Noodle Kugel With Caramelized Onions & Brown Butter Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Why does my noodle Kugel fall apart? ›

Once it's baked, a kugel needs to cool, otherwise it will fall apart when slicing. Give it at least an hour to cool and set up, then slice and serve it warm or at room temperature.

The common denominators of all true kugels are a starch base, eggs (or egg substitute), and fat, without the addition of water or other liquids. If the dish lacks any of the basic ingredients, it is technically a casserole or cake, not a kugel.

Do You Eat Noodle Kugel Hot or Cold? While noodle kugel should be removed from the oven and cooled for at least 30 minutes after baking, it can be eaten at any temperature. Eaten warm, when just set, noodle kugel's texture is more akin to a baked mac and cheese (the extra-crunchy noodles on top might be the best part.)

Make sure the water is at the boil before adding noodles. When the water returns to the boil, stir the noodles. The occasional stir will prevent stickiness. Some noodles, especially those from Asia, need to sit in hot water, and over boiling them will cause gumminess.

Kugel (Yiddish: קוגל kugl, pronounced [ˈkʊɡl̩]) is a baked casserole, most commonly made from lokshen (לאָקשן קוגל lokshen kugel) or potato. It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish, often served on Shabbos and Jewish holidays. American Jews also serve it for Thanksgiving dinner.

noun. ball [noun] anything roughly round in shape. a ball of wool. bowl [noun] a wooden ball rolled along the ground in playing bowls.

ku·​gel ˈkü-gəl. : a baked pudding (as of potatoes or noodles) usually served as a side dish.

Kugel is traditionally served as a side dish alongside something meaty like brisket or roast chicken. In this case it would normally be served warm, but it can also be refrigerated and eaten cold the next day.

Lokshen (Yiddish: לאָקשן, lokshn), also known as Itriyot (Hebrew: איטריות), locshen, lockshen, or Jewish egg noodles, is the common name of a range of Ashkenazi Jewish egg noodles that are commonly used in a variety of Jewish dishes including chicken soup, kugel, kasha varnishkes, lokshen mit kaese, and as a side dish ...

Storing leftover baked kugel: Let cool completely, cover tightly, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. How to freeze noodle kugel: Unbaked or baked, kugel should be tightly sealed in plastic wrap and again in foil. It will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight before baking or reheating.

What does kugel symbolize? ›

Some also say that the tangled pasta of the noodle kugel specifically has been said to be a symbol of Jewish unity – from the Ashkenazi to the Mizrahi.

This kugel can be baked up to two days before serving; reheat it in a 300 F oven for 15 minutes or so. You also can make the kugel and refrigerate it unbaked for up to a day, then bake it just before serving.

No matter the season, time of day or occasion, homemade kugel is everything that a comfort food should be: filling, warm and soothing. The dish feels like wrapping a warm blanket around myself on a rainy day, like getting a hug from family after months of travel and, most importantly, like coming home.

You're not stirring the pasta.

You don't need to stir pasta constantly, but stirring while cooking can help keep the individual strands or noodles separate.

Stirring can cause noodles to break, as the spatula can cut them into smaller pieces. This is especially true for delicate, freshly cooked rice noodles. Avoid using a spatula to haphazardly stir the noodles to avoid this. Instead, gently push them from the edges inward or use a flipping motion.

You see, the reason those noodles in your homemade soup end up a soggy mess is that they're low alkaline. That means once submerged in a liquid and placed in the fridge, the noodles begin to absorb the liquid. If noodles absorb too much water, then they become soft and gummy as a result.

If you're not using the noodles immediately, toss them with a little bit of oil to prevent sticking. This will create a thin coating on the noodles, preventing them from clumping together. Additionally, if you plan to use a sauce or dressing with the noodles, toss them in the sauce while they are still warm.