Being a rice and quinoa pudding lover, I had to give this a gluten-free noodle kugel a try. I read recipe after recipe and the one consistent element between traditional Jewish kugels is that they’re a baked casserole. Made from noodles, potatoes, or matzoh kugels can be savory or sweet made with flavorings ranging from fruit and nuts to spinach.
Gluten-Free Noodles Cooked to Perfection
Egg noodles are most commonly used in kugels. Not really up for homemade, gluten-free noodle making I opted for Tinkyada’s brown rice fettuccini noodles broken into smaller pieces. Cooked al dente, they held up and tasted like a regular noodle even under days of refrigeration.
I made several different versions with grated apples, diced apples, currants, and raisins. My favorite was a combination of diced apples and raisins as they gave an interesting texture contrast to the soft noodles. The grated apples and tiny currants seemed to get lost.
Never having eaten a kugel, I relied on Joe for the final verdict. I find this to be one of the more frustrating aspects of not being able to eat wheat and sugar. There’s a world of food I’ve never tasted. Relying on others and my memory, I develop my own spin on food often times based on what someone else says it tastes like.
He loved everything about my healthier version of kugel but wanted more noodles. Most kugels use 3 times as many as this variation. I found the noodle ratio to be quite dense enough for my liking so I’m keeping it as is. (Did you see the pic? How can I get more noodles in there??)
Eat this for a mid-day snack, dessert, or even for breakfast. I like it hot or cold, alone or drizzled with a little warm milk.
Gluten-Free Lifestyle Carnival
I’m hosting this month’s Gluten-Free Lifestyle Carnival, which was started by Kim, The Food Allergy Coach.
This event works a little differently than Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free. Here’s the guidelines:
- You can submit ANYTHING you want that relates to gluten-free living, health, and eating – that means product reviews, skin care, recipes, book reviews. The sky’s the limit.
- Submit your post via this form. Your info will be sent to me. I’ll post everything on May 1st.
- If you want to see this month’s carnival for ideas, read April’s edition.
Reminders
- Tomorrow is Slightly Indulgent Tuesday – come back to share your healthier recipes!
- My good friend, Shirley, at Gluten-Free Easily is giving away a copy of Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking by Kelli & Peter Bronski. Stop by her place for a chance to win!
What do you create in your kitchen that you’ve never before tasted?
This recipe is adapted from Fast Vegetarian Feasts, Martha Rose Shulman.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces fettuccini style gluten-free pasta
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup plain, low fat yogurt
- 3/4 cup 2% cottage cheese
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 apple, peeled and diced about 1/4″ square
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter or oil a 1 1/2 quart stoneware casserole dish.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Weigh 4 ounces of pasta and break the dry pieces of fettuccini into 4 sections. You should have noodles about the length of an egg noodle. Once the water comes to a boil, add a little oil and some salt. Drop in the broken fettuccini and stir well. The oil helps gluten-free pasta from sticking together. Stir frequently and cook according to package directions, or until al-dente. Be careful not to overcook.
- Rinse the pasta in a colander with cold water to stop the cooking process. Let drain.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs until combined. Add in the yogurt, cottage cheese, honey, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Stir in the raisins and diced apple. Add the drained noodles and stir to combine. Turn noodle mixture into prepared baking dish and level with a spatula.
- Place on a sheet tray and bake uncovered for 35 – 45 minutes until the kugel is set in the center, firm around the outside, and slightly browned on top. Let set for 15 minutes before serving.
Iris
posted on April 4, 2010 at 3:43 pm
I’ve always loved noodle kugels! The mix of raisins, cottage cheese, and just that hint of sweetness is delicious!
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Ricki
posted on April 4, 2010 at 3:59 pm
I’ve never been a huge fan of kugel, but that one looks great (perfect noodle-to-other-ingredients ratio, I’d say)
Congrats on working it out!
And tomorrow is Monday, isn’t it? (not quite slightly indulgent yet?)
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Amy Reply:
April 4th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
@Ricki, I meant for the post to go up late tonight…but it’s out there now. Tomorrow it’ll be correct.
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Kelly
posted on April 4, 2010 at 9:15 pm
I’ve never had or heard of that myself, but it sounds delish! I’ll eat anything with apples and raisins—anything GF that is
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Alta
posted on April 5, 2010 at 7:34 am
I too love rice puddings and the like, but I’ve never had a noodle kugel, so I understand how it is trying to make something you’ve never tasted before! It does sound intriguing, and with apples and raisins, how can you go wrong?
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Hallie @ Daily Bites
posted on April 5, 2010 at 8:30 am
Looks delicious, Amy! I totally see what you mean when you say that you often prepare GF, SF versions of recipes that you’ve never tasted before. I do that all the time and rely on friends and family to tell me how it compares to the original. Most of the time I have to do some tweaking, but it really is neat when it works out perfect the first time around!
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gfe--gluten free easily
posted on April 5, 2010 at 9:18 pm
I’ve never had kugel before. It intrigues me. When making new versions of dishes I’ve never had before, I just go for whether I enjoy them or not. Oh, and I get Mr. GFE to taste test sometimes, too.
Thanks so much for announcing my giveaway here, Amy.
Shirley
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Alea
posted on April 6, 2010 at 1:24 am
It looks wonderful! I often make my non-celiac friends try try my recipes before I serve them at larger gatherings.
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Barbara
posted on April 10, 2010 at 6:49 am
Looks fabulous. A friend of mine makes a sensation non-GF noodle kugel, but this looks even better. Many thanks for sharing.
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Hope
posted on September 4, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Great! I love kugel! In our gluten days my Mom made it with apricots, I wonder if it is possible to dairy free it and still have good results? I can’t think of how to replace cottage cheese though, that’s one of the best parts of it, IMO.
Thanks again, Amy!
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Amy Reply:
September 8th, 2011 at 10:02 am
@Hope, I don’t know what I would use instead of cottage cheese…I wonder if coconut milk yogurt would work. It does have some refined sugar in it, though. I’ve never used it. Just a thought.
Hugs,
Amy
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