Cherry Noodle Kugel

🍒 Cherry Noodle Kugel 🍒

Traditionally, noodle kugel includes raisins, but this year we found that dried cherries were a delightful substitute. The kugel casserole has a luscious, custardy texture, balancing creamy sweetness with a hint of tang, complemented by the soft noodles and a golden-brown, slightly crisp top. The dried cherries, with their perfect blend of sweet and tart flavors and chewy texture, made a wonderful addition to the dish.

🐝 THE perfect dinnerware for Rosh Hashanah! Kristy’s gorgeous Honeycomb Dinnerware Collection from Williams Sonoma here. 🐝

🍎 Eating honey on Rosh Hashanah is a tradition symbolizing the hope for a sweet new year. On this Jewish holiday, we eat honey with apples and challah, to express a wish for a year filled with happiness, blessings, and prosperity. 🍎

Rosh Hashanah Menu

Apple Slices with Honey
Challah
✡️✡️✡️
Matzoh Ball Soup
✡️✡️✡️
Slow-Cooked Tomato Onion Beef Brisket
Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower Florets
Potato Latkes with Sour Cream and Apple Sauce
Cherry Noodle Kugel
✡️✡️✡️
Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream and Ganache

Matzoh Ball Soup recipe here.

Beef Brisket recipe here.

Latkes recipe here.

🍒 Cherry Noodle Kugel Recipe 🍒

Ingredients:

1 c. dried cherries

12 oz. wide egg noodles, cooked according to package with salt, drained and cooled

5 large eggs

1 c. granulated sugar

1 1/2 c. sour cream, plus more for serving

1 stick unsalted butter, melted but not hot

1 1/2 t. fine  grain sea salt

1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

2 c. cottage cheese

ground cinnamon to dust after baking

powdered sugar to garnish

Method:

Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Place cherries in a small bowl. Ladle some boiling water over cherries to soften while composing the rest of the dish.

Cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain and cool.

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack placed in the middle of the oven.

In a large bowl, beat eggs with a hand mixer. Slowly add sugar to dissolve.

Add 1 1/2 c. sour cream, butter, salt, and vanilla. Mix with hand mixer until all ingredients are incorporated.

With a rubber spatula, fold in cottage cheese last, to keep the curds from breaking up. Then fold in the noodles.

Drain cherries. Reserve a couple tablespoons of cherries to dot the top of the kugel. Fold cherries into the noodle mixture.

Pour mixture into a greased 4 quart baking dish. Push reserved cherries into the top of the noodle mixture so that more cherries are visible for the final presentation.

Bake for 45 minutes to one hour until set and the top is golden brown and getting crispy in spots. Do not overcook.

Remove kugel from oven and dust the top with ground cinnamon right when it comes out of the oven.

Let cool to warm (not hot) before serving. Garnish with powdered sugar right before serving. Serve with more sour cream on the side as a topping.

Thank you for the wonderful Rosh Hashanah Dinner to Kristy, Don, Paula, Ron, Adam, Jack, and Lisa. Shana Tova. And a special thank you to Liz for the charming Juliska Cherry Blossom serving bowl, perfect for my Cherry Noodle Kugel! 🍒

L’Shana Tova Tikatevu

May Your Name be Inscribed in The Book of Life
For a Good Year