1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks
1 Tbl Frangelico
1 Tbl vanilla extract
about 15 fresh black figs
In an 8- to 10-inch tart pan, make
1/2recipe for Pâte Sucrée (Sweet Tart Dough), blind baked and cooled
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Adjust oven rack to middle position. In a food processor, combine
1 cup blanched hazelnuts, toasted
1/3+ cup granulated sugar
scant light brown sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Pulse until the mixture is sandy and there aren’t large pieces of nuts left. Add
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks
1 Tbl Frangelico
1 Tbl vanilla extract
and pulse until the eggs are smooth but chunks of butter are still visible, about 15 – 20 short pulses. Scrape the sides of the food processor and pulse an additional 5 times. Scrape the mixture into the cooled tart shell. Arrange
about 15 fresh black figs, stems trimmed and cut in half
cut side up on top of the filling.
Bake 20 minutes at 375°F, then rotate the tart 90 degrees on the rack. Lower the oven to 325°F and bake until the figs begin to bubble and caramelize and the filling turns golden brown all over, about 45 additional minutes, turning again halfway through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.
Rich crescent-shaped almond cookies with a light, crunchy texture. Despite the powdered sugar, they're not too sweet. They're easy to make.
Makes 3 dozen
Shopping List
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter 1/3 cup sugar
8 oz almonds (unroasted, skins on)
2 cups cake flour 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
These cookies have a delicious crumbly texture. I’m not a fan of confectioners’ sugar, but the coating on the on the outside works perfectly.
Using a mechanical grinder (meat, nut, whatever), grind
8 ounces almonds
I suppose you could use 8 ounces of almond flour, but leaving the skins on provides a darker result and more flavor.
In a bowl, cream
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
Add
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
When thoroughly mixed, add the ground almonds. Then blend in
2 cups cake flour
to make a uniform dough. ♦ATTN Using cake flour provides the cookies with a better texture. Place the covered dough in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 325º F. After the dough has rested, measure out uniform pieces. I used a scale and aimed for 22g pieces: they’re a little bigger than I’d have liked because (to my surprise) the dough rose a bit as it baked. You can just use a spoon or approximate uniform pieces with your eye: ♦ATTN that’s better for your mental health.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Form crescents, making sure they taper down at the points. Place the cookies on the parchment-lined pans: they can be fairly close because they don’t expand much.
Bake for about 12 minutes and then check on them. If you need to rotate the racks or swap the racks top to bottom. Keep an eye on them until they are golden. At the size I made the cookies they took about 22 minutes to bake, but your timing may vary. You definitely want the cookies watch the cookies until they take on a nice color.
When the cookies come out of the oven, coat them in confectioners’ sugar. The cookies can break, so my approach was to dust them using a strainer with confectioners’ sugar right over the cookie pans. Then I used a spatula to move the cookies over a little to place the bottoms onto some of the spare sugar on cookie sheet.
Some people dust them a second time after they cool, but it’s more sugar than I like.
From my sister, Mindy, who probably got it from a family friend.
If you have a food processor, it will make chopping the nuts and pulverizing the vanilla wafers, but do each one separately. Next time I make this I’m going to grind the pecans instead of chopping them.
Measure together in a bowl
1 cup (95g) of vanilla wafer crumbs
1 cup (135g) finely chopped pecans
1 cup (110g) confectioners’ sugar
2 TBL (10g) cocoa powder
Stir to combine ingredients. Add
1/4 cup rum or bourbon
2 TBL corn syrup
Mixture should be refrigerated a couple hours (or overnight) to allow the dry ingredients to fully absorb the liquid. Roll into small balls. (I overthought this and weighed them to target about 14g each.) Roll in confectioners’ sugar. Store in refrigerator.
NOTE: The original recipe made double this quantity, and Betty suggested making half with cocoa and half without cocoa.
From a dear family friend, Betty Rosen. I get a smile on my face every time I think about her.
1–1/2 cups (8 ounces) turnip, peeled and cut into dize
1 cup (8 ounces) potato, peeled and cut into dice
Add water to cover (4 cups) plus
1 tsp salt
red pepper flakes to taste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 TBL dried fenugreek leaves (or more, if fresh)
Bring to a simmer and cover to cook for 45 minutes. Check to see if vegetables are tender. Puree when done. Adjust seasonings, adding lemon juice if desired.
No butter, no oil, no flour: a delicious, moist cake with the flavor of almonds and orange. Served with a marmalade sauce.
Makes an 8-inch or 10-inch cake
Shopping List
2 navel oranges
65g or 100g brown sugar
130g or 200g granulated (white) sugar
4 or 6 eggs
165g or 250g almond flour
1 tsp or 1–1/2 tsp baking powder
orange marmalade
This recipe can make either an 8-inch or 10-inch pan. Whichever you use, ♦ATTNmake sure it is at least 1–1/2 inches high.
Simmer, covered thoroughly in water for 2 hours:
2 navel oranges
Alternatively, place them in a 6-quart pressure cooker with enough water to cover (even if you have to hold them down to measure it) and process at high pressure for 20 minutes. Let pressure release naturally. Discard the water.
Preheat oven to 350º F. Line the bottom of the greased baking pan with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine
65g or 100g brown sugar
130g or 200g granulated (white) sugar
4 or 6 eggs
Process until it forms a fluffy mixture. Cut the cooked unpeeled cooked oranges into 8 pieces. The two oranges I used weighed just over 600g (total) after cooking, so for the 8-inch cake I used only 400g of the orange and discarded the excess. For the 10-inch cake I used the total amount of the oranges. Add the orange pieces to the food processor and process until it has been fully incorporated: you’ll see small pieces of skin floating through the mixture. ♦ATTN For the larger cake I had to process it in two batches.
Combine in a bowl
165g or 250g almond flour
1 tsp or 1–1/2 tsp baking powder
Transfer the liquid mixture to a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake. ♦ATTNYou may need to cover the top loosely with foil if it starts to get too dark. The small cake takes about 45 to 55 minutes. The 10-inch cake bakes in 55 to 65 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes on a rack, run knife around pan and then invert twice (removing parchment paper) and leave it on a rack to finish cooling.
Thin out some orange marmalade with water at a simmer. Let cool. To serve, combine some mascarpone with milk or cream, served on the side of a slice of cake, drizzling the top of the wedge with a spoonful of the thinned marmalade mixture.
Simple as can be. The recipe readily scales up for a bigger crowd.
Makes two 11-inch pizzas
Shopping List
Type “00” soft wheat flour
Yeast
Measure the flour by weight: you can scale this recipe up. See the note at the end.
In a bowl, measure
320g type “00” soft wheat flour
scant 1–1/2 tsp salt
1/16 to 1/8 tsp yeast
Regarding the yeast, for a 6-pizza recipe, you need about 1/2 tsp yeast, so go easy and don’t worry about being too precise. Stir the dry ingredients together. Add
1 cup cold water
Stir until a ball forms. Transfer it to a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a lid. Let sit for 18 to 24 hours and leave at room temperature.
After the rising time, the mixture will look a bit bubbly. Gently dump it onto a floured board, shape into a rectangle. Divide into separate pieces for each pizza (two in this case). For each piece, pull the four corners into the center. Smooth into a ball, dust with flour and place on work surface with the seam down. Let rest for 1 hour covered with plastic wrap or a damp towel.
♦ATTN If you’re working ahead of time, you can place the balls of dough in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to use the refrigerated dough, remove it from the fridge one or two hours before you’re ready to bake.
Dual pizza stones transmit the heat better.
Start preheating the oven. I bake my pizza on a pizza stone with ♦ATTN another pizza stone on a shelf about 4 to 6 inches above it. I bake at the highest temperature, 550º F convection in my case, so it takes almost an hour for the oven to heat up and for the stones to get thoroughly hot. Be sure to wait until the stone(s) heat up completely.
Form the pizza by gently forming into a circle, handling the dough as little as possible. Be sure to leave a bit of an edge around the pizza to form a crusty edge. Stretch the dough to an 11-inch round. Transfer the shaped dough to a baker’s peel that is generously coated with cornmeal. Top the dough with ingredients. Bake for 6–1/2 minutes (adjusting for your own oven’s temperature).
When ♦ATTNscaling up this recipe to make more pizzas, use this guide. Per pizza 160g flour, scant 3/4 tsp salt, speck of yeast (keep reading), and 1/2 cup water. For 6 pizzas the proper amounts are 1kg of flour, 4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp yeast and 3 cups water.
This caramelized onion pizza (pictured above) is made by slow-cooking chopped onions in olive oil. Cover the dough with mozzarella and bits of shaved romano cheese and then cover with a thick layer of the golden onions. Follow baking directions above.
2 bunches of beets (about 2–1/4 pounds including greens)
1 medium onion
1 TBL sugar
sour salt (citric acid), or a lemon
16 oz container of sour cream
Peel and cut into largish dice (3/8– to 1/2-inch on a side)
2 bunches of beets
Measure the volume (about 6 cups in my case) and place in a soup pot. Note: the beets in this batch weighed about 800g after peeling. Add
1 medium onion (150g), minced finely
6 cups water (actually, it should match the volume of the beets)
Bring to a boil and then start a timer for 15 minutes. Check whether the beets are cooked; they should be soft enough to chew but not mushy. If they need a few more minutes, cook a little longer. Turn off the heat and remove any scum that collects at the top of the pot. Add
1 tsp salt
1 TBL sugar
1/4 tsp sour salt (citric acid) or 3-4 TBL of lemon juice
Let stand to cool for 30 minutes. Place half the beets and some liquid in the jar of a blender. Run until fully pureed. Return to pot. In the jar of the blender combine
3/4 cup (roughly) sour cream
about a cup of liquid from the soup. Process until smooth and pour back into soup pot. Stir and adjust any seasonings as needed. Chill in refrigerator.
♦ATTN My mother would make borscht (with a slightly different recipe) and only add the sour cream just before serving. This allowed her to freeze the soup and serve it at a later time. I do it this way because the sour cream blends thoroughly in the blender and it’s already in use when I’m making the soup. I haven’t frozen this, but I can’t imagine any reason it would fail.
My mother would garnish this with diced boiled potatoes, diced cucumber or diced hard-boiled eggs. I didn’t ever develop a taste for any of these additions.
and spread the cooked rice on a large tray or jelly roll pan to cool. That will take about 10 minutes.
While the rice cooks, combine the following in a 2-quart (or larger) bowl:
grated zest of 2 small lemons
2 TBL lemon juice
3 TBL olive oil
3 TBL finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup chopped finely scallion greens (save the solid parts of the stems for something else)
1/2 tsp salt
Place
1/2 cup frozen edamame or peas
in a strainer and run under cold water until they are defrosted. Drain and add to dressing, along with the cooled rice. Mix everything well (with your hands if you don’t mind doing that) to break up the rice thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.
You can serve this right away but I prefer to let it sit in the refrigerator for a bit before serving. It’s great made a day before serving.
8 legs but the servings vary according to appetites and the size of the octopus
Shopping List
1 octopus, 1.5 to 2 pounds (see note)
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried oregano (or alternate herbs)
1 large or 2 small lemons
1/4 cup olive oil
Purchase
1 octopus (1–1/2 to 2 pounds), cleaned
Note: A larger octopus will work, just make sure it fits in your pressure cooker and adjust the cooking time. I’ve also cooked 2 1–1/2 pound octopuses at once in my 6-quart pressure cooker.
When you (or the fishmonger) clean the octopus, be sure to remove the beak, eyes and open the head and clean it out. Rinse the octopus, especially inside the head as there might be a little sand in there if it isn’t cleaned out thoroughly.
Place the octopus in a pressure cooker. Add water to cover and
1 onion, cut in half
2 cloves garlic, split or smashed
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
♦ATTN Be absolutely certain you don’t overfill your pressure cooker!
Bring the pressure cooker to high (15 lbs) pressure. Set a timer for 15 minutes. When the time is done, bring the pressure down quickly and check that a paring knife easily slips into the thickest part of the leg. If not, close the pressure cooker, bring it back to pressure and cook for 3 minutes; then re-test it. Generally I have found that 15 minutes is enough time.
In a 2-3 quart mixing bowl, combine
juice of 2 small or 1 large lemon
3 to 4 TBL olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano, marjoram or thyme. (You can also use fresh herbs if you prefer)
1/2 tsp salt
Add the cooked octopus and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, turning the octopus at least once in the marinade but more often if time allows.
Light coals or light gas grill. Grill the octopus whole, making sure you don’t char the tips of the legs too much. When it’s gotten some color, it’s done. Remember, it was fully cooked when it came out of the pressure cooker.
Serve, either cut into legs or bite-size bits, drizzled with more olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice or your favorite condiments.
We love this cake, but getting to this point was a little bit of torture. Read the story at the end of the recipe.
Makes one Bundt or 10-inch tube cake
Shopping List
3/4 cup (1–1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (4 ounces) almond paste
1–1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 eggs
1–1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup coarse cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a Bundt or 10-inch tube pan.
Separate
6 eggs
Reserve egg yolks. With electric mixer beat egg whites with
1/4 cup sugar
until soft peaks form. In an electric mixer, cream together
3/4 cup (1–1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup almond paste
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently. Add all six egg yolks to butter-sugar mixture and blend well. In another bowl, sift together
1–1/2 cups cake flour (or 1–1/2 cups less 3 tablespoons of sifted all-purpose flour)
3/4 cup coarse cornmeal (I prefer the consistency of Quaker cornmeal)
1 teaspoon baking powder
Add to the butter-sugar mixture. Add
1 cup heavy cream
Mix until well blended and set aside.
Fold half the egg whites into the butter mixture and incorporate well. Gently fold in remaining whites and pour mixture into prepared pan.
Bake 65 minutes. Cake will be done with the top is golden and is firm to the touch. A toothpick inserted in the cake will come out clean when cake is completely baked.
Let the cake cool on the rack for ♦ATTN 15 minutes before turning out.
The original recipe calls for one 9-inch pan. When Bob mixed the batter, he knew he had a problem: it couldn’t all fit in one pan. He called the Coyote Cafe restaurant in Santa Fe, asked for the pastry chef, and told her his dilemma. She said, “Oh, the old pastry chef contributed most of the dessert recipes, and many of them have problems.” She even went as far as naming one recipe that should be completely avoided. Her suggestion was a bigger pan and longer baking. This is now one of our favorite recipes.
A dry-style Indian dish. I like it spicy, but feel free to adjust to your taste
enough for several people as a side dish
Shopping List
1 medium-size head of cauliflower
2-inch piece of peeled ginger
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
1 TBL ground coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder or paprika
1/2 tsp hot chili powder
2 TBL peanut oil
1 jalapeño pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 pound yukon gold potatoes
fresh cilantro
Wash, trim and cut into medium-sized florets
1 medium-size head of cauliflower
Grate
2-inch piece of peeled ginger
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
Place in a small (2-cup) bowl and add
1 TBL ground coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder or paprika
1/2 tsp hot chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
In a large pot over medium-high heat, add
2 TBL peanut oil
Heat until shimmering. Add
1 jalapeño pepper, stem removed and cut in two halves. I retained the seeds.
Let cook for 30 seconds. Add
1 tsp cumin seeds
♦ATTN It may spatter and the seeds will begin to pop. When they do, add the water-spice mixture ♦ATTNwhich may spatter so be careful. Cook about 2 minutes, then add the cut cauliflower and
1 pound yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices. Cut the slices into half-circles if they are large.
1/2 cup water
Stir the mixture to coat the vegetables and reduce heat to a low enough level to maintain a simmer. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes. Uncover, as the dish should dry out some as it finishes: this is not a saucy dish. Test for salt and add more to taste. When the potatoes are cooked, serve, garnished with
2 TBL chopped cilantro leaves
Adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/cauliflower-and-potatoes-aloo-gobi-recipe.html
Traditionally made as kebabs, this version uses chicken pieces.
4 servings
Shopping List
2-inch piece of ginger
4 cloves of garlic
2 habanero chilis (or 1 jalapeño if you want a milder dish)
1/2 cup whole-milk yogurt
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder (or paprika)
3/4 tsp hot chili powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp garam masala
2 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces
In a blender, combine
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into coins
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 habanero chilis, stem removed seeds left in (or a jalapeño if you want a milder dish)
1/2 cup whole-milk yogurt
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder (or paprika)
1/4 to 3/4 tsp hot chili powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp garam masala (or use a substitution, below)
Run the blender until a smooth paste forms, adding a tiny bit of water if needed to get it moving.
Trim excess fat from
2 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces
I’m partial to thighs, but any pieces can work. Large breasts, if used should be cut in half.
Combine the chicken and paste, mixing thoroughly. Refrigerate for for at least 4 hours. Cook on a grill, starting with the skin side up; indirect heat is better. Flip to finish cooking the skin side. (I haven’t cooked this in the oven, this but it should cook for 30-40 minutes at 425º F on a tray.)
Note that if you don’t have garam masala you can make a mixture of the following spices, ♦ATTN using more of the earlier ones on the list and less of the later ones. Everyone’s idea of what’s in this spice mix is different so look around on the web, and if you don’t have one of the ingredients listed, just omit it and fill in with the others: (all are ground herbs) coriander, cumin, cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves.
Much better than those frozen pot pies of your childhood
Shopping List
1 pound cooked chicken meat or 4 chicken thighs
2 medium (or 1 large) turnips
1 parsnip
8 ounces mushrooms
3 medium or 2 large carrots
2 large onion
1 pound potatoes
3-4 TBL olive oil
5 ounces frozen peas
1 cup milk
1–3/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon chicken base (or 1 cube chicken bouillon)
1/4 cup cornmeal (we prefer the granularity of Quaker brand corn meal)
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
If you have some cooked meat and broth available, skip this step and continue with the mushrooms, below.
Place in saute pan
1 onion, thickly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
placing
4 chicken thighs on top of onion slices
add
3 cups water
Bring to a boil, reducing heat to maintain a low, gentle simmer and cook ♦ATTNcovered for 30 minutes. Remove chicken, reserving liquid, and let cool. Discard onion pieces. Strain liquid and measure: add water to bring amount to 3 cups. Discard chicken skin and bone the chicken meat, cutting into bite-size chunks.
Continue from this point if you already have cooked meat and broth available. Slice and saute on high heat:
2 TBL oil
8 ounces white mushrooms
cooking until well colored. Set aside. In the meantime, dice
2 medium (or 1 large) turnips
1 parsnip
3 medium-sized or 2 large carrots
1 large onion
In a large (12-inch) skillet, heat
1-2 TBL olive oil
and saute vegetables for 10 minutes. Then add
1 pound potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 tsp salt
Continue cooking for 10 minutes stirring often. Stop cooking while vegetables are still a bit crisp, especially the potatoes. Add
chicken meat (1 pound or whatever you obtained from cooking the chicken thighs)
5 ounces frozen peas
Spoon into a baking dish or gratin pan. Generally this is about the size of a 13- x 9-inch baking pan or a decorative dish. The pan should hold all the mixture with a bit of room to spare; broader is better because you get more crust surface.
In a small bowl, combine until smooth
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 425º F. In a large saucepan, heat
3 cups chicken broth
3/4 tsp chicken base or 1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3/4 tsp salt
to a boil. Then add the milk mixture. Stir until it thickens. Stir sauce and pour over chicken/vegetable mixture in the baking dish
In a mixing bowl, combine
scant 1/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in
1/2 cup shortening
When mixture resembles coarse crumbs, sprinkle with
1/3 cup ice water
♦ATTN1 TBL at a time, mixing with a fork in each area where you sprinkle. Add only enough water for the dough to bind together. Roll it out on a floured surface into a shape about 2 inches bigger than the top of the baking dish. Position over filling, folding the 1-inch overhang into a flute. Brush crust with
Milk or 1 beaten egg
♦ATTNCut slits in top of crust. Place on a cookie sheet to catch any drips and transfer to the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling is hot and bubbling. You may need to cover the edge of the crust with foil to prevent over-browning. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.
In a blender, combine to make a runny “pesto” ♦ATTN with some chunks of almonds still visible.
1 cup roasted almonds
olive oil to cover
Cook
8 ounces pasta (bucatini, radiatore, etc)
reserving some pasta water just before you drain them. When the pasta is almost done, saute
1 glug olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
3 jalapenos, cut lengthwise in half (leave in seeds), and then cut in narrow slices
over high heat for about a minute. Add about 3/4 cup of pasta water, the cooked pasta and about 1/2 cup of the pesto. Saute, stirring to mix thoroughly and complete cooking. Season with salt, pepper and
1/3 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
♦ATTN You will have leftover pesto. Save it in the fridge and use it the next time you want to cook this dish.
2 very large or 4 medium onions (about 1–1/2 pounds)
Vegetable oil (a few TBL)
10 eggs
Bring a large pot of ♦ATTNwell-salted water to a boil. While you’re waiting for it to boil, peel and dice
2 very large or 4 medium onions
This works best with a non-stick pan, but you can do this in any 11- to 12-inch frying pan. ♦ATTNHeat a large frying pan to a medium-high heat and add
1-2 TBL vegetable oil
and then add the diced onions. Saute the onions, ♦ATTNstirring from time to time, not constantly. The onions need to get well-browned, and don’t worry if a few of them get extremely dark — that is what gives the kugel its flavor. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper to them as they cook: check by tasting them. Towards the end of the cooking, if there’s a lot of browned bits stuck to the pan, add 1/4 cup water to deglaze the pan, doing this while the onions are in the pan and the pan is still on the heat.
These still need a little more cooking, but they’re almost done.
Remove the pan from heat when the onions are done, but meanwhile…
When the salted water comes to a boil, add
12-ounce package of ♦ATTN broad egg noodles
Pay attention to how long the noodles cook: you don’t want them to get mushy and in fact, they should be a little firm but not doughy or raw-tasting. My brand’s package said they “should cook 8-10 minutes but no more than 8 minutes if they will be added to cooked more as part of another recipe”. I cooked them just over 6 minutes, sampled one and it was done.
While the onions and noodles cook, in a very large mixing bowl beat together
10 large eggs, shelled of course
1–1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper (or more to taste)
When the noodles finish cooking, drain them in a colander and run some cool water over them to bring them down to room temperature. If the onions aren’t done cooking yet, add a little oil to the noodles and toss the noodles to coat. If the onions are already done cooking, proceed with the next step without bothering to add any oil. (The reason for this is that you don’t want to combine the eggs and noodles until you are ready to cook everything because the eggs will absorb into the noodles and the kugel won’t hold together. If you leave the noodles drying in the colander without adding the oil, the noodles will stick together making it hard to mix with the eggs and onions.)
In the large bowl, add the noodles and onions. Stir thoroughly. I prefer to do this with my hands to make sure everything is well mixed. Quickly wash off the large frying pan you used for the onions (if you don’t, the kugel will tend to stick), dry the pan and heat it over a medium heat, adding
1-2 TBL vegetable oil
When the oil is hot, add the egg-noodle-onion mixture. Smooth the top of the mixture in the pan. As the kugel cooks, you should see a crust form around the edge of the pan: this might take 5 minutes or so. Run a knife around the edge to separate the kugel from the pan. ♦ATTNThe kugel will cook about 10-12 minutes on this side, so keep an eye on the heat and make sure it isn’t cooking too quickly as you’ll end up with a very dark crust. There will still be some loose eggs at the point you need to flip it, but not a lot. Before flipping the kugel, run a spatula or knife around the edge of the pan again and ♦ATTNunder the kugel to make sure it’s not stuck to the pan. If the frying pan doesn’t have straight sides, you can probably shake the pan a bit to see that the kugel has been loosened. Put a suitably large plate over the top of the pan, invert the pan and plate together and hopefully the kugel will be on the plate. If part of the kugel sticks to the pan, remove it with a spatula and put it where it should be. It’ll be fine.
Quickly add
1 TBL vegetable oil
to the pan and slide the kugel off the plate and back into the pan. The second side will probably only take about 7-8 minutes to cook. Again, ♦ATTN loosen the bottom of the kugel from the pan and invert it onto the serving plate. Note that if you had a “separation disaster” the first time around, it is hidden on the bottom of the kugel and no one will see it.
The completed kugel.This is a diet-sized slice.
Serve hot or at room temperature, cut in wedges. It’s also great cold, eaten while standing in front of an open refrigerator at midnight. This is often served with braised meat (gedempte) that has a sauce.
From my mother, Rita Fitterman, who probably learned how to make this from her mother-in-law, Goldie Fitterman.
Don't wait a for a dinner invitation. Try cooking for yourself for a change.
