In the 1700s thousands of Hasidic Jews moved to Jerusalem, bringing with them this uniquely sweet and peppery Shabbat treat.
Sweet and Peppery Jerusalem Kugel (Kugel Yerushalmi)
Servings
8 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 12 ounce package thin egg noodles
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅓ cup oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper or more if you like pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles according to the instructions on the package. Strain and set aside.
- Add the sugar and oil to a large pot on low heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved and a deep golden-brown color, but not burnt.
- Turn off the heat and add the noodles into the pot of sugar. Immediately stir with a big spoon until the noodles are coated in the caramel. It’s okay if the sugar hardens in some spots – it will melt in the oven.
- Allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes. Mix in the eggs, salt and pepper. We allow it to cool, so the eggs don’t cook right away.
- Scoop the mixture into a greased baking dish. Bake for 1 hour.
Mix the caramelized sugar oil mix in slowly and a bit at a time. BE CAREFUL. The mixture will cause a major burn damage to you. Clean up is easier than it looks with the stuff set up on the sides of your pan. Dissolves in hot water easy peasey.
Jamie Geller , in my opinion, has the ability to make any recipe easy and doable! I’ve tried many, many Jerusalem kugel recipes, and this one is hands down the easiest and most delicious, says my son in law who introduced me to this fabulous kugel. I’ve made it for friends , both Jewish and not, and everyone raves about it . After tasting this kugel , one friend said, I want to marry you! Lol . My husband and I called this marry me kugel. Lol . Thank you Jamie Geller ! 💕🇮🇱
Has anyone tried baking this at a low temp, like 275, for several hours? I have seen recipes that call for that, mostly for Orthodox Jews who put it in the oven overnight to caramelize for Shabbat lunch. Jamie is a wizard so I don’t want to doubt her; if anyone has experience with both cooking temps/times, I would be grateful for their insights. Thank you.
It is a bit separated but not completely, you can see it in the video.
Hi Jamie. I have a couple of questions about the sugar mixture. First, it took forever and a day to melt into a dark brown sauce. Second, once it started melting down, the oil all came out and remained separated from the sugar mixture. Was that supposed to happen, or was the sugar supposed to really mix with the oil? Thanks!
PS: Because of how long it took the sugar to melt, my prep time was about 50 minutes, rather than 20.