Jerusalem Noodle Kugel

This kugel is, as the name suggests, a specialty of Jerusalem. It is characterized mainly by its delicious caramel flavor; it is baked for several hours in the oven, until it is a beautiful, deep, golden-brown color.

Jerusalem kugel is often served at the synagogue on Shabbat, after prayer services, and especially if a bar mitzva has just taken place. It is traditionally eaten with pickles on the side.

Ever since my friend Malka Birav told me that there is a great recipe for Jerusalem kugel on the bag of Osem brand noodles, I have been using this recipe and it has become very popular in our family.

A few months ago, I planned to make this kugel, and went to buy a bag of Osem noodles; to my horror, I found out that they changed the packaging, and the new bags no longer have this recipe! I went from store to store, hoping to find an old bag; but no luck! Finally, a few months later, I found, among the clutter of my recipes, and cut-out recipes from newspapers and magazines, an empty Osem noodle bag with the recipe, which I had luckily saved.

So, here goes!

Ingredients:

• 400 grans (approx. 14.2 oz) thin noodles
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon sugar (can use regular white sugar, or brown sugar)
• 3 eggs

Preparation:

1. Cook the noodles in a pot of salted water, according to the instructions on the package. Strain, but do not rinse.
2. Place the cooked noodles in large bowl.
3. In small pot, place the cup of sugar and half cup of canola oil. Cook carefully, while mixing, until the sugar melts and becomes a nice deep golden caramel color. Do not overcook the caramel, because that would cause it to be bitter. It should NOT be a very dark brown at this point.
4. Quickly and very carefully pour the caramel over the cooked noodles; this may splatter, so hold the bowl away from your face… Stir vigorously until it is all mixed in. Don’t worry if there are few hardened pieces of caramel – that will melt when the kugel is baked in the oven.
5. Add the black pepper, sugar (white or brown), and eggs, and stir well, into the noodles.
6. Put into a baking pan, lined with baking paper (parchment paper). I use the typical round Yemenite “kubane” pan with a cover, but you can use a regular round cake pan, or loaf pan with the same good results; if the pan has no cover, then cover it with aluminum foil.
7. Bake at 180 C (350 F) for about 45 minutes, and then lower the oven to 140 C (about 280 F) or lower…and bake for another 4 or 5 hours. The kugel should be a deep golden brown color.
8. When serving, the kugel should be lukewarm, or at room temperature, and it is customary to serve it with pickles.