Traditionally served as part of a brunch/lunch spread, along with sweet dill pickles.
It can be also served as a dessert, I suggest having it along with some creme anglaise, sweetened ricotta or whipped cream if doing so.
- 400g dry spaghetti
- 250g sugar
- a few tbsp of water
- 50g butter
- 80g milk (or water)
- 5 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 to 1.5 tsp cinnamon
- 1.5 tsp dry ginger
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- a narrow and tall non stick pot, silicon mold or well greased aluminium pan. Choose a tall and narrow one for an impressive tall result.
Prep:
- Optional but recommended: toast the dry pasta in a low oven until light reddish-brown (careful, it can easily go too far). This will lend the kugel an impressive dark-brown color and better texture.
- Cook the pasta al-dente. Drain well.
- Meanwhile, make a caramel out of sugar and water. If using a non stick pot for baking, you can make the caramel in it.
- Cook the caramel to an amber shade. If it is too dark, the result will not be sweet enough. You can add more sugar if it happen to darken too much. But make sure it's not burnt.
- Remove from heat.
- Add in the butter and mix.
- Mix in the milk.
- Mix the pasta into the caramel sauce.
- Make sure that the pasta isn't too hot, then mix in the milk, eggs, salt and spices. Mix well.
- Transfer to the baking pan/mold, or keep in the pot if its non stick.
- Cover well with aluminum foil, as air tight as you can.
- Bake for at least 9 hours and up to 16 (I haven't tried longer) at 90-100 deg C (195 F).
- You can put a few eggs in the oven as well to make haminados eggs, which are excellent in sandwiches.
- Before serving, pour 1/4 cup of boiling water on top of the kugel, then let it absorb for a short while.
- Remove from the pan and slice to serve.
- It reheats well in an oven or microwave.
See also the more familiar apple kugel: