Hanukkah Recipes: Cinnamon Noodle Kugel and Latkes

This year Hanukkah falls at sundown on Friday the 11th of December.  This is a celebration of the rededication of the Temple In Jerusalem. Before this, the Jews were fighting the Maccabees and only had enough oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for a single day. It burned for eight full days, hence the eight day celebration of Hanukkah and lighting a candle for each day in the Menorah. Children play with their dreidel and win gelt or chocolate coins. Many families give a small gift each day to their children. Our family gets together one day during Hanukkah and exchanges gifts then.

The star of Hanukkah is, of course, the potato latkes. They are easy to make and you can have your little ones help by mixing them up or by peeling the potatoes.  I normally use a box grater to shred mine. You can freeze these once they cool. Another favorite Jewish recipe I make during this time is sweet noodle kugel. Many people put raisins in their version but I don’t like them. This too can be frozen and reheated in the oven or microwave. You can substitute lower fat options for the kugel, but I only make this once or twice a year so I don’t worry about making this super healthy.

Latkes

Ingredients:

• 5 potatoes
• 2 onions
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• between 1/4 to 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• oil for frying (canola is recommended)

Preparation:

1. Peel potatoes. Place in a bowl of cold water so they won’t turn brown.
2. When ready to prepare the latkas, drain the potatoes. Place potatoes and onions in a food
processor fitted with a knife blade. Pulse until smooth. Drain mixture well.
3. Pour potato mixture into a large bowl. Add beaten eggs. Add salt and pepper. Add enough
flour so that the mixture holds together.
4. Pour 1 inch of oil into a large, deep frying pan. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
5. Carefully drop 1/4 cup of the potato mixture into the hot oil.
6. Flatten the pancake slightly so the center will cook.
7. Fry for several minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through.
8. Drain on paper towels.

Serve with applesauce or sour cream

Cinnamon Noodle Kugel

Ingredients:

• 8 or 12 ounces of medium noodles
• ¼ pound (1 stick) of melted butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 pint (16 ounces) cottage cheese
• 1 pint (16 ounces) sour cream
• 1 cup of raisins (optional)
• ¾ cup of sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

Cook noodles according to package instructions; rinse; drain. Mix the noodles and melted butter
together in a large bowl. One at a time, mix and add: eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, and raisins. Place in a greased 9″ x 13″ pan. Combine sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle over the kugel. Bake at 350° (325 if using Pyrex) for 1 hour.

About Jennifer

My name is Jennifer Blacker. I live with my husband and one year old son, both who love to eat. My passion is cooking and finding new recipes to keep my very picky eaters happy and healthy. I’m originally from Cleveland but now live in the Baltimore area.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 8:00 am and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.