sweet noodle kugel

with cardamom, orange blossom, and mango

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There are lots of variations on the classic Jewish sweet dairy noodle kugel. Most use wide egg noodles. Most use sour cream and cottage cheese. Some use cream cheese. Some use farmer cheese. Some use all of the above. There’s debate over how many eggs it should contain and how much sugar should be added. Raisins, or no raisins?

Unlike most noodle kugels, my mother’s recipe uses extra-fine noodles. She would top it off with either a canned cherry pie filling or a crispy, cinnamon-laced cornflake crumb crumble, depending upon her mood.

My mother’s noodle kugel was based on her mother’s recipe, which was essentially the same, without the topping.

My grandmother’s recipe was an Americanized version of the one her mother used in the old country. There were never raisins. That might have been a choice, or it could be because adding raisins would have been too extravagant.

As you can see, each generation made subtle changes to suit what was available and what was trendy. The constant thread has been one of spirit, of consciousness, of the way we related to food. I’ve inherited those sensibilities towards our family recipes but for me they’re a starting point, an invitation to explore.

I’ve taken the family recipe—Mom’s 1960s version, and added a twist—a little 21st century elegance, introducing it to flavors from India and the Middle East. And I’ve added some vanilla bean paste, because sweet dairy is so in love with vanilla that I’d feel guilty to keep them apart.

The match was a success! They totally hit it off. On my first attempt I was more conservative with the amounts of orange blossom water and cardamom. It smelled good before going into the oven, but the flavors were kind of lost when it came out. So, if those amounts seem high, it’s the ratio that worked for me. Feel free to use more or less, to taste,

Instead of canned cherry pie filling on top, I decided to put some fruit on the inside. Indian desserts often use raisins, but because I was raised on raisin-less kugel I never liked seeing them there. Instead of raisins I opted for another popular fruit used in Indian and Southeast Asian desserts—I added diced ripe mango to the kugel.

My plan was to use Mom’s cornflake crumb topping, but I didn’t have cornflake crumbs or cornflakes. I did have Grape Nuts cereal, as I like to add them to yogurt and to avocado toast, so I used those. Necessity is the mother of invention. I think either works well.

The finished kugel will be sweet, but not super-sweet, You can increase the amount of sugar by an additional ¼ cup, if you’d like a sweeter finished project.

It can be served any time of the day—for breakfast, lunch, or as a side for a fish or vegetarian dinner, and the choice to serve it hot, cold, or somewhere in the middle is yours to make. I personally prefer it hot

sweet noodle kugel

with cardamom, orange blossom, and mango

Ingredients for the Kugel:

• 1 pound fine egg noodles

• 1 pound cottage cheese, minimum 4% milk fat. (I like either Breakstone’s or Friendship brands.)

• 1 pint full fat sour cream (The same brands apply here.)

• ½ cup mango nectar

• 5 eggs

• 1 cup sugar

• ¼—⅓ cup orange blossom water (available in Middle Eastern markets, or here.

• 1 tablespoon ground cardamom, or to taste.

• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon of this vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

• 4 tbsp butter, plus extra for greasing the baking dish

• the flesh of 1—2 sweet ripe mangos (depending upon size), cut into small dice, I used golden mangos, but any variety is fine,

 Method:

• Bring a large pot of salty water to boil and add in the extra-fine egg noodles. Keep the water boiling and cook the noodles to the minimum suggested time on the package for al dente.

• Preheat the oven to 350°

• Grease a 9 X X15 inch baking dish or rectangular casserole dish with butter and have it ready.

• While the noodles are cooking, beat the eggs with a whisk.

• Add the dairy products, the mango nectar, the sugar, and all the flavorings, and stir to combine. Gently stir in the diced mango.

• When the noodles are cooked, drain them and immediately dress them with the butter until it is all melted and homogeneous, Add them to the bowl with the other ingredients and gently mix it all together.

• Pour the mixture into the baking dish evenly, then smooth the top with a spatula.

• Cover the top evenly with the topping and slide the dish into the oven, Bake for 45 minutes and then remove the dish from the oven.

• Cut into squares to serve.

For the Topping: 

Combine the following in a small bowl, and stir with a fork until well mixed.

• 2 cups packaged cornflake crumbs, or cornflakes cereal, crushed, or Grape Nuts cereal

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon cardamom

• Optional: 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Sprinkle the topping evenly over the kugel before baking.