Food

Crunchy Noodle Kugel

Essentially baked sweet cheese pasta.

Crunchy Noodle Kugel à la Great-Aunt Martha

The genius of this sweet noodle kugel — the rich, custardy casserole that is a staple of Jewish cooking — is that its top is designed to offer maximum crunch while its interior remains creamy and luscious. The secret: use a shallow baking tray, which means that there is a greater amount of kugel surface area to brown in the oven, and bake it at a slightly higher temperature. Soaking the raisins in sherry or orange juice adds flavor, and also keeps them from burning in the extra-hot oven.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup raisins
  • Sherry or orange juice
  • 1 pound egg noodles
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, more for pan
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 cups cottage cheese
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • Pinch of salt

PREPARATION

  1. Put raisins in a microwave-safe bowl or small saucepan and cover with sherry or orange juice. Heat on stove top or in microwave oven until liquid is steaming hot (about 1 1/2 minutes in microwave or 3 minutes on stove). Let cool while you prepare kugel mixture.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 11-by-17-inch baking tray. Cook noodles according to package directions and drain well. Immediately return noodles to pot and add butter. Toss until butter melts.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt. Drain raisins and add to bowl along with buttered noodles. Mix well.
  4. Spread mixture in prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until top is crusty and golden, 25 to 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.