Family friendly veggies

October 16, 2000
Web posted at: 10:01 a.m. EDT (1401 GMT)

By Faye Levy
Los Angeles Times Syndicate

(Los Angeles Times Syndicate) -- My sister-in-law, Nirit Levy, has a useful tip for getting kids to eat their vegetables. She turns greens and other good-for-you produce into kugels, the appetizing baked casseroles popular in Jewish cooking. As a mother of four, she knows that a kugel's golden brown, enticing crust appeals to children and, indeed, to the whole family.

Let's face it, when it comes to eating veggies, many adults need encouragement too.

Kugels come in many forms. The best-known kugels are made of noodles, sometimes accented with fried onions or with apples and cinnamon. Yet they are just the beginning of the kugel story.

There is another major category of kugels -- true vegetable kugels. They consist basically of three elements: a vegetable, seasonings and eggs. Of these, frequenters of Jewish delis are most familiar with potato kugel, made either of grated potatoes or cooked mashed potatoes.

Kugels are a great way to use any vegetable -- from asparagus to zucchini. You treat vegetables the same way that you would handle the spuds of potato kugel. Firm vegetables like carrots and zucchini are the most versatile. You can grate them and add them raw, or you can precook them.

For cooking all vegetables, use any technique you like: saute, steam, boil, bake or grill them. Next, mash, puree, chop or dice them. Either let each vegetable star on its own or combine it with others as a medley. To give the kugel body, add a small amount of bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, cooked rice or potato. Some people use matzo meal; these are the crumbs they keep in their pantry for making matzo balls.

Of course, you can combine a noodle kugel and a vegetable kugel, the two basic types. By mixing or layering the vegetable with the noodle mixture, you make the kugel more satisfying. It's more kid-friendly, too.

If you're trying to get your family to eat broccoli, you can hide it in a kugel. Sandwiched between two layers of creamy noodles, the small florets will hardly be noticeable. The same is true of cauliflower, yellow squash, peas, carrots and beans.

Kugels are easy to put together. They fit conveniently into busy schedules because they can be reheated. Or the mixture can wait in its casserole dish in the refrigerator, ready to bake.

To make kugels lighter, some people separate the eggs, whip the whites and fold them into the noodle or vegetable mixture instead of mixing in beaten whole eggs. For this reason, some menus describe kugels as souffles. However, kugels are generally more substantial than fluffy, French-style souffles.

Over the years, certain flavorings have become traditional for savory kugels. At the top of the list is onion, browned slowly until tender and sweetly caramelized. Sometimes garlic or mushrooms are sauteed with the onion for extra flavor. Also favored are cheeses, from soft cottage cheese and cream cheese to firm shredding cheeses like Swiss and Edam. Dill and parsley are the most used herbs, while paprika is the spice of choice in many kitchens.

Today's cooks have access to a greater range of seasonings. To enliven their vegetable kugels, they might use Israeli favorites like cumin, cayenne pepper, oregano or cilantro or even come up with fusion kugels by spicing them with ginger, curry paste or chili sauce. They might add sauteed eggplant, tomato and Parmesan cheese to a noodle kugel to create a sort of eggplant Parmigiana kugel. Another Italian dish, broccoli sauteed with garlic and hot pepper flakes, might be turned into a garlicky broccoli kugel.

There's no end to the possible kugel combinations. Try the flavors preferred in your household. Your family is sure to regard veggies in a more congenial light.

Creamy Broccoli-noodle Kugel

This kugel is enriched with sour cream and cottage cheese and accented with sauteed onions and garlic. If you desire, sprinkle the kugel lightly with grated Parmesan cheese before baking it. For a little more spice, add 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes along with the garlic. If your family likes milder tastes, omit the garlic and add 1 teaspoon dried dill to the cheese mixture.

To make the kugel low in fat, use low-fat or fat-free sour cream and cottage cheese. If time is short, remember that kugels bake faster in shallow dishes than in deep ones.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in skillet. Add onion and saute over medium heat, stirring, until beginning to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 teaspoon paprika.

Meanwhile, boil broccoli and noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until broccoli is crisp-tender and noodles are nearly tender but firmer than usual, about 4 minutes. Drain broccoli and noodles, rinse with cold water and drain well. Remove broccoli with tongs and chop coarsely. Add broccoli to skillet of onion, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

Transfer noodles to large bowl. Add sour cream and cottage cheese and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add eggs and mix well.

Add half of noodle mixture to lightly oiled 2-quart baking dish. Top with all of broccoli mixture, then with remaining noodle mixture. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, then with little paprika.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees until kugel is set and firm to touch, 25 minutes. Serve from baking dish.

Makes 6 side-dish servings.