Savoury Potato Kugel
Hello, seasonal-food lovers!
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So. Last week, I had a pot-luck dinner to go to, and had no time to make a grocery trip for anything specific. Instead I chose my dish based on the tried-and-true technique known as “What Do I Have In The Fridge”.
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What I had in the fridge:
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Eggs
Potatoes
One Rutabaga
Celeriac
Cheese
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Hmmmm… Right. Kugel it is!
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Now some of you are surely already familiar with this term but I had no idea what “kugel” was other than “something with noodles”. As it turns out, kugel is a traditional Jewish dessert or side-dish – like a sweet quiche or a strata – typically made with potatoes or noodles as well as eggs, milk and cottage cheese or, sometimes, sour cream.
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The kugel I made is a savoury dish – less popular that its sweeter cousin, but still delicious. Here’s my recipe.
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Savory Potato Kugel
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You Will Need:
A Cutting board
A sturdy knife (I actually use a small hatchet for rutabagas, but use what works for you)
Large sauce pan
Potato masher
Electric hand mixer
Fork or other hand mixing tool
Large, shallow casserole dish
Two mixing bowls (one very large, one medium-sized)
A rubber spatula
A colander
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Ingredients:
1 small rutabaga, peeled diced (~2 C)
3 large potatoes, peeled and diced (~4 C)
½ a celeriac, peeled and diced (~1 C)
1 shallot, peeled and diced
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter or margarine + extra to butter the casserole dish
7 large eggs, separated
1 C cream (or milk)
¼ C chevre (soft goat cheese)
1 tsp each: black pepper, salt, garlic powder, savory
1 C grated asiago cheese
1 C grated old cheddar cheese (to top)
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Directions:
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1) Preheat the oven to 350F.
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2) Peel and dice the vegetables (aim for one-inch cubes or smaller, but they don’t have to be even).
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3) Put the diced vegetables in the sauce pan and cover with water. Add the first tsp of salt and bring to a boil. Boil until vegetables are very soft and easy to mash.
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4) While the vegetables are boiling, separate the seven eggs. Put the whites in the large bowl and yolks in the medium-sized bowl.
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5) Beat the egg-whites with the electric mixer until they form stiff peaks.
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6) To the yolks, add the cream, chevre, salt, pepper, savory, and garlic powder. Beat these together until they are creamy and well-mixed.
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7) Once the vegetable are boiled, drain them in the colander. Add the 2 tbsp to the empty sauce pan, then put the boiled vegetables back in the sauce pan and, using the potato masher (or the electric mixer), mash the vegetables until smooth.
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8) Add the yolk mixture and the grated asiago cheese to the mashed vegetables and mix, using the fork, until well-integrated.
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9) Add the vegetable mixture to the very large bowl of egg-whites. Mix until well-integrated.
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10) Grease the casserole dish with the extra butter. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish. Sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese over the top.
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11) Bake in the oven for at least one hour (more if you are using a deep dish, rather than a shallow one), or until the crust is a rich brown and a fork, inserted into the kugel, comes out damp, but clean.
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12) Allow kugel to sit for five minutes before serving.
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This dish works as a side or a main, and is good with broccoli or steamed winter greens like collards or kale. It also works well with your favourite cranberry sauce and is an excellent use of leftover mashed potatoes or turnips if you have them lying around.
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Try it out and let me know how it goes. 
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Cheers,
Allison.
