This is a kugel for those who like their noodle puddings pure: no pineapple, no applesauce or raisins, nothing to detract from its sweet, comforting goodness. Is it dessert or a side dish? Take your choice.
My cyber friend Sunny, who shared the recipe, agrees it can go either way and whichever way it goes, it disappears quickly. She often doubles it — I have too, freezing one for another time — and it doubles and freezes beautifully.
The word “kugel” comes from the German for “ball” and sometimes this dish is made with potatoes instead of noodles. In recent years, fancy “designer” noodle kugels have appeared, especially for the Jewish holidays, but this one’s firmly rooted in the long tradition of lokshen, Yiddish for “noodles.”
She makes the filling in a blender, but I use the processor or, as I did here, a hand blender in a 1-quart Pyrex cup for easy pouring. With the processor, I put everything into the bowl at once. With a hand blender, I blend the cream cheese and butter, then add the eggs one at a time, blending after each one, for a smoother result. Then I add the sugar and vanilla. It only takes a few moments longer to blend them in steps but it pays off — we can ask only so much of hand blenders — and I have plenty of time to make it while the noodles cook.
Make no mistake, this is not diet food. It’s very rich. For that reason I make it in a 2-quart baking dish for 12 or more smaller servings instead of the original 8. However, this version is relatively lean compared with some. The New York Times ran a recipe two years ago for Killer Kugel and the name’s not far off. It uses the same half pound of noodles as this one, but twice the cream cheese, some sour cream and almost triple the eggs along with fruit and nuts. This one suits me just fine and my thanks to Sunny for many months of kugel heaven.
Sunny’s Kugel
8 ounces medium egg noodles
8 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces margarine or butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
cinnamon for sprinkling
Add all ingredients except noodles and cinnamon into blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
Cook and drain noodles.
Grease 9″ square baking pan (or two round pans) and add noodles.
Pour cheese mixture over noodles and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake in 350 degree oven for about an hour, testing middle to make sure knife comes out dry.
Serves 8
Ella’s note: When I bake this in a 2-quart casserole, I allow 50-55 minutes because of the shallower pan.
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I’ve never heard of a kugel, but it sounds delicious. I assume from the sugar that this is a dessert pudding, no? I can imagine how good it smells in the oven. I’ll have try this recipe sometime. Thanks for sharing!
Hi! It’s certainly fine as a dessert, especially when it’s still warm, although it’s not terribly sweet. I assume the eggs temper the sweetness.
It does smell divine as it bakes, especially with the cinnamon.
I’ve never heard of it either but it sure sounds yummy. This will go on the “try it” list.
Mmmmmm. I grew up around noodle kugel, but I’ve never made it myself. I know what we’ll be having this weekend!
Lisa
Good morning, brightfeather and Lisa! Melissa Clark has a delightful piece in today’s NY Times called Extra Crunch for the Kugel. Here’s a link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/dining/12appe.html?ref=dining
Bon Appetit!