Any Good Kugel Recipes Out There?

[Dave Bugg]

I've never had kugel, which means I've never made it. Someone I know just
loves it, so I thought I'd like to give it a try.

[Margaret Suran]

Post by Dave Bugg
I've never had kugel, which means I've never made it. Someone I know just
loves it, so I thought I'd like to give it a try.

What kind of Kugel? Noodle, Potato, some kind of Vegetable?

[Dave Bugg]

Post by Margaret Suran

Post by Dave Bugg
I've never had kugel, which means I've never made it. Someone I know
just loves it, so I thought I'd like to give it a try.

What kind of Kugel? Noodle, Potato, some kind of Vegetable?

See how much I know? :-) I was wanting to try potato kugel.

[Margaret Suran]

Post by Dave Bugg

Post by Margaret Suran

Post by Dave Bugg
I've never had kugel, which means I've never made it. Someone I know
just loves it, so I thought I'd like to give it a try.

What kind of Kugel? Noodle, Potato, some kind of Vegetable?

See how much I know? :-) I was wanting to try potato kugel.

Here is a recipe that comes from Bubba Vic, I believe

Potato Kugel

Potato kugel, or potato pudding is a standard side-dish in Ashkenazi
(Eastern European) Jewish cooking. It resembles potato pancakes, and
like potato pancakes, it has evolved over the years with all kinds of
variations. For example, some people don't peel the potatoes. Others add
additional vegetables such as zucchini or carrots. My family has always
enjoyed the traditional potato/onion/garlic version. The only suggestion
I would make is that you grate the potatoes by hand, if possible. I had
always prepared potato kugel in a food processor until I went on
sabbatical and had to make do with a simple kitchen with the minimum of
appliances. The family quickly realized that potato kugel, carrot kugel,
and other dishes with grated vegetables were much better tasting with
hand grated vegetables.

Ingredients

6 large potatoes, washed and peeled
1 large onion, peeled and halved
2-3 large eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. paprika, split in two

Preheat oven to 400F. Either grate the potatoes and onion by hand or
put the potatoes and onion in the bowl of a food processor and process
until coarsely chopped. Add eggs, 3 T. oil, and remaining ingredients
(except for 1/2 tsp. paprika and one tablespoon of oil). Process or mix
by hand only until smooth; don't overdo it. Pour into a 2 quart
casserole, sprayed with vegetable oil spray or rubbed with oil. Sprinkle
with remaining oil and paprika. Bake for 45 minutes or until puffed and
brown. Serve with brisket, roast chicken, or roast veal. Potato kugel
can be eaten at room temperature with cold meats, but it is much tastier
if slightly warm or hot. Serves 8-10.

[Dave Bugg]

Post by Margaret Suran
Here is a recipe that comes from Bubba Vic, I believe
Potato Kugel

.....snip

Thanks, Margaret.

[Margaret Suran]

I do not know who posted it, but it came from rfc a few years ago.



POTATO KUGEL/PUDDING/LATKAS

Makes enough for a 11x16 (aprox.) inch pan, which serves 24 -32,
depending how you cut the rectangle shaped pieces.
This recipe can be divided in half for a 8 x 13 inch (aprox.) pan,
or in smaller amounts for pancakes, leaving out the oil, add a bit of
water if you
desire thinner pancakes..

TO FREEZE: Both the kugel and pancakes can be frozen.
Undercook the pancakes slightly,
then reheat in an oiled pan or oiled frying pan.

*********************
12 potatoes, 6 russet, and 6 white
Medium to large size. Experiment with type of potato

2 onions

Using a food processor, slice both potatoes and onion.
Then using lower cutting blade, pulse a small amount of the mixture
at a time, cleaning sides with rubber spatula, till still slightly
grainy,
NOT smooth.

Drain in cheesecloth lined colander to remove excess water.
--------------------------
Mix in separate bowl and add to the potato mixture:

4 level tsp. baking powder
(you will probably want to omit at Passover, beating eggs especially
frothy)

4 tsp. salt

pepper

1 1/2 cups matzo meal

4 Tbsp. flour
( leave out at Passover, add up to 1/2 cup more matzo meal if mixture
is too moist)
---------------------------
4 or 5 lg. eggs, beat well and add
Use more if you wish, (especially for Passover).
---------------------------
1 cup of oil
Add to kugel mixture.
Oil the pan generously, and preheat the oiled pan in a 375 degrees oven.
----------------------------
Pour potato mixture into heated pan. Spread a few spoonfuls of
oil on top.
-----------------------------
Bake at 375 for 1 hour, or until nicely browned.
(A convection oven browns beautifully and cuts time by about 10-15
minutes)

[Victor Sack]

Post by Margaret Suran
Here is a recipe that comes from Bubba Vic, I believe

Nope, not from me. Someone has perhaps sent it to you from
<http://emr.cs.iit.edu/~reingold/ruths-kitchen/recipes/sides/potatokugel.html>.

Bubba Vic

[Koko]

Post by Victor Sack

Post by Margaret Suran
Here is a recipe that comes from Bubba Vic, I believe

Nope, not from me. Someone has perhaps sent it to you from
<http://emr.cs.iit.edu/~reingold/ruths-kitchen/recipes/sides/potatokugel.html>.
Bubba Vic

Dang
Now I have to go back and change my attribution.

Thanks Margaret for the recipe.

Koko

A Yuman being on the net
(posting from San Diego)

[Victor Sack]

Post by Dave Bugg
I was wanting to try potato kugel.

Jewish or Lithuanian version?

Okay, here are examples of both versions. I'm still wondering whether
the East European Jewish kugel is a derivative of the Lithuanian
kugelis, or if it is the other way around.

Here is a recipe for the Jewish version from _Love and Knishes_ by Sara
Kasdan.

Potato kugel

1 large onion, minced
1/8th pound butter (Schmaltz may be substituted for butter when kugel is
to be served with meat dishes.)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups grated raw potatoes (measure after draining well)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste

Sauté onion in butter until lightly browned. Add eggs to potatoes.
Sift together dry ingredients and add to potato mixture. Stir in the
onions and butter in which they have been sautéed. Pour into a
well-greased 1-quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees until the edges are
crisp (about 1 hour). Serves 6.


And here is a recipe for the Lithuanian kugelis I like very much, from a
book I have here.

Kugelis (Lithuanian)

20 potatoes
2 eggs
1 cup farmer's cheese
50 g (1.8 oz) bacon fat
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
salt
For the sauce:
3 onions
100 g (3.5 oz) bacon fat
1 cup sour cream

Grate the raw potatoes, add the eggs, farmer's cheese, salt and pepper.
Melt the bacon fat and paint the baking sheet with it. Mix the rest of
the fat, as well as the cracklings, with the potato mixture. Put a 3-4
cm (1.2-1.6 inch) thick layer of the mixture on the baking sheet and
bake in the oven for 1 hour. Meanwhile make the sauce: Fry the finely
minced onions in the bacon fat. Mix in the sour cream. Pour over the
kugelis when it is ready.

Victor

[Dave Bugg]

Post by Victor Sack
Jewish or Lithuanian version?
Okay, here are examples of both versions. I'm still wondering whether
the East European Jewish kugel is a derivative of the Lithuanian
kugelis, or if it is the other way around.

Thanks, Victor.

[Karen AKA Kajikit]

Post by Margaret Suran
Potato kugel
1 large onion, minced
1/8th pound butter (Schmaltz may be substituted for butter when kugel is
to be served with meat dishes.)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups grated raw potatoes (measure after draining well)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste
Sauté onion in butter until lightly browned. Add eggs to potatoes.
Sift together dry ingredients and add to potato mixture. Stir in the
onions and butter in which they have been sautéed. Pour into a
well-greased 1-quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees until the edges are
crisp (about 1 hour). Serves 6.

That sounds so easy to make I'll have to give it a go :) DH likes
simple foods... I see this recipe uses regular flour, and some of the
other posted ones use matzo meal. Does it make any difference to the
taste/texture of the finished product? (Should I run out and buy some
matzo before I make it?)

[Sheldon]

Post by Karen AKA Kajikit

Post by Margaret Suran
Potato kugel
1 large onion, minced
1/8th pound butter (Schmaltz may be substituted for butter when kugel is
to be served with meat dishes.)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups grated raw potatoes (measure after draining well)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste
Sauté onion in butter until lightly browned. Add eggs to potatoes.
Sift together dry ingredients and add to potato mixture. Stir in the
onions and butter in which they have been sautéed. Pour into a
well-greased 1-quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees until the edges are
crisp (about 1 hour). Serves 6.

That sounds so easy to make I'll have to give it a go :)

There's no such thing as a kugel that small... that's a large latke,
not a kugel.

[Karen AKA Kajikit]

Post by Sheldon

Post by Karen AKA Kajikit

Post by Margaret Suran
Potato kugel
1 large onion, minced
1/8th pound butter (Schmaltz may be substituted for butter when kugel is
to be served with meat dishes.)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups grated raw potatoes (measure after draining well)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste
Sauté onion in butter until lightly browned. Add eggs to potatoes.
Sift together dry ingredients and add to potato mixture. Stir in the
onions and butter in which they have been sautéed. Pour into a
well-greased 1-quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees until the edges are
crisp (about 1 hour). Serves 6.

That sounds so easy to make I'll have to give it a go :)

There's no such thing as a kugel that small... that's a large latke,
not a kugel.

You might not like it, but it's in the oven and it smells pretty
darned good... I used about twice as much potato as that recipe and an
extra egg, and it just fitted nicely in a square pyrex dish.

[Margaret Suran]

Post by Karen AKA Kajikit

Post by Margaret Suran
Potato kugel
1 large onion, minced
1/8th pound butter (Schmaltz may be substituted for butter when kugel is
to be served with meat dishes.)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups grated raw potatoes (measure after draining well)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste
Sauté onion in butter until lightly browned. Add eggs to potatoes.
Sift together dry ingredients and add to potato mixture. Stir in the
onions and butter in which they have been sautéed. Pour into a
well-greased 1-quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees until the edges are
crisp (about 1 hour). Serves 6.

That sounds so easy to make I'll have to give it a go :) DH likes
simple foods... I see this recipe uses regular flour, and some of the
other posted ones use matzo meal. Does it make any difference to the
taste/texture of the finished product? (Should I run out and buy some
matzo before I make it?)

Potato Kugel is traditionally made for Passover, a holiday during
which you are not allowed certain foods, including anything made with
regular flour and therefore Jews use Matzo Meal. At all other times,
you may use flour, during Passover you have to use Matzo Meal. Also,
you cannot use Baking Powder or Baking Soda or Yeast or any kind of
leavening during Passover and whenever you make the Kugel as a side
dish for meat, if you are an observing Jew, you cannot use Butter to
make it. At no time, not just during Passover.

Complicated, but I am Reformed and most of these rules do not apply to
me, even though I do not cook with flour at that time.

[Sheldon]

Post by Margaret Suran

Post by Karen AKA Kajikit

Post by Margaret Suran
Potato kugel
1 large onion, minced
1/8th pound butter (Schmaltz may be substituted for butter when kugel is
to be served with meat dishes.)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups grated raw potatoes (measure after draining well)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste
Sauté onion in butter until lightly browned. Add eggs to potatoes.
Sift together dry ingredients and add to potato mixture. Stir in the
onions and butter in which they have been sautéed. Pour into a
well-greased 1-quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees until the edges are
crisp (about 1 hour). Serves 6.

That sounds so easy to make I'll have to give it a go :) DH likes
simple foods... I see this recipe uses regular flour, and some of the
other posted ones use matzo meal. Does it make any difference to the
taste/texture of the finished product? (Should I run out and buy some
matzo before I make it?)

Potato Kugel is traditionally made for Passover, a holiday during
which you are not allowed certain foods, including anything made with
regular flour and therefore Jews use Matzo Meal. At all other times,
you may use flour, during Passover you have to use Matzo Meal. Also,
you cannot use Baking Powder or Baking Soda or Yeast or any kind of
leavening during Passover and whenever you make the Kugel as a side
dish for meat, if you are an observing Jew, you cannot use Butter to
make it. At no time, not just during Passover.
Complicated, but I am Reformed and most of these rules do not apply to
me, even though I do not cook with flour at that time.

Aside from Passover rulz, that's not a kugel. A kugel is fried, not
baked... it's fried in a pan on stove top and turned to brown equally
on all surfaces. And a traditional kugel is made with noodles, not
potatoes... that recipe is for a fercocktah potato pudding, not kugel.
A *traditional* passover kugel would be made with matzo farfel... but
still would not be a kugel, it would be a matzo charlotte (often
contains apples, raisins, nuts...). Kugel is eaten warm or chilled,
not hot... if made properly (thick crust/creamy custudy center, won't
happen with potato) a kugel is difficult to slice hot.

[-bwg]

Post by Margaret Suran
Potato Kugel is traditionally made for Passover, a holiday during
which you are not allowed certain foods, including anything made with
regular flour and therefore Jews use Matzo Meal. At all other times,
you may use flour, during Passover you have to use Matzo Meal. Also,
you cannot use Baking Powder or Baking Soda or Yeast or any kind of
leavening during Passover and whenever you make the Kugel as a side
dish for meat, if you are an observing Jew, you cannot use Butter to
make it. At no time, not just during Passover.

I've seen a recipe, I think it was in Jennie Grossinger's "Art of
Jewish Cooking," that specified potato starch. I forget if it also
included flour or matzo meal. I dont think it was specifically a Pesach
recipe, so either or none is possible. The first time I made a potato
kugel I went crazy looking for potato starch.

-bwg

[maxine in ri]

Post by Margaret Suran
Potato Kugel is traditionally made for Passover, a holiday during
which you are not allowed certain foods, including anything made with
regular flour and therefore Jews use Matzo Meal. At all other times,
you may use flour, during Passover you have to use Matzo Meal. Also,
you cannot use Baking Powder or Baking Soda or Yeast or any kind of
leavening during Passover and whenever you make the Kugel as a side
dish for meat, if you are an observing Jew, you cannot use Butter to
make it. At no time, not just during Passover.
Complicated, but I am Reformed and most of these rules do not apply to
me, even though I do not cook with flour at that time.

If you are making the kugel for a dairy meal, you could use butter.
With breads, if there are dairy products in them, they are made in a
different shape that non-dairy breads so they will not be confused.
The same might hold true for a dairy potato kugel.

There are also a lot of local customs (local to Flatbush, local to
Williamsburgh, local to Monsey), so it's possible that whoever told you
butter could never be used might hold by that particular rule.

maxine, replete with bean and barley vegetable soup this evening.

Mom always made her lokshen kugel with cottage cheese, milk and butter.

[Victor Sack]

Post by Karen AKA Kajikit
I see this recipe uses regular flour, and some of the
other posted ones use matzo meal. Does it make any difference to the
taste/texture of the finished product? (Should I run out and buy some
matzo before I make it?)

The texture is somewhat different, but whether this is a good or a bad
thing is something that everyone should decide for himself. Some people
use a mixture of matzo meal and flour.

Victor

[Karen AKA Kajikit]

Post by Dave Bugg
I've never had kugel, which means I've never made it. Someone I know just
loves it, so I thought I'd like to give it a try.

What's kugel? I've heard of 'potato kugel' but I have no idea what it
is... is it some kind of noodles?

[Sheldon]

Post by Dave Bugg
I've never had kugel, which means I've never made it. Someone I know just
loves it, so I thought I'd like to give it a try.

There are probably millons of versions of kugel (some consider any
pudding a kugel) but I only consider noodle kugel authentic, potato is
a new world ingredient and I do not consider the potato version a
kugel. And of the various noodle kugels only those made with fine egg
noodles are acceptible, to me.

Go here and pick, choose, and refuse:
http://www.jewish-food.org/cgi-bin/webglimpse/home/jewish/jewish-food-www?query=kugel&filter=%5E%2Fhome%2Fjewish%2Fjewish-food-www%2Frecipes&maxfiles=100&maxlines=50&maxchars=10000

But this is the only true kugel, everything else without exception is a
bastardization... adding or subtracting is unacceptible. Can't be
easier... supposed to be heavy and rich... I consider it six servings.
The perfect marriage for braised brisket.

KUGEL YERUSHALMI

(Hasidic Caramelized Noodle Pudding)
The Chmielnicki massacres in Poland in 1648, the apostasy of the false
messiah Shabbetai Tzvi in 1666, the subsequent partition of Poland, and
other problems shook the Jewish communities of eastern Europe. Some
Jews found an answer in the freedom offered by the Enlightenment
(Haskala in Yiddish). Others turned to Kabbalistic healers and miracle
workers. One of these holy men was Israel ben Eliezer, commonly called
the Ba'al Shem Tov (Master of the Good Name). By the time of his death
in 1760, he had created a full-fledged religious movement known as
Hasidism and, within a generation, the bulk of the Jews in central
Poland, Galicia, and the Ukraine were Hasidim.

Beginning in the late 1700s, groups of Hasidim began moving to the Holy
Land in order to live a more fully religious life. They brought with
them the traditions of eastern Europe, including their manner of dress
and foods. It was among the Hasidim of Jerusalem that this distinctive
noodle kugel, which features a tantalizing contrast of pepper and
caramelized sugar, was popularized.

1 pound thin noodles or vermicelli
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
about 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
6 large eggs, lightly beaten

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the noodles
and cook until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13-by-9-inch baking dish or a
large tube pan.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar and stir
until dissolved. Stop stirring and cook until dark brown but not
burned, about 10 minutes.

Immediately add the noodles, stirring to coat evenly. Remove from the
heat and season with salt and pepper. Let cool until lukewarm, at least
15 minutes, then add the eggs. Adjust the seasonings.

Spoon the noodle mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake until
golden brown and crispy - about 1 hour for the baking dish, about 1
1/2 hours for the tube pan. Serve warm or at room temperature with
roast chicken, meat, or cholent.

Serves 10.

The World of Jewish Cooking
September 1999
Gil Marks
Simon & Schuster


Epicurious.com � Cond�Net, Inc. All rights reserved.
---

Sheldon

[Dave Bugg]

Post by Sheldon
There are probably millons of versions of kugel (some consider any
pudding a kugel) but I only consider noodle kugel authentic, potato is
a new world ingredient and I do not consider the potato version a
kugel. And of the various noodle kugels only those made with fine egg
noodles are acceptible, to me.... snip

Thanks, Sheldon; I appreciate your post. The history and traditions of a
food are one of the things I love about cooking.

[maxine in ri]

Post by Dave Bugg
I've never had kugel, which means I've never made it. Someone I know just
loves it, so I thought I'd like to give it a try.
--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

A couple of notes on making a nice potato kugel:

If you don't enjoy the hand grated potatoes, put them through the
shredder of your food processor, then take about half of those shreds
and process them. That approximates the texture of the hand grated
ones.

My Mom's potato kugel was the best (I know, I know, but even other
people said so<G>)
She would put the pyrex casserole dish into the oven with a couple four
tablespoons of margarine (non-dairy since she usually served it with a
meat meal) and let that melt and just start to brown before pouring the
kugel mix into the dish. Then, she would scoop off the melted
margarine from the corners and sides and spread it over the top. Made
the top wonderfully brown and crispy.

And in her house, no garlic. just potatoes, onion, salt, pepper, eggs,
matzo meal, and that's it.

When you make it, let us know how it turns out.

maxine in ri

[Dave Bugg]

Post by maxine in ri

Post by Dave Bugg
I've never had kugel, which means I've never made it. Someone I know
just loves it, so I thought I'd like to give it a try.
--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

If you don't enjoy the hand grated potatoes, put them through the
shredder of your food processor, then take about half of those shreds
and process them. That approximates the texture of the hand grated
ones.
My Mom's potato kugel was the best (I know, I know, but even other
people said so<G>)
She would put the pyrex casserole dish into the oven with a couple
four tablespoons of margarine (non-dairy since she usually served it
with a meat meal) and let that melt and just start to brown before
pouring the kugel mix into the dish. Then, she would scoop off the
melted
margarine from the corners and sides and spread it over the top. Made
the top wonderfully brown and crispy.
And in her house, no garlic. just potatoes, onion, salt, pepper,
eggs, matzo meal, and that's it.
When you make it, let us know how it turns out.

Thank you for the tips, Maxine. I'll be happy to post the results when I
make it.

[-bwg]

Post by maxine in ri
And in her house, no garlic. just potatoes, onion, salt, pepper, eggs,
matzo meal, and that's it.

I agree. No garlic in kugel. Salami, pastrami, pickles, ok. But not
kugel.

Post by maxine in ri
When you make it, let us know how it turns out.
maxine in ri