The word kugel came from the German language. The word Kugel means "ball" as in round. When kugels were cooked, they puffed up into round casseroles. In the Yiddish language, the word kugel means square. Today, most kugels are made in square pans.
History says that kugels began about 800 years ago, and were made from bread and flour. Today, you can find recipes for fruit kugels, vegetable kugles and even rice krispy kugels.
I hope you enjoy these recipes that have been family favorites for many years:
Potato Kugel
6 medium baking potatoes, peeled
1 large onion, peeled (use less onion if you don't want the onion taste)
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons butter (if you use margarine, the taste will be different)
2 tablespoons of matzah meal (I've tried using flour and I taste a difference)
1 teaspoon salt
Grate the potatoes and onion. I use a Braun Multimix. I know others use food processors. My mother still hand grates them. Drain off the water from the potatoes.
Melt butter. I actually melt it in the casserole dish and then pour into the bowl, leaving the dish nicely coated. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, salt, melted butter and matzah meal. Add potatoes and mix.
Pour into casserole dish and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower to 375 degrees and cook an additional 45 minutes. Top should be brown and crisp. Cook kugel in upper part of oven to avoid the bottom overcooking.
Cut into squares and serve hot.
Rice Krispy Kugel
This is one of my favorite recipes. My kids ask for it week after week. When I prepare it for guests, they are shocked that it's a combination of cottage cheese and rice kripies.
3 cups rice krispies
3 eggs
2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 package of onion soup mix
French fried onion rings to place on top
Mix all ingredients except onion rings in a large bowl. Pour into a casserole dish. Top with onion rings and bake about 45 minutes at 350°.
Notes: I always use low fat cottage cheese and it does not affect the taste or texture of the recipe. I have tried egg substitute and the consistency did change.
Finally, I'd like to share a very sweet kugel with you. Noodles are used as the base, but you add apples, apricot and pineapple to make a very sweet kugel.
Fruit and Noodle Kugel
1 pound broad egg noodles, cooked according to package direction
¼ pound butter, melted (I melt it in the casserole pan and then pour into the bowl)
¼ cup sugar
4 eggs
2 large apples, peeled and sliced thin
1 - 20 ounce. can crushed pineapple and juice
1 cup dried apricots, cut into small pieces
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Place in greased casserole dish and bake at 350F for about 60 minutes.
There are so many other kugels you can make. Experiment with them all.
Bon Appetite!!
