The Last Exile

Yes, some things still remain the same. After weeks of reading Palestinians threatening to ignite a third intifada the rioting continues at the Temple Mount.

And since I have spent two miserable days with a raging cold and two nothing-pleases-teenage-boys, I thought I earned a little comfort food. The beauty of this recipe is the relative short preparation time and the no fuss cooking delivers the maximum amount of comfort. Yes, I am speaking of the humble potato kugel. There are so many variations of this recipe but I thought I would post the basic recipe and you can allow your imagination be your guide.

I should warn you that without a food processor this recipe is a nightmare of labour to perform. Not being my grandmother, I refused to be chained to the kitchen and wouldn’t contemplate making it without a food processor. If you don’t have one I suggest you start stalking out Goodwill or any second-hand store which also sells small appliances. I picked my food processor at Goodwill for $4.99 in the original Moulinex box with all the instructions and parts. It gave the appearance of minimum use. I suspect it was probably a wedding or anniversary present which was never or rarely used until donated. Or you could go out and spend hundreds of dollars. Your choice.

Basic Potato Kugel
8 medium potatoes, 2 onions, 6 eggs, ½ cup of oil, 4 heaping Tablespoons of flour, one teaspoon of both each of black pepper and kosher salt. Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit (200° Celcius).

Chop the two onions and place chopped onions in a full size colander. Peel the potatoes and use a large the large size grating attachment to the food processor. Grate the potatoes.

One of the tricks of this recipe is that the potatoes need to be well drained of liquid so add the shredded potatoes to the onions in the colander to drain. Mix the potato and onions well. My grandmother always swore the onions not only add flavour but keep the potatoes from turning brown. I did have a friend who claimed her potatoes still went slightly brown, which I suppose can happen, if your potatoes are a touch old. You can get around this by putting a slightly tarnished silver spoon in the mix. I am sure there is a logical chemical reason why this works but I haven’t a clue as to what the science behind it. All I know is that it works. I usually let the mix sit for about 15 minutes and pack it down periodically to help get the fluid out.

Once most of the liquid has drained get a large boil and mix the eggs, oil, salt and pepper together. Stir well by hand. Then add the flour and whisk until it is fully mixed. Give the onions and potatoes a final squeeze and gradually add to egg mixture a little at a time. Stir well and place into a large well greased casserole dish or dutch oven. Cook uncovered at 400° Fahrenheit (200° Celcius) for at least an hour or until brown on top and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve with a side of sour cream and/or apple sauce. I suppose you could go North American redneck and serve with ketchup, but really now; is there anything which beats sour cream?
Now some of the variations. I usually replace the flour with ground matzvo meal. Flour works well but I like the texture the matzvo meal gives to the kugel. The matzo flour seems to up the comfort factor by at least 10 and I usually grate about a ½ cup of carrots and zucchini to add to the potato onion mixture. I like the added touch of colour the carrots and zucchini give. Depending what I am serving with the kugel I will add about a ½ cup of medium old cheddar cheese to the kugel about 5 minutes before it is done for extra richness. Either way don’t forget the sour cream and apple sauce.

And the other great thing about kugel is that it tastes even more divine when eaten as leftovers.