ottoman empire and the Turkish cuisine from tarhana or of Persian origin, similar to the Persian tarkhane. The "barley" moniker is...

.

Farfel is mainly used in soups or served as a side dish, usually as a kugel

Kugel

Kugel is a baked Ashkenazi Jewish pudding or casserole, similar to a pie, most commonly made from egg noodles or potatoes, though at times made of zucchini, apples, spinach, broccoli, cranberry, or sweet potato...

, or prepared as a pilaf

Pilaf

Pilaf is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth . In some cases, the rice may also attain its brown color by being stirred with bits of cooked onion, as well as a large mix of spices...

.
Particularly among Hassidic Jews, farfel is served as a side dish on the night of the Sabbath

Shabbat

Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...

, in accordance with a custom instituted by the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism.

Matzo farfel

During the Jewish holiday of Passover

Passover

Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...

, when dietary laws pertaining to grains are observed, Matzo Farfel takes the place of the egg noodle version. Matzo farfel is simply matzo

Matzo

Matzo or matzah is an unleavened bread traditionally eaten by Jews during the week-long Passover holiday, when eating chametz—bread and other food which is made with leavened grain—is forbidden according to Jewish law. Currently, the most ubiquitous type of Matzo is the traditional Ashkenazic...

 broken into small pieces.

Farfel is not related to the similar-sounding falafel

Falafel

Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans. Falafel is usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces...

 and farfalle

Farfalle

Farfalle are a type of pasta. Commonly known as "bow-tie pasta," the name is derived from the Italian word farfalla . The "e" at the end of the word is the Italian feminine plural ending, making the meaning of the word "butterflies."...

.

Namesakes

Three television dogs have gone by the name of Farfel:

• The hound dog puppet
  Farfel the Dog
  Farfel the Dog was a hound dog ventriloquist's dummy created by Jimmy Nelson. The Farfel character is probably best known for television commercials for Nestlé's Quik which ran from 1953 to 1965.-Creation:...
  
   used as Nestlé's mascot in its 1950s and 1960s commercials- famous for drawling "CHAW-W-W-CLATE!"- obtained its name directly from the food item.
• In the Seinfeld
  Seinfeld
  Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
  
  episode "The Dog
  The Dog (Seinfeld episode)
  "The Dog" is the twenty-first episode of Seinfeld. The episode was the fourth episode of the show's third season. It aired on October 9, 1991.-Plot:...
  
  ," Jerry was forced to take care of a dog named Farfel after its owner suffered an attack of Bell's Palsy
  Bell's palsy
  Bell's palsy is a form of facial paralysis resulting from a dysfunction of the cranial nerve VII that results in the inability to control facial muscles on the affected side. Several conditions can cause facial paralysis, e.g., brain tumor, stroke, and Lyme disease. However, if no specific cause...
  
   on an airplane.
• In episode 4 of The Howie Show, Howie helps train a dog named Farfel to fart on command.

Farfel also provided the name of the titular cat in Norman Geller's children's book "Farfel the Cat That Left Egypt." http://www.amazon.com/dp/091575312X/