Passover is one of my all time favorite holidays and this Kugel is one of the reasons why. Now there are two ways of making matzo Kugel: sweet and yummielicious, or dry, bland and hard as rock. Guess which kind I prefer? The difference gets to the very heart of the religion and has been debated with great passion over the centuries in seminaries and synagogues around the world — or so I am told. All you need to know is that you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy this tasty treat and you don’t have to wait until Passover if you are. All the ingredients are regularly available in supermarkets throughout the year. Most important is that this is an ideal GreatGrub recipe because there is plenty of room for improvisation and variation.

Ready

• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 ½ cups matzo farfel (broken up chunks of mazto)
• a few splashes of water
• 1 ½ cups sour cream
• 2 cups cream cheese (yes it’s a lot, but it is yummy)
• ⅓ cup butter (room temp.)
• ¾ cup raisins
• ½ cup fruit preserves (I love apricot)
• Topping
• ½ cup walnuts
• a few healthy pinches of sugar
• a few healthy shakes of cinnamon

Set

• medium bowl
• large bowl
• small bowl
• egg beater
• sieve or colander
• medium sized brownie pan or Pyrex dish

Go

1. Preset your oven to 350°F.
2. Beat the eggs into the large bowl. Slowly beat in the sugar.
3. In the medium bowl mix you matzo farfel with enough water to make it good and wet. Pour into a sieve and squeeze out excess water.
4. Throw the moist matzo meal and the remaining ingredients into the egg mixture and mix with a spoon. Pour the mixture into a the brownie pan.
5. In a food processor chop your nuts and mix in a few healthy pinches of sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this topping over the kugel mixture
6. Bake at 350°F until done. This can take from 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes depending on how wet the matzo meal was going in. The top should be firm to the touch and a fork should come out with nothing sticking.

What you should know

Unless you are on a diet, it’s hard to go wrong with this recipe. You can use any kind of fruit preserves that you please. I for one like peach but I couldn’t tell you why. If you use a little more or a little less cottage cheese, or sour cream or butter it’s till going to work. You can use low fat, full fat – anything but no-fat and it’s going to work. If you don’t like walnuts for your topping, then try peanuts or pecans. Don’t like it too sweet – use less sugar. It’s all good. It’s hard to overcook and you will know if you under cook. You can make it the day before and serve cold, warmed or reheated. It all works. Enjoy!