Growing up on the coast of Southern California, I was pretty far removed from my father's native Brooklyn neighborhood. However my Mississippi-born mother made sure to close some of that distance with one delicious Jewish recipe she adapted from her mother-in-law. Savory noodle kugel is as comforting and cozy as it gets.
Like all great casseroles, kugel has many variations, incarnations and riffs. Some insist on sweet kugel, dotted with raisins, sour cream and cinnamon, others put whole sticks of butter into the batter (my post-Thanksgiving Day ill-fitting pants commanded me to strongly eschew the latter recipe!) and there's my Mom's take, a savory noodle pie full of salt, pepper and simplicity. Whenever I have leftover pasta, some manner of this kugel enters my belly, sometimes with thrown in bits of vegetables and the final remains of a cream cheese tub or cottage cheese container.
This kugel is a wonderful side dish to a holiday meal or served in larger portions, can steal the show when accompanied by a bright tangy salad. It's superb on the reheat (it makes a marvelous breakfast slathered with jam) and is in fact better if you can make it a few hours, or even a day in advance, as it really has the chance to set up and become one delicious, starchy mass. Granted this dish isn't going to win any beauty contests, but in matters of comfort food, flavor trumps vanity. Each time I slice into a kugel, I can't help but think of my Episcopalian-born mother, shining in all of her Southern hospitality and laughter, serving up a slice of her husband's culinary history. Their stories and backgrounds couldn't be more different, but my parents certainly came together on the importance of homemade meals and thus, our family dinners became their religion.
serves 4
2 cups cooked noodles (egg noodles are traditional, but my Mom always used whatever leftover pasta we had on hand)
4 eggs
3 tablespoons full-fat Greek yogurt (sour cream or cottage cheese will work too)
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a casserole dish (mine is 6 x 10") generously with butter. Boil noodles until al-dente, strain from cooking water and reserve. Whisk eggs, yogurt, mustard, salt and pepper until combined. Pour pasta into egg mixture and mix until combined. Pour noodle/egg mixture into prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes, until tops of noodles are golden and egg is set. Serve hot or cold with lots of extra salt and pepper.
Related: Recipe for Passover: Matzoh Brei
(Images: Leela Cyd Ross)
10 Low-Budget Pantry Items Everyone Should Have
Summer Recipe: Gluten-Free & Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
TW Salt Mill by Wil...
Small Cool Lessons: Discovering Small Space Design Ideas That Really Work
Marisa and Peter's Playfully Eclectic Home
Wow, this looks so yummy. I am always looking for simple Holiday meals. Thanks for sharing.
Damn! I went straight from this post to my kitchen to make this. I have never done that with a recipe before! :0 My noodles are boiling now... can't stop myself from adding in some grated cheese, too. I hate sweet kugel, but this combo of savory/eggy/peppery sounds too good. Thanks for posting!
I've always wanted to try a kugel, but couldn't bring myself to put raisins and cinnamon in the pasta. Now I don't have to.
our family dinners became their religion....amen
My Jewish mother always made kugels for our holiday dinners, but a la her sweet tooth, they were always on the dessertish side, complete with a cinnamon-sugared corn cereal topping. Delicious.
Looks delicious! I cannot wait to try it. Also, what a lovely way to describe your connection to this recipe.
I'd deserve a special place in hell for serving this with ham, but I might have to anyway. :O
This recipe looks amazing but I _love_ those plates. Any chance I can pick up something like that for myself?
Can you clarify a little - we start with cooked noodles, that we then boil til al dente? If they're cooked, aren't they already boiled?
I look forward to making this for Hannaka.
Thanks!
jenkwise- I think the instructions to cook the noodles are for if you have dry noodles. If you have cooked noodles, you don't have to boil them again.
Thanks for this simple, splendid recipe. Made this tonight with leftover pasta, upping the amount of yogurt and mustard. It was delicious and will be part of the lunches I'm packing for tomorrow.
Used light ricotta in place of yogurt - turned out well. But I've never had kugel before, so what do I know? Will definitely try again next time I have sour cream in the house.