My mother’s noodle pudding was always my favorite part of our Friday night dinner. Noodle pudding, also called kugel, was a staple in our house that showed up once a week adorned one of two ways. This depended on the time she had and the ingredients on hand. One was her simple pudding with just noodles, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. The other was a bit fancier with what appeared to be little red jewels on top. The only difference between the two was the addition of raisins, a can of fruit cocktail, and the maraschino cherries she added in. If I asked enough times, she would add extra cherries on the top and tell me they were just for me! This one was my favorite.
There are so many different versions and ways to make a noodle pudding. They can be savory or sweet and with or without fruit. They can be made with fine noodles or extra wide noodles. You can also add sour cream and cottage cheese to make a dairy noodle pudding. If I had to compare it to anything I would say it’s like a bread pudding but instead of using bread, we used noodles.
When my youngest son was 3 years old, it was not only his absolute favorite thing to eat, but also one of the foods he associated with our Friday night Shabbos dinner. When it was time for the meal to be served he would cry out “newie, newie, newie” in excitement until a piece landed on his plate.
One Friday I didn’t prepare it for dinner. That night he didn’t cry out “newie” he just cried! He cried so much I had to quickly whip one up and hold off dinner. No one should ever cry for a noodle pudding – especially not on my watch! After that night, we never had a Friday night dinner without it ever again!
Time has sure gone by fast. He is now home from college from what should be one of his lasts weeks as a senior. He has been home for a few weeks now and I’m finding it comforting yet bittersweet making my mother’s noodle pudding every Friday night again. Comforting because it brings back so many wonderful memories of when my children were small and also keeps my mother close in my heart. Bittersweet because I really wish things were back to normal and he was on campus with all of his friends where he belongs. Since he can’t be, the least I can do is to make sure my mother’s noodle pudding shows up on our Friday night table every week just as she always did. Shabbat Shalom and Enjoy!
ingredients
1 package of wide or medium egg noodles
8 eggs
½ cup sugar
½ cup raisins (black or golden)
2 cans of fruit cocktail in juice drained (I like the very cherry of course)
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ teaspoons salt (1 tsp. to boil the noodles, ½ tsp. for the pudding)
2 tablespoons vegetable or light olive oil divided (one for the pudding and one for the pan)
Cinnamon sugar
maraschino cherries (optional)
directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Boil noodles as per directions on the package, adding 1 teaspoon of salt to the water. While the noodles are boiling, prepare the rest of the ingredients.
In a large bowl add the 8 eggs, sugar, vanilla, 1 tablespoon of oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt; whisk until well blended. Add in the raisins and fruit cocktail. When the noodles are done, rinse in cold water, drain well and add to the egg mixture. Mix together.
Oil a 9 x 13 casserole dish on the bottom and sides. Add the noodle mixture and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Make sure everything is well distributed. If adding the cherries, cut them in half and place on the top. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes checking after 30. If it looks like it’s getting too brown, cover lightly with foil. I like to bake it just until barely set in the middle – it’s a bit more custardy that way.
