NOODLE KUGEL

Every week, Ruth at "Once Upon A Feast" from Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada) organizes an event that takes place on Fridays. It's called "Presto Pasta Nights" (see infos and rules). The 26th edition (six months of existence) is already on it's way and as you have maybe guessed, it's all about pasta!

Her aim is to host a weekly round-up of the recipes that we, foodbloggers, have created/made and want to share with others via her great blog. What an awesome idea, thanks!!!

For my fourth participation, I decided to contribute to the round-up with a "Noodle Kugel" that was once served at the American Embassy in Rome by Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld, former White House Press Secretary to Betty Ford (wife of President Gerald R. Ford)...

A "Noodle Kugel" is a Jewish noodle (although a matzah, zucchini, carrot and potato version also exists - see recipe) pudding/casserole also know under the name of "Lokshen Kugel". It is a qintessential American-Jewish dish that can be either sweet or savory.

Kugels (meaning "ball" or "globe" in German) have a Germanic (Bavarian) as well as Alsatian (France) origin. In the old times, they were called "Schalet" and often filled with apples. The first ones were originally made with bread, but noodles soon started to get used as a replacement. It contributed to that speciality's ongrowing popularity and soon after other ingredients such as eggs, milk and cottage cheese were added for improvement. The Eastern European immigrants brought their own version/recipes to the US and then, it turned into the "kugel" which is now made from coast to coast.

~ Noddle Kugel ~
Recipe by Joan Nathan, "Jewish Cooking In America" and slightly adapted by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums

Yields 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:
350g Uncooked broad noodles/lokshen
2 Cups (500g) Quark
2 Cups (500ml) milk
1/3 Cup (83g) Unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 Tsp Ground cinnamon
1 Tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 Cup Castor sugar (+ 2 Tbs for the topping)
3 Eggs (~53g)
1 Tsp Salt
1 Cup (250g) Yoghurt
1/4 Cup (45g) Raisins
1/4 Cup (30g) Dried cranberries
1/4 Cup (30g) Chopped cashew nuts

Method:
1. Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package and drain.
2. Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F).
3. Combine together the quark, milk, butter, 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, salt, yoghurt, raisins and cranberries.
4. Fold in the cooked noodles.
5. Place in a greased 23 x 30 centimeter (9 x 12-inch) baking pan.
6. Sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar.
7. Cover with the chopped cashew nuts.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to one hour or until the kugel is firm.
9. Serve warm.

Remarks:
I use tagliatelle or fettucine pasta. I took 350g, but the recipe asked for 250g.
Instead of quark, you can use cottage cheese, like in the original recipe.
You can replace the castor sugar by light or dark brown sugar, if you wish.
I used cranberries and for this kugel, but you can take any other dried fruits of your choice (dried apricots were used in the original recipe).
The recipe calls for slivered almonds, I replaced them by cashew nuts.

Serving suggestions:
Serve as a main dish/dairy meal with some fruit puree (plum, apricot, apple sauce, etc...) or oven-roasted fruits, as a side dish with a fish or as a dessert.
You can also eat the kugel at room temperature, although I recommend you to serve it while still warm...