Kale and Potato Kugel

When I hear the word kugel I daydream about old fashioned Jewish food like the kind my grandma made and that brings back happy memories of when I was a kid. She made noodle kugel, always a salty kind made with noodles, schmaltz, onions and sometimes mushrooms and of course, lots of eggs. It’s still one of the best side dishes that you could possibly eat with roasted chicken.

In fact kugel is hard not to like, whether it’s made with noodles, potatoes or vegetables. 

My grandma never made Kale and Potato Kugel like the one here, but I bet she would have loved it. It’s filing enough to be dinner, but of course it’s also a good bet as a side dish for fish, eggs, whole grains or vegetarian dishes.

It’s also a nice choice for brunch and perfect for a Shavuot dairy meal.                                                                                                                                                                                   

Kale and Potato Kugel

4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1-1/2 pounds)

1 large bunch kale (about 14-16 ounces)

6 large eggs

3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese

5 tablespoons melted butter

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3/4 cup panko crumbs

2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish. Peel the potatoes, cut them into chunks and boil them in lightly salted water for about 15 minutes or until tender. Let cool and chop into small pieces. Place the potatoes in a bowl. While the potatoes are cooking, wash the kale and remove the thick stems from the bottom. Chop the kale coarsely. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Immerse the kale and cook for 10 minutes or until soft. Drain and squeeze out as much water as possible. Chop into smaller pieces and add to the potatoes. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Mix in the Swiss cheese, 3 tablespoons of the melted butter, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Add to the potato and kale mixture. Gently mix the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Place the mixture inside the greased baking dish. In a small bowl, mix the panko and remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle over the ingredients. Top with the Parmesan cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until hot and crispy.

Makes 8-10 servings

How to Braid a 6-strand Challah

Baking challah? I posted my recipe last week and later realized that a lot of people don’t know how to braid a challah. A cousin of mine called a while ago to confirm that fact. She had wanted to make a challah but didn’t know how to make the bread look professional.

Btw, her name is Jenny Rosenstrach and she is a food writer and blogger, with a terrific book about getting dinner to the table every day (Time for Dinner) and book coming in June called Dinner: a Love Story and a wonderful, family-oriented blog with the same name: Dinner: a Love Story.

She wasn’t the first to consider the whole braiding issue (plus how to make a round challah at holiday time).

So I decided to tell you all how to do it.

I myself became a “pro” not to long ago, I should confess. I had been to a bakery on a tour with one of the women’s groups I belong to. The baker zipped through the braiding so fast it reminded me of those old time black and white movies where people are walking but they look as if they’re running. So we asked him to show us again but of course it was a “show” not a real instruction lesson so he went even faster the next time and no one figured it out.

I always made challah with a standard three-strand braid.

Then I found someone who showed how to do it on Youtube. I don’t remember which version it was or I would mention it here. But my eldest grand child and I were watching and trying to braid the challah as we watched. We had to stop the computer after each step so we could write it all down (and of course we got flour crumbs all over the keyboard) but we finally did get it right.

The next time we made a challah together he remembered it all.

I had to get my instruction sheet out and do it step by step.

I finally got it (after several times).

Okay, you can make a regular three-strand braided challah, the way I had done for years and years. The challah is still delicious. That kind of braid is like braiding someone’s hair. Left over middle, right over middle, left over middle, right over middle, etc.

But, making a 6-strand braid is a little more complicated.

Here’s how:

Lay the six strands alongside each other and press the strands together at the top to seal the top edge. Then braid the strands as follows:

1. far right strand all the way over to the left

2. former far left strand all the way over to the right

3. the now far left strand into the middle

4. the second from right strand all the way over to the left

5. the now far right into the middle

6. the second from the left all the way over to the right

7. the now far left into the middle

8. repeat 4 through 7 as many times as necessary to use up the strands

9. press the strands together at the bottom

Good luck! And enjoy.

The Differences Among Matzo Balls

OMG it’s April already! April 1st! No fooling!

Passover is only 18 days away.

It’s not as if I haven’t been thinking about it. I have written three separate articles about it already (you can see one in Jewish Woman Magazine about Passover desserts here: http://www.jwi.org/Page.aspx?pid=2751) and the one at kosher.com about Haroset here: http://blog.kosher.com/2011/03/25/old-world-charosis-gets-a-hip-makeover/. The third article (on quinoa) hasn’t appeared yet and I’ll post it when it comes out next week.

But I haven’t really thought about my own Seder yet.

Except for the turkey. There’s always a turkey.

And there’s always a bunch of other stuff like spinach pie and braised eggplant. Cranberry sauce. A lot of veggies. And even though I like to make new recipes and serve less traditional foods, it wouldn’t be Passover without Matzo Ball Soup.

In our family we have had the same important discussions about these as everyone else: which is better, light fluffy matzo balls or chewy firms ones? Like politics, opinions on this subject tend to be definite and once decided, difficult to change. 

When I was a kid and my grandma and then mother had the Seders, my cousin Essie would bring her famous matzo balls. They were cannonballs, like in a children’s picture book — you could picture one falling out of the plate and bouncing out the window and into the city streets and out into the countryside.

But her husband and kids loved them. Fortunately, my mother also made a batch of spongier ones too.

The difference among matzo balls has to do with how many eggs you use, what kind of fat you mix in, how much you handle the dough, how long you cook them, whether you include spices or chopped fresh herbs and so on and so on. I use goose fat, which I put in in the freezer in December (from the goose I make for Hanukkah) because it gives the matzo balls a smooth, rich texture. And I include chopped fresh parsley or dill because it adds some flavor but also enhances the look. And mostly I use chicken soup in the mix, though occasionally I will use seltzer instead.

Here’s the recipe we use. These make medium, slightly-firm, soup soaked delicious matzo balls.

Matzo Balls

1 cup matzo meal

1 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black or white pepper to taste

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley or dill, or both, optional

4 whole large or extra large eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup melted goose fat, chicken fat, margarine or vegetable oil

1/4 cup chicken soup, water or seltzer

In a bowl. combine the matzo meal, salt, pepper and parsley or dill (or both). In another bowl, beat the eggs, melted fat and soup together. Add the egg mixture to the matzo mixture and blend thoroughly. Stir in the liquid. Cover the ingredients and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. With wet cold hands shape the matzo mixture into balls 1/2-inch to 1-inch balls (you may have to re-wet hands occasionally). Add the matzo balls one by one to the boiling water. Lower the heat so that the water is at a simmer. Cover the pan and cook for at least 50 minutes (do not lift the cover) or until they are tender. Remove the matzo balls from the water. Place into the soup to soak up more flavor. Makes up to 20