Another Shavuot Treat.

Lokshen Kugel, a dish from the old world

Lokshen Kugel is a traditional Jewish baked noodle pudding. It can be savoury or sweet and served hot or cold.

Kugel is Yiddish for pudding or casserole, and this one is a pudding made of ‘lokshen‘, the flat noodles that are often egg-enriched and perfect for chicken soup. The noodles are transformed (and perfectly so for the festival of Shavuot) by the addition of ricotta cheese, eggs, sugar, apple and sultanas. And of course a little butter! It is baked until the top is golden and crusty, and the inside is soft and irresistible. 

This treasured recipe comes from Natanya’s (one of my Monday Morning Cooking Club co-authors) maternal grandmother Sarah, published in our first book Monday Morning Cooking Club – the food, the stories, the sisterhood in 2011. Sarah passed away just before the book was published, at the ripe old age of 100.  The story goes like this: Many, many years ago, Natanya’s other grandmother, Nana Betty, gave Sarah this recipe. She was always amazed at what a wonderful cook Betty was and how well she managed out of a tiny kitchen, without the use of any modern utensils. Sarah made this dish so often, eventually it became hers and not Betty’s.

It makes a wonderful afternoon tea treat in winter, and a delicious dessert…though perhaps after a light meal. It has become one of our favourite winter indulgences…and if there are any leftovers, they can be refrigerated and cut into squares for a quick anytime snack.

Natanya made the following video to honour Nana Sarah and to share the recipe with the world.

[box]RECIPE

250 g (8 1/2 oz) wide egg noodles (lokshen)
3 eggs, separated
80 g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
500 g (2 cups) ricotta cheese
160 g (1 cup) sultanas
1 large granny smith apple,peeled and grated
100 g (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a 25 x 20 cm (10” x 8”) baking dish. Cook the noodles in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until just cooked. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. In a separate large bowl, beat together the egg yolks and sugar until light. Beat in the ricotta until well combined, then add the sultanas and apple and mix well. Mix in the noodles and melted butter, then gently fold through the egg whites.

Place the mixture in the baking dish and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 50–60 minutes, or until the top is golden and a little crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature.[/box]

[box]This post is part of Let’s Lunch (#LetsLunch), a twitter-based virtual lunch club where anyone interested can join this monthly ‘lunch date’. A topic is posted at the beginning of the month, everyone now takes it in turns, and all posts are made on the same day by this random and fascinating group of food bloggers, writers and people who just love cooking from all around the world.

This month, the lovely Betty Ann Besa-Quirino from Asian in America has deemed it a noodle party. And that’s my kind of party!!

Anyone can join at any time – just join us on twitter by searching and adding the hashtag #LetsLunch. Check out the others’ posts right here:

Annabelle‘s Emergency Anti-Hibernal Salad at Glass of Fancy

Betty-Ann‘s Chicken Noodle Soup with Roast Barbecue at Asian in America

Cheryl’s Gingery Chicken and Bok Choy Noodle Soup at Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

Demetra‘s Southern Style Ramen with Bacon at Sweet Savant

Eleanor‘s Marinara Chicken in a Wok — With Pasta at Wok Star

Juliana‘s Grilled Tofu Spicy Peanut Noodle Salad at J. Loh

Linda‘s Taiwanese Hot Pot at Spicebox Travels

Lisa‘s Lokshen Kugel at Monday Morning Cooking Club

Naomi‘s Biang Biang Noodles at The Gastrognome

Pat‘s Korean Stir-Fried Glass Noodles (Japchae) at The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook

Tammi‘s Thai Glass Noodle Salad at Insatiable Munchies[/box]

Did you love this recipe?

Don’t miss out on our original collection in “Monday Morning Cooking Club” and our latest collection in “The Feast Goes On”

Did you love this post? Want to keep up with the Monday Morning Cooking Club girls? Click here!