(no subject)

[coraa]

This is to my gluten-free and my Jewish friends.

The boy and I are hoping to do a Passover Seder dinner with his mother. I would like to do a savory kugel. But, uh. Last time I did a kosher-for-Passover kugel, the noodles (not being regular noodles, of course) sort of... dissolved, resulting in a Passover cheese and goo brick. Which. Was edible, as it tasted mostly of cheese, but was not exactly... what I was going for.

Does anyone have advice on cooking kosher-for-Passover noodles such that they don't immediately turn into, well, a goo-and-cheese brick?

(The girl who was raised Presbyterian but who is the only cook in this particular family group would thank you!)

Comments

[porfinn.livejournal.com]

If you don't get a good answer, I'm sure my aunt- who does amazing things with food in her aluminum-wrapped kitchen-- would be happy to give advice. Passover at her place is kind of a pain, but the food rocks!

[paperclippy.livejournal.com]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but why are you making a noodle kugel for Passover? Why not a potato kugel, or some other dish? I have a recipe for a sweet potato, carrot, and parsnip kugel that I'm going to be trying out tonight; if it turns out well I'd be happy to share the recipe.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

That's what I was thinking. I've never made kugel, but doing a potato one might solve that problem. Unless potatoes have gluten?

[jmpava.livejournal.com]

Gluten itself is not the issue - the issue is that leavened wheat based products can't be used and so generally using gluten-free versions of things like noodles ensures that'd be ok. But for something that's not wheat based at all, it's not an issue.

Basically, it's just the kosher for passover issue, not actual gluten allergies to worry about in this case ;->

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Ah, gotcha. I had been thinking someone was allergic.

[jmpava.livejournal.com]

Good thing to confirm, that's for sure! ;->

[coraa.livejournal.com]

That is an excellent question! And the answer is, uh, ignorance. ;) His mom asked if I could make kugel last time because she particularly liked it, and the only kugels I'd ever had were noodle, so I didn't know there was such a thing as potato kugel. So yeah, I think I'll do that this year. Thank you!

[coraa.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the answer is... I'm ignorant. ;) I didn't know there was such a thing as potato kugel. I'll definitely do that, as it won't cause gooey brick-dom.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

I haven't looked at the other comments here...

but I'm afraid my answer to your question is, "You don't." You just don't. The kosher-for-Passover noodles are abominations before the Lord. If the Lord wanted us to eat noodles on Passover He would have let us take the time to cook the noodles before we left Egypt. Use potatoes. When gluten is an option, use matzo farfel, and make sure to have a dried-fruit side dish. But in the names of all of our ancestors who witnessed the Revelation at Sinai, please don't do the kosher-for-Passover noodle thing.

[coraa.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's basically what the others said. The reason I didn't think to use potatoes at first was simple ignorance: his mom asked me if I could make a kugel, and the only kugels I'd ever had were noodle-based, so I didn't know potatoes were an option. Now I do!

[artemis-lizzie.livejournal.com]

My mother, the good shiksa wife, the nice Irish-Catholic girl, has been making potato kugel at seders for years now. I am in an airport at the moment, but I can get you a recipe later, if you can`t find another one. Also, I`m not sure I even need to tell you this, but you really do need a cuisinart, because the potatoes are shredded (holy run-on sentence, Batman!). My mom is cooking at my grandparents` apartment this year and she`s using a grater. The poor woman. As if having to be at my grandparents` isn`t enough.

[janni.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've never found a way to keep those noodles from turning into anything but glue, and finally gave up on them.

I stumbled on this lovely recipe this week--it occurs to me that one could probably substitute a layer of mashed potatoes above and below for the matzo if one were avoiding gluten.

(Does spelt have the same issues as wheat for gluten? I have seen spelt matzos, on rare occasions, but don't know if that wsould help any or not.)