Gillian’s lokshen kugel

Using her Grandma Rose’s recipe, our niece Gillian makes the best lokshen kugel. She serves it on a Friday night and when all the family gathers. I’m sure many people cook and enjoy much-loved dishes that have been handed down by forebears. This recipe, with a heritage that dates back at least four generations to my certain knowledge, is a case in point. As I have noted in many of my recipes, nostalgia adds a flavour that no other ingredient can match. Serves 6 -8

INGREDIENTS:

400g dried egg lokshen (use tagliatelle or wide egg noodles if you cannot find lokshen) 2 medium eggs, beaten

3 tbsp ground cinnamon

4 tsp ground ginger

200g raisins

1 x 540g can of rhubarb, drained, or 4 sticks of fresh rhubarb cut into 12mm chunks 3 Bramley apples, peeled and coarsely grated

175g seedless raspberry jam Juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon

125g margarine, plus extra to coat the inside of the baking dish

3 tbsp granulated sugar, plus extra to sprinkle on top

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180°C. Boil the lokshen until just al dente, strain and rinse with cold water.

Put the lokshen back into the pan, add the margarine, jam, lemon zest and juice and stir over a low heat until well combined.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Grease a baking dish, pour in the lokshen mixture and smooth the top.

Cover the dish with foil, place on the middle shelf of your preheated oven for 1½ hours.

Remove the foil and bake for a further 45 minutes until the top of the kugel is well browned and sticky.

Take the lokshen kugel out of the oven, sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar and, as Gillian pointed out in the recipe she sent me, all that’s left to do is: ‘Eat the bloody thing!’.

Leftovers can be successfully frozen and reheated.