"Kugel Unraveled" from Joan Nathan

[Gifted Gourmet]

article from the NYT

Sure we have a number of great threads on kugel-making here at eGullet but who among us can resist a new Joan Nathan article on kugel with Rosh Hashonah looming large?

According to Hasidic interpretations of Kabbalah mysticism, he said, kugel has special powers,"... Clearly the spiritual high point of the meal is the offering of the kugel,"... Most American Jews know about noodle (lokshen) and potato kugel. But apple-noodle kugel? Salt and pepper kugel? Broccoli kugel? Modern "designer" three-layer kugel with sweet potato, broccoli and cauliflower?

killer kugel for a Rosh Hashana lunch for 100 people at her home. "If you are going to eat kugel with eggs, sour cream and cream cheese, don't use low-fat sour cream and Egg Beaters," she said. "This kugel is like cheesecake. I just cut it into 25 squares so my guests will eat less but enjoy it." Gerry Cohn, who lives on Matzah Rising Farm, N.C., makes his kugel with goat cheese, duck eggs and sour cherries.

Perfect timing for those who enjoy their kugels in any manner they can!

[Pam R]

I want to live on Matzah Rising Farm.

Some of my favorite kugels this year have included a pesto/roasted vegetable kugle; mushroom, cheddar & sour cream kugel and I made my first apple kugel with an oats topping.

I'm assuming others have experimented, n'est pas?

BTW- I think some of these interesting dairy kugels are great for break-the-fast.

Edited September 28, 2005 by Pam R (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

I'm assuming others have experimented, n'est pas?

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I make a cauliflower & cheese kugel and a "confetti" vegetable kugel as well:the recipe is here.

Sometimes I make individual kugels with browned, caramelized onions and noodles for something a bit different.

[cakewalk]

I want to live on Matzah Rising Farm. 

Some of my favorite kugels this year have included a pesto/roasted vegetable kugle; mushroom, cheddar & sour cream kugel and I made my first apple kugel with an oats topping.

I'm assuming others have experimented, n'est pas?

BTW- I think some of these interesting dairy kugels are great for break-the-fast.

←

Rising Matzah? Aren't there rules against that?

If it's okay, can you send the pesto/roasted vegetable kugle recipe my way? I made a lot of pesto last weekend (a yearly ritual at the end of the basil season, it gets frozen in ice cube trays and whatever), and using some in a kugel sounds like a great idea.

A while ago on a thread (about latkes?) someone mentioned a parsnip/sweet potato latke. I was too lazy to go through the frying routine, so I made a parsnip/sweet potato kugel. It was very good.

[bloviatrix]

There must be something in the ether because today's San Francisco Chronicle has an article titled Mama Knows Best When it Comes to Kugel

Edited September 28, 2005 by bloviatrix (log)

[JFLinLA]

Well, since you asked, here's a recipe I submitted to the eGRA a long time ago for Mel's Mother's Fruit Kugel. As it has no hametz, I usually make it for Passover but, it's sweet with lots of apples so could work for RH as well.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Here is the recipe which is in the NYT article for Killer Kugel and, true to its name, the ingredients are delicious but it needs a Lipitor chaser ... serves 25 though ... and, luckily, the pieces aren't too large.

Would you make this recipe?

And who can resist the 'midnight snacking' on the leftovers a la Nigella Lawson?

[Jason Perlow]

Me, I don't care for lukshen kugel so much. I'm into the potato, or the spinach.

[Gifted Gourmet]

I'm into the potato, or the spinach.

So, for you alone Jason here is a marvelous spinach kugel with sour cream and cheese which I am dying to make!

butter & spinach & sour cream & small-curd cottage cheese & grated Parmesan cheese & Swiss cheese .. does that sound incredible??

[Curlz]

I make a cauliflower & cheese kugel and a "confetti" vegetable kugel as well:the recipe is here.

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Melissa, thanks for this link! I made it for our dinner last night, and although I have a few things I would do differently next time, it was a huge hit. Most especially with my mom the vegetarian.

My suggestions: I actually did my prep in reverse of the way the recipe was written, making the grating of the veggies the last thing I did (potatoes dead last). I'd also add a lot more spice next time; I used quite a bit of pepper but not enough salt, and when I took it out of the oven, just knew intuitively that it needed some extra punch--so I grated some fresh parmagiano regiano over it! Certainly helped. But as I said, it was a huge hit. Next time I'll also try making it in muffin tins, as I like that style for serving, but didn't have time to hover over a few batches yesterday.

[Chris Amirault]

Clearly, we need a kugel-off.... Who's the goy who runs those things, anyway?

[Pam R]

Clearly, we need a kugel-off.... Who's the goy who runs those things, anyway?

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I agree. Work on it

[ada]

My neighbor and I exchange a kugel for a honey cake every year. This year, I wanted to make her kugel for the synagogue luncheon. When I went over to her house, she handed me the "killer kugel" recipe from the times, telling me that it was exactly the same as hers, (leaving out the pineappe and walnuts, and overnight refrigeration).

It's a fabulous kugel, everyone loved it.

Edited October 5, 2005 by ada (log)

[Cleo]

We went to dinner at my sister's last night. I made the Jerusalem Kugel from the NY Times article. I'm not sure what it was supposed to be like, but I thought it was awful! As I was making it, I said to my husband "I'm not sure about this thing" and I actually contemplated tossing it out and running out to buy something (but it was 3:30 and we were leaving at 5:00)! So I brought it anyway and people did eat it. Maybe they were just being nice.

Did anyone else make the Jerusalem Kugel?

Separately, for Passover this year, I made this Cauliflower Leek Kugel. This one I really liked a lot.

[bloviatrix]

I make Yerushalmi kugel (rarely, and only on very special request) and I've eaten many over the years. They should have a peppery-caramel taste. And, they tend can be somewhat greasy because the caramel is made by heating sugar and oil together. You have to be careful when making the caramel because if you take it too far it will burn and get bitter.

BTW, there's no reason to use two types of pasta. Angel Hair works fine.

Edited October 6, 2005 by bloviatrix (log)

[Swisskaese]

We went to dinner at my sister's last night.  I made the Jerusalem Kugel from the NY Times article.  I'm not sure what it was supposed to be like, but I thought it was awful!  As I was making it, I said to my husband "I'm not sure about this thing" and I actually contemplated tossing it out and running out to buy something (but it was 3:30 and we were leaving at 5:00)!  So I brought it anyway and people did eat it.  Maybe they were just being nice.

Did anyone else make the Jerusalem Kugel?

Separately, for Passover this year, I made this Cauliflower Leek Kugel.  This one I really liked a lot.

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I do not like this kugel. I have never had one I liked. All of the ones I have had are lumps of oily noodles. I prefer dairy kugels.

Edited October 6, 2005 by Swisskaese (log)

[Cleo]

Well I'm glad to know that it most likely wasn't my mistake. And I'm also glad to know that I'm not the only one who thinks it's awful (and trust me when I say that I'm not picky!). Feh.

[cakewalk]

There always seemed to be a Yerushalmi kugel at any type of event or party I went to when I was living in Israel, and they always disappeared fast. I don't ever remember them being particularly oily, which makes me wonder about the recipe in the paper. (I don't eat the stuff, because I don't like caramel flavor at all, it's one of the few things in the world that actually makes me nauseus; although I have tried to like Yerushalmi kugel at various times because it is the "boasting point" of many people, as in, "my mother makes the best Yerushalmi kugel ever.")

Anyway, Yerushalmi kugel is a bit different than what we think of as kugel. The only real similarity seems to be that it's made with noodles (thin noodles, at that.) One of the big deals about Yerushalmi kugel, which I don't think was even mentioned in the article, is the way it is cooked and the way it is cut up. It's usually cooked in a deep pot, often in a bundt pan (or a "wonder pot," a unique Israeli item which allowed you to bake on the stovetop, because many people didn't have ovens) and, because it is so high, it is cut in layers. (It's hard to explain, and if one of you who knows what I'm talking about can help out with this description, I'd appreciate it.)

Say the kugel is about six inchies high. For the first round, you would slice about two inches vertically into the kugel and then start cutting horizontally, or actually very slightly diagonally, going around and slicing off a piece every couple of inches or so, until you came back to your starting place. At this point, because you were slicing on a slight diagonal, you'd be a couple of inches below the starting point, and you just continue cutting around like that until you reach the bottom. The bottom layer is the most favored, because that's where most of the sticky, burnt caramel-sugar is. (If you like that sort of thing.) This cutting process has always been a "major draw" of the Yerushalmi kugel for me, and somehow if the kugel is baked in a regular flat pan where all you have to do is cut it into squares, it just isn't quite right.

I think kugels, in general, are one of those wonderful results of the ingenuity of the poor. Potatoes were plentiful in eastern Europe, noodles weren't a big deal to make. Add an egg and some matzoh meal, salt and pepper, and voila! A pie for the whole family to enjoy. I don't think they knew from pineapples in their kugel. That came much later, with availability of the product and ability to pay for it, in the "new world." (Every time I hear of blueberry kugel I think of blueberry bagels. )

Shana tova everyone!

[Skywater]

This year: potato kugel with Fatted Calf lamb bacon and carmelized onions