Thursday, April 19, 2007

caramel, pepper, jerusalem and a few eggs

..... oh yeah, and don't forget the noodles!

kugels can be made from a variety of noodles and/or vegetables and are simple and filling side dishes. this particular one is actually a specialty of the city of jerusalem and is easily whipped up in no time at all. it is somewhat different in that it requires making a caramel first from oil and sugar and then adding it to cooked fine noodles to provide both colour and flavour. the standard noodle kugels use wide (broad) type egg noodles and do not involve this kind of preparation.

while it does have sugar in it, this version is not particularly sweet. jerusalem kugels are always made with the addition of ground black pepper. that can be adjusted to suit one's taste but usually, they are quite peppery. once baked, they are a nice dark golden brown, crispy on the outsides and dense but soft on the inside.

and you thought noodles were only for italian pasta dishes ;p


jerusalem kugel

ingredients:

1/2 lb fine egg noodles (250 gr)

3 eggs

1/4 c vegetable oil
1/2 c white granulated sugar, divided*

1/4 - 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger, heaped
1/2 - 1 tsp ground black pepper

method:


boil a pot of salted water and cook the noodles until al dente. it should take less than 10 minutes as they are quite thin and small. do not overcook them.

drain well and set in a bowl.

preheat the oven to 350 F. grease a 6 - 7 inch cake pan, either round or square with margarine or oil. i like using margarine as it coats the sides better.

while they are cooling, heat 1/4 c of oil in a small pot or non stick fry pan. add *1/4 c + 1 tbsp of the sugar. reserve the rest for later.


stir the sugar in the pot or fry pan and let it melt.

it will slowly start to caramelize. do not leave it unattended.

once it is dark brown, very carefully add this to the noodles.

try to get all of the oil and sugar out of the pan. the mixture will sizzle a bit on top of the noodles; that is fine. mix well.

add the eggs, reserved sugar and seasonings to the noodle mixture. mix this well again.

add the mixture to the greased pan and bake for 1 hour or until well browned.

remove from oven. place a plate on top and then flip it over. you may want to check that it has not stuck to the pan first with a spatula before doing this. cut in serving pieces.

enjoy!

12 comments:

Emily DeVoto, Ph.D., said...

What? no sour cream? no farmer's cheese? no (dare I say it) canned pineapple? ;-)

Seriously, though, it looks and sounds marvelous!

TNL said...

Yes B'y! oh my newfie eyes....
Now that is new..I once had spaghetti pie,and it looked like this somewhat...but...the flavors..ah, yes, thats where the similarity ends.

Nice one BB! btw, what do you serve this with?
will write you this weekend!

trupti

Jihan said...

this is the weirdest thing I ever seen, is the noodle called egg noodles? my mom love chowmein and noodles stuff.
But we only use Champion chowein.
Its made in our country and can be found in West Indian stores...
I need to start adding more stuff to my cooking plan..

Pdk said...

very eye catching and the recipe is entirely new for me..

burekaboy — said...

emily - i actually like it a lot. some people have said it's an acquired taste :) i guess when you're used to the standard, deviations from the norm are odd.

trupti - it's usually served with chicken or meat as a (starch) side dish. it's good for any kind of meal and snacks, too :) i've never had "spaghetti pie" though i have heard of it.

PJ - lol, yeah it's strange when you've never seen (or tasted) it before. they're egg noodles but it just means pasta (like macaroni type thing), only made with eggs in the dough. chowmein noodles are very different.

Beenzzz said...

This dish looks absolutely wonderful. I love how the finished product looks. It's so RICH!

burekaboy — said...

hey beenzzz - thanks :D it is a nice reddish golden brown colour once all is said and done.

Anonymous said...

Jerusalem Kugel recipe recently was included in a Jewish newspaper in Houston, Texas-it was a huge hit with my local Hadassah group, but brought back wonderful memories for me of the Shuk HaCarmel in TA where I first tasted it in a little cafe. Some reasearch showed that it must have pepper for taste and it is actually from the Litvak settlers in Jerusalem.

burekaboy — said...

hi there anonymous - kugel yerushalmi, or jerusalem kugel in english, is quite different as i'm sure you know from the regular ashkenazi type. i personally love it. it's funny because i have served it for shabbat and holidays and it is sometimes received with a bit of "suspicion" since it doesn't look like the same old, same old. in the end, it usually goes over well :) nice to hear your group really enjoyed it.

as for the litvaker connection, i didn't really know this. in a way, it doesn't surprise me since (historically) they also use(d) a lot of pepper in their gefilte fish preparation.

it's nice that certain foods bring back sweet memories :) the shuq is another world in itself.

thanks for your comment. hope to see you again :)

burekaboy — said...

hi there amanda - welcome and thanks for the comment and feedback about the recipe :)

glad to hear that it worked out so well for you. i understand about the food allergy business, i have a few of my own :s i think adding the raisins will be a great twist on the original :D you could even use different kinds like the black and golden. i'd soak them a bit beforehand in warm water though to plump them up.

if you're interested, check the other kugel recipes on the sidebar of my blog; there are other non dairy/pareve kugels. the "prairie" one is especially good. there is also a moroccan type one based on mashed potatoes.

burekaboy — said...

amanda - forgot to add, you can divvy up the recipe and put the mixture in well greased muffin tins to make individual portions. they are very cute that way and good for lunches @ work :D

burekaboy — said...

priya - this is really a very jewish type dish which is not very well know outside the jewish community (which is why you've probably never heard of it before!). it is worth a try, however.

sorry so late to answer your comment. i just found your comment today and a whole bunch of others. apologies for the delay :) blogger issues once again.