Matza Kugels: Creative Ways to Spice-up the Holiday

BY Eileen Goltz
Special to The Standard

APPLE MATZA KUGEL

I am not known as the world’s biggest fan of matza. Cardboard taste aside, it takes my get up and go and turns it into slow down and wait.  In fact, after the seders I try to keep its subsidiaries, matza meal and matza cake meal to a sub ingredient status as opposed to a main ingredient in as many recipes as I can. No, I don’t eliminate matza altogether, I just use it judiciously. That being said, I know the rest of my family LOVES it so I’ve found ways of maximizing its ability to bind and provide structure to a dish and keeping its amount to a minimum.

It’s a well know fact that I make a lot of kugel during Pesach. Not so much the potato kind but rather the Pesach equivalents of Lokshen Kugel (“noodle pudding” in Yiddish). While the traditional Lokshen Kugel contains noodles made from grains that are prohibited during Pesach. Matza, matza meal and matza farfel serve as my quasi noodles.

The following recipes have all graced my family’s table at one time or another during the past decade. Some are sweet, others savory but all are fairly simple to make and require very little prep time. Most can be made pareve and several can actually be used as a main course for breakfast.

Note that if you see bubbling juices after a matzo kugel containing fruit is removed from the oven, don’t be concerned. The bubbling juices will be absorbed by the matzo kugel when it is left standing to cool.

SAVORY CHAROSES MATZOH KUGEL (PAREVE)

A very different kind of kugel but really delicious

4 matzot

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup oil

2 tablespoons prepared white horseradish

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 apples, chopped

1/2 up raisins

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan. Break matzot in pieces. Place them in a bowl and soak them in water for 5 min. and then drain.  In another bowl combine the eggs, salt, honey, oil, cinnamon and horseradish. Mix and add the mixture to the matza. Mix in the nuts, apples and raisins. Place the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 35 minutes. Serves 6 to 8

PASSOVER CAULIFLOWER KUGEL WITH MUSHROOMS (pareve)

1 large cauliflower (about 2 pounds)

salt and pepper to taste

3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 to 6 oz. mushrooms, quartered

2 large eggs

1 tablespoons matza meal (optional)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Divide cauliflower into medium florets. Cut peel from large stalk and slice stalk. Boil cauliflower in large saucepan of boiling salted water 8 to 10 minutes or until stalks are very tender. Drain well and cool. Puree in food processor, leaving a few chunks. Transfer to a bowl. Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons oil in medium skillet, add the onion and sauté approx. 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms together with the onion over medium heat about 5 minutes or until mushrooms and onions are light brown. Remover from heat. Add the eggs and matza meal to the cauliflower mixture. Season well with salt and pepper. Lightly stir the mushroom mixture and any oil in the pan into the egg/cauliflower mixture. Grease a shallow 9 in. square baking dish. Add cauliflower mixture. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon oil over top. Sprinkle with paprika, then with the walnuts. Bake 30 minutes or until set. To serve, cut carefully in squares and run knife around edges. Use spoon to remove portions. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

PINEAPPLE APPLESAUCE MATZA KUGEL (pareve)

3 cups matza farfel

5 large eggs, separate out yolks

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons sugar

4 ounces margarine, melted

8 ounce can crushed pineapple

2 cups applesauce

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cinnamon and sugar, for topping

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13- inch pan. Place farfel in a colander and pour hot water over it. In a large bowl, beat together yolks, salt, sugar and margarine. Mix in farfel. Stir in pineapple, applesauce and cinnamon. Stiffly beat egg whites; fold into yolk-farfel mixture. Place the mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over top of kugel. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool slightly and cut into squares. Serves 12.

PESACH SPINACH KUGEL (pareve)

From the caterers Paula Levine Weinstein and Julie Komerofsky Remer

This Spinach Kugel is the perfect dish to serve for Sabbath meals during the week of Passover.

1 1/2 sticks margarine

2 cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup sliced mushrooms

3 cups shredded carrots

1 1/2 cup matza meal

2 pounds frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

6 beaten eggs

salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. Squeeze liquid out of thawed spinach. Sauté the onion, celery and mushrooms in the margarine for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Put the mixture into a large bowl. Add the carrots, matza meal, spinach, eggs and salt and pepper. Mix well. Pour into the greased casserole dish. Bake for 40-45 minutes till firm. Serves 8

INCREDIBLY APPLE MATZO KUGEL (pareve)

6 matzot

4 tart apples, peeled and cut into eighths or thinner; no chunks

1 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

grated rind of 1/2 lemon

4 to 6 tablespoon orange juice

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup margarine, melted

6 eggs, well beaten

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Soak matza in water until soft; drain, and squeeze to purge as much liquid as possible and place the matzo in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the brown sugar and cinnamon. Blend well. Pour into a greased pan. Bake for 20 minutes. In a bowl combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon over the top or the kugel. Bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes. Serve 8 to 10.

PINEAPPLE BROWN SUGAR KUGEL (pareve)

1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 (20-ounce) can unsweetened pineapple slices or chunks (drained/juice saved)

1/2 cup pineapple juice from canned pineapple
8 matzot, broken in 1 1/2-inch-by-2-inch pieces
3/4 cup raisins
4 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup kosher for Pesach coffee liqueur (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the topping:

1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or almond slivers
1 tablespoon margarine, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 350. Melt margarine and pour into a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, preferably glass. Make sure all sides are greased. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over bottom. Arrange pineapple slices to cover the bottom. In a bowl, cover matzo pieces with warm water to soften. Soak for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, squeezing out liquid completely. In a bowl, cover raisins with hot water. Soak for 3 to 4 minutes to plump. Drain. In large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, oil, reserved pineapple juice, liqueur and cinnamon. Mix the matza and raisins into the egg mixture. Pour matza mixture over pineapples in baking pan.

For topping: In a bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon and nuts together and sprinkle over kugel. Dot with margarine. Bake for 1 hour, testing at 45 minutes if using a glass pan to see if bottom is getting too dark. If so, move pan to higher rack in oven and bake 15 minutes longer. Let matzo kugel rest 10 minutes before serving. Serves 10 to 12.

MUSHROOM LEEK MATZA KUGEL (meat or pareve)

5 tablespoons oil

additional oil for preparing baking dish

2 medium onions, diced

11 medium leeks, white and some light green part only, sliced

4 lbs. mushrooms cut in large chunks

4 medium red bell peppers, seeded and diced in 3/4-inch chunks

4 cups matza farfel

3-4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth, warmed

5 large eggs plus 1 large egg white

ground black pepper to taste

salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. In a sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and leek. Cover; reduce heat to low, and cook until for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally. At some point, you may want to continue cooking with the cover off. The point is to cook the leek/onion mixture very, very slowly over low heat until the leeks/onions give off all their moisture and they sauté in the oil about 3-4 minutes. Remove the mixture to a large bowl. Do not clean the pan.

Heat 2 more tablespoons of oil in the pan and sauté the mushrooms. (Keep cooking until the mushrooms give off their liquid, the liquid evaporates, and the mushrooms are soft) Remove the mushrooms from the pan and add them to the onion mixture. Don’t clean the pan. Using the remaining tablespoon of oil, sauté the bell pepper pieces until just starting to soften. Remove them from the heat. Place the matza farfel in a bowl. Slowly add the chicken (or vegetable) broth until the farfel is just moistened. Add the cooked vegetables to the matza and then season with pepper and salt. Mix well. Beat the whole eggs and egg white together. Add the eggs to the farfel vegetable mixture. Transfer the mixture to the prepared casserole. Bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes or until the top is brown and crisp and the kugel is set. Serve immediately. Serves 8 to 10