Kugel

Ingredients

Yerushalmi kugel

• 500 gfine egg noodles
• 200 gsugar
• 150 mloil
• 5eggs
• 2 tspcoarse black pepper
• 2 tspsalt

Potato kugel

• 1.5 kgfloury potatoes
• 2onions
• 4eggs
• 100 mloil or schmaltz
• 2 tspsalt
• 2 tspblack pepper

To serve

• at Shabbat lunch, warm or at room temperature

Directions

1. Heat the sugar and oil together in a heavy pan over a medium heat, without stirring. Let the sugar go to a deep amber, almost mahogany. It goes from amber to burnt in about fifteen seconds.
2. Pour the hot caramel over the drained noodles, standing back, and toss quickly. It will seize and clump at first and then loosen as the noodles warm. Keep tossing and it comes right.
3. Let it cool, then beat in the eggs, salt and a great deal of coarse black pepper. The pepper is not a seasoning here, it is a main flavour, and it should be assertive enough to catch the throat slightly.
4. Grate the onion in with the potato from the start; its acid slows the browning, and potato grated alone goes grey within minutes.
5. Let the squeezed liquid settle, pour off the water and scrape the white starch at the bottom back into the potato.
6. Beat in the eggs, salt and pepper, and heat the oil in the baking tin until it is smoking. Pour the mixture into the hot fat, which is what gives the crisp crust top and bottom.
7. Bake either version at 180°C (355°F) for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until set and deep brown on top. Cool at least 20 minutes before cutting, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Technique

• Yerushalmi kugel is baked in a tall narrow pan and cut in wedges, and it is sold by weight in Jerusalem markets.
• Ashkenazi sweet noodle kugel, with cheese and raisins, is a third distinct dish under the same name.
• It is standard at Shabbat lunch and at kiddush, where it is eaten at room temperature.

Substitutions

• Schmaltz in place of oil, which is traditional and much richer.
• Wider noodles, though fine ones give the classic texture.

Variations

• Sweet Ashkenazi lokshen kugel, with cheese, raisins and cinnamon.
• Potato kugel, the savoury version.
• Yerushalmi, caramelised and peppery.

History

Ashkenazi pudding cooked before Shabbat and kept warm overnight; the Jerusalem version adds caramel and black pepper.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kugel?

Kugel is a main from Israel: baked noodle or potato pudding, sweet or peppery, served on Shabbat. Ashkenazi pudding cooked before Shabbat and kept warm overnight; the Jerusalem version adds caramel and black pepper.

How long does Kugel take to make?

Kugel takes 25 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Kugel?

Yes, within limits. Schmaltz in place of oil, which is traditional and much richer. Wider noodles, though fine ones give the classic texture.