Noodle Kugel

Growing up, the Jewish Holidays were always an important time for my family to get together with our out-of-state relatives, embrace our Jewish heritage, and of course, eat. For many of our holidays, my Aunt Kathy would host the dinner at her house in New Jersey. My favorite part of the meal was always her "famous" Matzah Ball soup. When we were little, we would have contests between the cousins for who could eat the most bowls. If I recall correctly, I won the record at eleven bowls!! Needless to say, I ended up on the floor in agony, but every spoonful was worth the win.

In celebration of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana) last week, my roommate and I prepared a traditional Jewish dinner for fifteen friends. One of my friends brought the Matzah Ball soup, which I must say was almost as delicious as my Aunt Kathy's! My roommate and I served salad, brisket, chicken and Noodle Kugel. I had asked my mom to text me the recipe she always uses for her Noodle Kugel. In attempting to decipher the recipe's handwriting, I realized this was the very recipe my grandmother had used for her Noodle Kugel years ago. Knowing that I was following my family's tradition made the dish taste even better.

Since I wanted to learn more about the history behind this traditional dish, I did a quick google search and stumbled upon an interesting article from the NYT by Joan Nathan titled, "Kugel Unraveled." I learned that aside from possessing "special powers" in the Hasidic interpretations of Kabbalah, Kugel can come in many different forms. Kugel typically consists of noodles, eggs, oil, and cheese, but more recently people have topped their kugel with Kosher Japanese panko and cranberry sauce. Though delicious, it is by no means considered "healthy." Additionally, specialty store owners have noted Kugel's transformation over time with people's inclination to opt for processed foods instead of making the ingredients themselves (ie: boxed noodles instead of homemade pasta, etc.).n

To welcome the "sweet" new year, the Kugel we served at our dinner included pineapple, sugar, and cinnamon. Here is a picture of my grandmother's original recipe.

Enjoy!

Click on this link to find the brisket recipe I used: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/holiday-beef-brisket-with-onions