Yerushalmi Kugel was created in the 1700’s in Jerusalem. Joan Nathan writes in her book: “The Jewish Holiday Kitchen” that Yerushalmi Kugel comes from the Gaon of Vilna and his followers. This fact is personally intriguing. My Aunt Hilda, my Father’s older sister, always told me that somehow we were related to the Gaon of Vilna.
At the same time. I was looking at Joan Nathan’s recipe, I was also looking at Adeena Sussman’s recipe for Yerushalmi Kugel in her book “Sababa”. Taking a little bit from one and a little bit from the other, I came up with a recipe that was simpler for me to follow. I had no idea if it was going to work. Replacing a failed kugel with rice was going to be the answer. As beginner’s luck would have it; I unmolded it on to a platter. It worked! Everyone loved it.
While I know that this is supposed to be a sweet and peppery kugel, I reduced the amount of pepper in my recipe because most of my group don’t like recipes with a lot of pepper. They prefer the sweet caramel. However you do it, this kugel makes a beautiful presentation and is delicious.
Note: The large Yerushalmi Kugel makes a beautiful presentation; but can be frustrating to cut. I decided to try to make them into minis, Guess what-it worked. Only 15 minutes in the oven and the mini Yerushalmi kugels were done and delicious.
Warning: Sugar and water begin to caramelize slowly; but when the process starts the caramel browns very quickly. It continues caramelizing even when you remove it from the heat. Watch it carefully!
For another non dairy noodle kugel recipe click on the link: Noodle Pudding with Apples
Prep time: 30 minutes
Yerushalmi Kugel
By Published: September 26, 2024
Yield:
- 10x4 tube pan (12-16 Servings)
Ingredients
- vegetable oil spray
- 3 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup water
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt for boiling noodles
- 24 ounces extra fine noodles
- 6 large eggs
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt for mixing into cooked noodles
Equipment
- 1 deep saucepan
- 1 candy thermometer
- 1 long handled wooden spoon
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- 1 large colander
- 1 whisk
- 1 10 x 4 inch tube pan or 2 muffin pans for 12 muffins each
- 1 long narrow spatula or long knife
Directions
- Attach candy thermometer to side of saucepan. Pour in sugar. Pour water on top of sugar. Don't stir; just swirl it around. Turn the heat on high so water boils; then reduce it a bit so it won't burn and you don't get spattered. You'll see the sugar crystallizing around the sides of the pan. The caramel takes about 14 minutes to turn medium dark brown-about 350° on the thermometer. Turn off the heat. The caramel will continue to darken on its own.
- Fill large pot with water. Add 2 teaspoons of kosher salt Bring to a boil. Add 24 ounces of fine noodles. Stir. Boil about 4 minutes until noodles are al dente. Carefully, pour noodles into a colander and rinse with warm water. If the pot is too heavy to carry; take a fine strainer and remove the noodles from the water and place them in the colander to rinse and drain. Pour water out of the pot and put noodles back in. Pour caramel over the noodles and mix well.
- While noodles are cooling, whisk eggs briskly. Add cinnamon, pepper, oil and coarse sea salt to it and whisk again. Add to caramel and noodles. Mix thoroughly. Pour all into prepared tube pan or 1/3 cup noodle mixture into muffin pans. Place on bottom level of oven and bake for 90-120 minutes until the top is dark brown and caramelized. The mini kugels are done in 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Wait a few minutes for caramel and oil to absorb into the kugel.
- Have your serving plate ready. Take the long handled spatula and run it around the outside of the kugel and around the center tube. Carefully, place the serving plate over the top of the baking pan and invert quickly. The kugel should slip right out. Serve hot.
For the mini kugels: run a sharp knife or spatula around the edge of the kugels and lift them out-one by one.
