Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1860) of Bohemian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler who was born in the German speaking region of Bohemia when it was part of the Austrian empire.  His family were Ashkenazi Jews of decidedly humble origins (his grandmother was a street peddler).  His father raised the family’s status through acquiring various businesses and was able to give Gustav a decent education.  But his school reports always lamented his poor attention to his studies.  From an early age all he cared about was music and, not unlike Mozart, played concerts at an early age.  He grew to be an extraordinarily exacting composer and conductor. His notes on all his music are sometimes precious:

“In this passage the trombones, violins and violas should play only if necessary to keep the chorus from going flat.”

Here is a recipe for a famed Bohemian/Ashkenazi dish – sweet noodle kugel.

Ingredients

    1 cup raisins (or substitute any chopped fruit you desire)

    12 ounces wide egg noodles

    6 large eggs

    2 cups sour cream

    1 cup cottage cheese

    I cup cream cheese, softened  

    1 cup sugar

    ¼  cup unsalted butter, melted

    ¼  teaspoon salt

     cinnamon and sugar for dusting

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

Place the raisins in a bowl and cover with warm water to plump.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the noodles.  Cook until just tender (5 to 7 minutes).  Drain and return to the pot.

Place the eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, sugar, melted butter and salt into a food processor or blended and process until smooth. Pour the mixture over the noodles and stir well to combine. Drain and add the raisins and give another good stir.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole and pour in the noodle mixture.  Sprinkle the top with sugar and cinnamon to taste.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 60 minutes, turning now and again to make the cooking is even.  The top of the noodles should be turning golden. (There are other toppings which I will save for another day.

Remove the casserole from the oven and let it cool for about 20 minutes. The kugel can then be cut into slices and served either hot or cold.