the noodle pudding of my ancestors

To the uninitiated, a lokshen kugel (sweet noodle kugel, or casserole) presents many stumbling blocks. The parts list can seem hauntingly disparate, or at the very least, quite heavy on fat/sugar/calories. The finished product can be confusing, or, as one of my friends said when presented with a piece to try, “I don’t trust it. It’s sweet pasta.” However, a righteous kugel, free of canned and processed fruits and other 1960s remnants, is (for me, at least) a rich, wonderful gestalt and a comforting reminder of the Jewish specialities of my childhood. I’ve made many a kugel over the years, and I’ve tailored my own recipe to produce a kugel that is not overly sweet, firm but not dry, and rich, but not overwhelmingly heavy. Note #1: I made a double batch for this post, as I had many mouths to feed. That will explain the over-abundance of ingredients in my photos.

It's not so much a sweet side dish as it is dessert you eat with your dinner. Camera shy: the eggs and the egg noodles

First off, I will admit that a proper kugel is not a low-calorie affair. However, I’ve used both the regular and light versions of cream cheese and sour cream, and I can put my hand on my non-failing heart and say that the light products will yield as luscious a final dish as the regular stuff, and with at least 1/3 less fat. With all of the sugar and eggs that go in, nothing will be missed. I promise.

"Pennsylvania Dutch" is actually appropriate, as kugels are of German/Polish Ashkenzai extraction. Yay for cultural and historical accuracy!

First step to success is to not overcook the egg noodles. They are no where close to as firm and chewy as regular dried semolina pasta and if you’re not careful, they will turn to mush in a flash. Make sure to give them a lot of water to boil in, and make sure to add just a bit of salt. Start checking the noodles after about 3 minutes. You want them to be relatively firm, as they will spend about 45 minutes in the oven and will certainly cook a bit more during that time. Note #2: My mother decided to help me with this kugel. Because of this, she cracked all of the eggs into the work bowl of the stand mixer BEFORE I could cream the dairy and the eggs together.

Thanks for nothing, Mom.

To be honest, it was not a catastrophe, but it did not allow the batter (or really, custard, as this is actually a noodle custard pudding casserole) to be as smooth as it should have been. The end product was still delicious and no one knew a goddamn thing. When you make it, though, wait to mix the eggs in until after the dairy and sugar have been thoroughly mixed. I just mixed the eggs together and threw in the rest of the ingredients, no real harm done.

Does it look delicious yet? Huh? Yeah? ...anyone?

 

Once the custard / batter has come together, it comes time for some choices. As I mentioned above, some classic kugel recipes will call for various canned and processed fruits drowning in a heavy syrup, but I have never been a proponent of such additions. This being a traditionally fall season dish, I like diced apples, and being a good New England boy, I have a local orchard not 10 minutes away for whenever my harvest heart desires les pommes délicieuse. I also like raisins, but only golden raisins, as they have a more mild flavor than their black brethren. Feel free to break with tradition and add whatever fresh or dried fruits you feel would work well, but just remember to keep the pieces small. After mixing in your fruits, throw the egg noodles in a baking dish and mix thoroughly!

Some people just bake their kugel as-is, but we can definitely make this better with something on top.

The special finishing touch is really my favorite part of my kugel. There are various recipes for a topping, from simply sprinkling with sugar to adding crumbled corn flakes, but mine is both deceptively simple and super-extra delicious. It is a one-to-one combination of graham cracker crumbs and light brown sugar, mixed with some melted butter. Hopefully you’ll have some whole graham crackers (on, in my case, a pie crust) that you can crush yourself. The only trick with is is to not smash the graham too fine. You want irregular pieces, from smooth crumb to large chunks.

Notice the wonderful various in texture!

Next comes the brown sugar, and I find that a fork works the best to mix everything together without making big clumps. After drizzling in the melted butter, make sure to mix very well, as you want there to be no real sign of excess moisture in the bowl. The final product should look a lot like wet sand.

Much more delicious than the sand you used to eat at the playground.

Use your hands to sprinkle the topping over the kugel, but don’t pack it down. You can spread it gently to make sure you have even coverage, but if you press down, the topping won’t get a chance to brown as well. And remember, brown means flavor. Bake at 350 degrees. A knife should be mostly dry when you pierce the middle of the casserole, but not completely. All dry = dry kugel = frowny face.

It finally looks good. And it smells better than it looks.

Ingredients

• 1 pound bag of egg noodles, wide / large cut
• 12 ounces (1.5 standard square packages) light cream cheese
• 1 cup light sour cream
• 5 whole eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 1 apple, diced into small cubes (I prefer something tart like a granny smith or a honeycrisp)
• About 1/2 cup of golden raisins (or other dried fruit)

For the topping:

• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs  from a box, from whole crackers, or a pie shell)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, light or dark
• 2-3 tablespoons butter, melted
• Mix the crumbs and the brown sugar together with a fork. Drizzle on the melted butter, and mix well again. The final product should resemble wet sand and be relatively dry.

Procedure

1. Boil noodles in lightly salted water, careful not to overcook. Egg noodles will cook much faster than standard pasta, so check after about 3 minutes.
2. Beat cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar together in mixing bowl on medium speed for about a minute.
3. Beat in the eggs on slow speed, one at a time.
4. Add cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and mix well.
5. Combine with apple and raisins and add to noodles.
6. Mix well, place into baking dish that has been buttered or sprayed with non-stick.
7. Top with graham mixture.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes (closer to an hour if you’re doing a double-batch like me.)

Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur may be over, but why should that mean no more kugel? It’s like turkey and cranberry sauce – so beloved, but only once a year. Fuck that, make a holiday meal whenever you want to have one. Rejoice and celebrate! Get festive just because. Impress friends, loved ones, bitches, and/or hoes.

L’chaim.

– Max.