Ease of Preparation: Medium
Yield: 4 servings
Custard and cheese? You better believe it! This old-school Noodle Kugel recipe combines wide, comforting, egg noodles with rich, creamy custard, savory ricotta cheese, sweet slivovitz brandy (try saying that 5 times fast!), and an array of delicious dried fruit like dried apricots, cherries, and golden raisins. It’s a super sweet, super tasty kosher casserole to kick the day off to a kugel-icious and brunch-tastic beginning!
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup (60 mL) chopped dried apricots
- ¼ cup (60 mL) golden raisins
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) dried cherries
- ½ cup (120 mL) slivovitz (plum brandy) or kirschwasser (cherry brandy)
- 1 12-ounce (340 g) bag wide egg noodles
- 4 eggs, separated
- 4 ounces (113 g) butter, melted, divided
- 1 pound (450 g) ricotta
- ½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) sugar
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) salt
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
Method:
Add the brandy to the apricots, raisins, and cherries and let sit for at least one hour to reconstitute.
Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
Lightly beat the egg yolks and whisk in half the butter, then fold in the ricotta and sour cream, and stir to incorporate.
Boil the noodles for 3-4 minutes until about ¾ cooked. Drain and immediately toss with the yolk-butter-cheese mixture (while hot), working quickly to keep the yolks from scrambling.
Add nutmeg, sugar, salt, pecans, apricots, raisins, cherries, and brandy. Fold together to incorporate.
Beat egg whites to ‘soft peaks’, stiff but not dry, then fold into noodle mixture.
Use remaining butter to grease a 9- x 9-inch (23 cm x 33 cm) pan. Layer in the noodle mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes, until top is golden brown, then cover with foil and bake an additional 25 minutes. Rest 10 minutes before cutting, serve warm or at room temperature.