Another Mittel-European staple from my mother’s catalogue of favourites, much loved by everyone who has tasted it. It is a foundation stone of Ashkenazi kosher cuisine, and, as with many of those dishes, ‘foundation stone’ maybe a closer description than you might realise. Light it is not. It is, however, low in cholesterol.
- 1.5kg potatoes, peeled (use a floury variety, such as Maris Piper)
- 1 large onion, peeled
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 180g plain flour
- 1½ teaspoons of salt
- ½ teaspoon of ground white pepper
- 75g hard margarine, Tomor for preference
- Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F / gas mark 4.
- Grate the potatoes and the onion, and either sieve or squeeze them to remove most of the excess water.
- Mix in the eggs, flour, salt and pepper.
- Fry a teaspoon or two of the mixture and taste to check the seasoning. Add more if neeeded.
- Meanwhile, heat an ovenproof dish (about 2 – 3cm deep) in the oven. When it is hot, add the margarine and return it to the oven until it is sizzling. Carefully swirl the melted margarine around the dish to coat the inside and then pour the liquid fat into the potato mixture and stir well.
- Pour the potato mixture into the hot dish, cover with tinfoil and bake in the oven for 1 hour.
- Remove the tinfoil and continue to bake for a further 1 – 1½ hours. By this time the kugel should be dark golden brown and crispy on the top. It should have shrunk a little and have come away from the sides of the dish.
- When ready, cut the potato kugel into pieces and serve it alongside roast turkey or roast chicken with helzel and copious amounts of gravy. Health warning: one should not try to walk, or even stand up, too soon after such a meal.
