Laura's Creamy Vegan Noodle Kugel Recipe • Jewish Food Hero (2024)

FAQs

Why is kugel a Jewish food? ›

And then I read in The Jewish Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from Around the World of a Hasidic rabbi, Pinchas of Koretz (in Galicia), who claimed that lokshen kugel itself symbolizes Jewish unity, since the noodles are all tangled together and are really inseparable, just like the unified Jewish people.

One of many styles of kugel, a baked pudding or casserole in the Ashkenazi Jewish tradition, sweet noodle kugel is typically the one seen most often on the table during weekly Shabbat or holidays like Rosh Hashanah or Shavuot.

Kugel is traditionally served as a side dish alongside something meaty like brisket or roast chicken. In this case it would normally be served warm, but it can also be refrigerated and eaten cold the next day. Sweeter versions can also be eaten hot or cold, and taste great with fresh cream or vanilla ice cream.

Noodle (aka lokshen or frimsel) kugel has been around since the 1500s when Jews traveling from Italy to the France-Germany region brought noodles with them. But, around 200 years later, the Tatars (a Turkish-speaking people from West-Central Russia) brought noodles from Asia to Slovakia in Eastern Europe.

The name of the dish comes from the Yiddish word kugel meaning 'sphere, globe, ball'; thus the Yiddish name likely originated as a reference to the round balls of dough that were placed in the center of the cholent, a traditional Shabbat stew, to cook alongside it and absorb its flavors for its later use as a side dish ...

Jewish. Among religiously observant Jews, gefilte fish has become a traditional Shabbat food to avoid borer, which is one of the 39 activities prohibited on Shabbat outlined in the Shulchan Aruch.

This kosher recipe for dairy-free (pareve) potato kugel made with potatoes, onions, and eggs is a classic. It can be eaten with a meat or dairy meal. Potato kugel is a staple Shabbat and holiday dish in Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish cooking. It's sometimes called potato pudding, as kugel is Yiddish for pudding.

Once it's baked, a kugel needs to cool, otherwise it will fall apart when slicing. Give it at least an hour to cool and set up, then slice and serve it warm or at room temperature.

Potato kugel keeps well in the refrigerator for four to five days, as long as it's covered. You can eat a cold slice right out of the fridge, or reheat it in a 350 F oven, uncovered so the top can crisp, until hot. Kugel will also freeze well.

The best side dishes to serve with kugel are Jewish brisket, cholent, shakshuka, Caesar salad, chicken soup, gefilte fish, zucchini fritters, applesauce, cucumber salad, pickled beets, tzatziki sauce, potato latkes, roast vegetables, matzo ball soup, coleslaw.

Can you reheat kugel in the microwave? ›

Noodle Kugel

Oven: Remove from refrigerator 1 hour before heating to allow to come to room temperature. Reheat in a 325°F oven until heated through, roughly 30-40 minutes. Microwave: Remove the plastic lid and heat on high for 4-6 minutes in the microwave-safe aluminum container, or until heated through.

Kugel (Yiddish: קוגל kugl, pronounced [ˈkʊɡl̩]) is a baked casserole, most commonly made from lokshen (לאָקשן קוגל lokshen kugel) or potato. It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish, often served on Shabbos and Jewish holidays.

"Farfel kugel is a Jewish pudding typically eaten at the Passover table but can be enjoyed any time of year," says recipe creator CRW. "This kugel is a savory one that is a wonderful accompaniment to any meat dish with gravy to help soak up the gravy."

Wrap the kugel very well in storage wrap and aluminum foil. It can be frozen for up to two months.

It commonly makes an appearance on the dinner table during Shavuot (along with bourekas), when it's traditional to consume dairy foods, and Shabbat because it's said that kugel resembles the manna that fell from heaven. It's the perfect side dish for a Hanukkah latke party, adding some richness to the meal.

Thus, we have two remembrances of the manna during the Shabbat meal. One is the two loaves of challah that correspond to the double portion of manna we received on Fridays during our sojourn in the desert, and the other is the kugel, which corresponds to the manna we will eat after Moshiach comes.

Some also say that the tangled pasta of the noodle kugel specifically has been said to be a symbol of Jewish unity – from the Ashkenazi to the Mizrahi.