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Pure Potato Latkes
Joan Nathan, Nathaniel Wade
3037 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
3,037
1 1/4 hours, plus cooling and chilling
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Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook noodles according to package instructions. Rinse and drain well. Return to pot and toss with 1 tablespoon oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.
In a heavy skillet, combine sugar and ½ cup oil over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar melts and turns amber brown, but not burned, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Working quickly, pour the caramelized sugar over the cooked noodles and stir to combine. (Don’t scrape the skillet.) The caramel will probably clump in places when it hits the noodles, and that is OK. It will melt as the kugel bakes. Let noodle mixture cool until warm, about 10 minutes.
Add eggs and 2¼ teaspoons each salt and pepper to noodles. Stir to incorporate.
In a 6-quart oven-safe pot or Dutch oven, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high until very hot, but not smoking. Scrape egg-noodle mixture into the pot and smooth it into an even layer.
Bake, uncovered, until kugel is dark golden and the top is slightly hardened and crusty, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1½ hours.
Transfer pot to a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Run a butter knife or offset spatula along the edges to loosen the kugel. Invert kugel onto the rack, then invert it again onto a serving platter so that the top — and lighter side — of the kugel faces up. Serve while still warm or at room temperature.
I only have 5 and 7 qt Dutch ovens. How does this change the recipe? Which should I use?
Could this be baked in a cast-iron skillet?
Would you consider baking this in a springform pan instead? If so, would the amount of time in the overn and temperature need adjusting? Perhaps in a water bath to create a more custard-like consistancy?
Since I usually make my own pasta, I'm wondering, Melissa, if I could use fresh angel hair, cooked as directed, for this, rather than dried pasta, or if it would change the texture?
I love this kugel, but I make it with homemade ghee instead of oil for extra buttery, nutty flavor. Melt butter and let the milk solids get nice and toasty brown before skimming them out. Keep an eye on the pot, to make sure they don't burn. Then use the clarified butter in the recipe. Oh, mama!!
Kugel with fresh pasta is too soft. I tried and it didn't work for me. I make noodle kugel for Shabbat weekly.
after being many generation Jerusalemite I recommend carmelizing the sugar till very brown it makes the Kugel prettier and tastier.
I learned how to make this 50 years ago in (where else?) Jerusalem. It is traditionally baked in a pot on top of the stove, since most people back then did not even have ovens. The pot is kept overnight on top of a metal tray (called a "blech") over a low flame and served for Shabbat lunch.
Traditionally this is baked overnight, from Friday to Saturday morning, at a low heat. Amazing Saturday brunch. We bake it at around 200. To stop it from drying out, you cover the noodle mixture with baking paper cut to shape and weigh it down with some more oil. The flavors are much deeper if you do follow the overnight baking method.
I have never made this, but may have to as it sounds SO delish. Just WONDERING ... would it work like a "pineapple upsidedown cake" (in a black iron skillet like my mom and grandma :) )? Could you do the caramel on the bottom and then add the noodle mixture to it?
I have made noodle kugels for over 50 years. This amount of sugar is far too much. Even caramelized, the kugel will be more like dessert than dinner. Besides, potatoes are more traditional for Chanukah, noodles for other occasions.
Do NOT use a springform pan. You need a heavy pot for this. We have made this in aluminum foil pans. Only the English cake pans (long loaf) but it isn't as good as the triangles. I personally use a bit less salt than called for. Oh, we slice this like a pie in triangles in thin slices.
This is exactly the same cake that on my island in italy we call Migliaccio and a variation is my mother used to fry it. Usually is done for the carnevale
Truly not happy how this came out. Very greasy. Pot size of 6 quarts was way too big. Going back to the Sababa Sussman recipe that had double the amount of noodles, proportionally less oil, and recommended a 4 quart pot.
This came out well enough, meaning it looked something like the photo (though the interior of mine was brown, not yellow), and it had a nice flavor. However, knowing how much oil it had absorbed was kind of offputting. Caremelizing sugar in a half cup of oil left an indelibile and not very appealing visual image that I had to suppress! And even though the kugel did manage to absorb the oil, it still tasted too oily.
Barbara - The sugar here and in line with what I’m used to eating; apparently you’re used to less, which is ok. There are many rather sweet dishes that feature on Jewish tables like tzimmes and sweet noodle kugels with raisins. As for the potatoes, the potatoes have zero - literally zero - to do with hannukah. Latkes are for hannukah because they’re made in oil, which is in abundance in this recipe. That is the connection, not potatoes.
I liked this a lot, just concerned about the endless calories and carbs in the dish
Like many others, I have followed the directions and am left wondering why it calls for such a large dish or so much oil. My kugel did not reach a volume suited to a six quart cast iron and it was swimming (I had to pour oil off the top) when it finished baking. It tasted all right but I can't help thinking I have missed something crucial somewhere.
Alternate kugel: add to the egg pasta, ricotta or dry cottage cheese, lemon juice, lemon rind, walnuts, cinnamon, raisins and very little brown sugar (maybe 1/2 cp.) ( I make homemade ricotta from goat milk)
…and for oil I use coconut oil.
Adeena Sussman calls for less oil and more noodles: Ingredients 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup canola oil 1 16 oz package thin egg noodles 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 6 eggs, beaten
Terrible Oily Mess. Just finished cooling and 5 of us tasted the kugel. We couldn't pinpoint whether we didn't like the texture, taste, visual presentation or smell. We finally decided it was all of the above. I'll stick to sweet lokshen kugel from now on. This was terrible. Not really sweet, not savory. The pepper was an odd addition. Really, this is just weird.
If it doesn't conflict with your dietary requirements, replace the oil with this: Brown the same about of butter until fragrant and the milk solids are well-browned. Strain out the milk solids and proceed with the recipe. The browned, clarified butter adds a whole new dimension of flavor. Delicious!!!
Enough with the complaints about the amount of oil! This is a kugel, after all, and made only a few times a year. Cutting back on the oil will turn it into something else. Embrace it and enjoy it the way it is written here.
thank you! yes!
meh, too sweet. I like things more savory. Not worth the effort.
Try adding more pepper. Some people call this "exciting kugel" because it is supposed to be peppery.
It was messy to cook because of the carmelized sugar. Had to figure out how many pans I needed as recipe was not specific. Also needed to press down a bit as there were "holes" in the pasta afterword. Not sure I will make it again.
I was so excited to try this, but I am very disappointed. I followed the recipe exactly, except I wasn’t able to get the very thin noodles. I used the ones that were about 1/4 inch wide. I find it very bland.
This was my first attempt at making a kugel. I'm not sure how it is supposed to taste, but we really didn't like how this turned out. It ended up being so oily that it left oil puddles on our plates.
This sounded so delicious but came out oily and disgusting. A real disappointment.
Delish. Next time I'll add raisens.
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