Foodbuzz's Project Food Blog: Classic Spinach Kugel

Thanks to your wonderful support, I've advanced to the next round of Foodbuzz's Project Food Blog.  For the second round of Project Food Blog, I've been asked to tackle a classic dish from another cuisine.  I love trying out recipes from different cultures because I firmly believe that food is such a great way to connect to a culture.  For instance, I often cook different Korean dishes because it helps strengthen my ties to my Korean background.

For this challenge, I decided to try to create a classic dish from my fiance's Jewish heritage.  Bret has always told me about the amazing traditional Jewish dishes that his grandmother made.  Unfortunately, the recipes never passed down and his parents never tried to recreate these dishes in their own kitchen.  For this challenge, I asked Bret to describe some of the classic Jewish dishes that his grandmother used to make and the first thing he listed was kugel.  I did some research and discovered that kugel is a baked Jewish pudding or casserole that is most commonly made from egg noodles or potatoes.  Kugel can often be sweet with apples and cranberries or it can be savory with spinach and broccoli.

Since Bret didn't have any family recipes to use, I asked my friend Julia if I could use her family's recipe for a savory spinach kugel, which she had previously shared with me.  She happily obliged and I can't thank her enough for her help!

To start, I set a pot of water with a few pinches of salt on the stove to boil for my wide enriched egg noodles.

While the water was heating up, I sliced up one medium-sized white onion.  I warmed up a pan on the stove with a few pats of butter and added the sliced onions to the pan with a few pinches of salt and a lot of fresh cracked mixed peppercorns.

I sauteed the onions so that its natural sweetness would come out and add a nice flavor to the noodle dish.  While I cooked down the onions, I also cooked a box of frozen spinach.  While I normally like to use fresh local ingredients, I have found that frozen spinach is more nutrient-rich than fresh spinach, which is why I use it often in my kitchen.  I cooked and drained the spinach and set it aside. 

At this point, my onions were done cooking and were also set aside to cool down.  It was perfect time because just then my pasta water was ready.  I added the egg noodles to the water and kept a close eye on it.  Egg noodles cook very quickly and I wanted the pasta to be very al dente so that the noodles would be firm and not mushy.  After just two minutes, I drained the pasta and set it aside.

While the pasta, onions and spinach were all cooling down, I preheated the oven at 350 degrees and got to work on the rest of my ingredients.  In a very large bowl, I mixed one stick of sweet cream butter, eight ounces of sour cream and five large brown eggs.

When the dairy mixture was thoroughly combined, I slowly added the sauteed onions and spinach while giving all of the ingredients a mix. 

I then slowly added the egg noodles along with some more fresh cracked peppercorns.  I mixed it thoroughly to ensure that the ingredients were all nicely mixed together.

I poured all of these great ingredients in a greased 9x11 baking dish and smoothed into one even layer.

I covered the pan with aluminum foil and baked it covered for thirty minutes.  I then removed the aluminum foil and baked it for another twenty minutes.  And to get the gorgeous golden brown color, I finally broiled it on low for just five minutes.  When I took the kugel out, it looked gorgeous.  Bret and I patiently waited for it to cool until we finally couldn't wait any longer and cut a few slices!

The smile on Bret's face said it all and I knew that this spinach kugel was a hit.  This classic noodle dish helped me find a way to reconnect Bret to his grandmother's cooking and ultimately his Jewish heritage.  I couldn't ask for any better result from this dish.

What dish connects you to your heritage or culture?