I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but today was the first time I’ve ventured into – not just walked past – the Jewish section of the ethnic food aisle. Exploring the food scene of Jewish culture feels every bit as foreign to me as trying out an Indian recipe for Diwali. But today, on impulse, I literally entered “Hanukkah food” into the search engine and decided to make the first thing I found that wasn’t Latkes. I was in the mood for adventure, and I’ve heard of latkes before. I had not heard of Kugel.
Noodle Kugel is described by Wikipedia as “Ashkenazi Jewish pudding.” Ashkenazi (thanks again Wiki) is “an ethnoreligious group who trace their origins to the indigenous Hebrew speaking peoples of Canaan in South Western Asia and settled along the Rhine in Germany.”
I’d only call it a pudding in the widest, most British, sense of the word, because it seems more like a casserole, especially the egg noodle version. Eggs, cottage cheese and milk come together to make a sort of sweet noodle custard with raisins and cinnamon in most kugels. I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around a sweet pasta dish though. So I tried this savory, dairy free version. Pasta without cheese? Also feels very, very foreign. The water bath this bakes in makes for a creamy custard though, so cheese is not missed… much.
Chard and Caramelized Shallot Noodle Kugel (Adapted from Food Network)
Ingredients:
Olive oil
8 Oz wide egg noodles
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup chicken broth
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems finely chopped, leaves torn into small pieces and reserved separately
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Black pepper
1/4th cup fresh dill fronds, with extra for garnish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat a 2 quart baking dish with olive oil.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt.
Add noodles and cook 2 minutes less than the package directions.
Reserve ½ cup pasta water, then drain the noodles. Let noodles and pasta water cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the broth and pasta water until smooth.
Add noodles and nutmeg and stir to combine, set aside.
Meanwhile, heat 2 Tb olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add shallots and cook until well browned.
Add garlic and stems, cook until stems are softened.
Stir in the chard leaves, cook until wilted.
Cool slightly and stir in dill.
Add the chard mixture to the noodles and transfer to prepared baking dish.
Place the baking dish in a large pan and add enough water so it comes up the side of the pan about one-third of the way.
Carefully transfer to the oven and bake until the center is set, about 1 hour 20 minutes, tenting kugel with foil when the noodles are golden brown and crisp.
Garnish with dill.
Image from Flickr Creative Commons.
Have you had a food adventure in your own back yard? Tell me about it in the comments, and don’t forget to share a photo of your holiday cookery in the link party below!
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