Potato Kugel

 

Kugel is a Jewish dish that is quite popular at Passover. It caught my eye because it is basically a casserole  comprised of shredded potatoes and onions....two of my very favorite ingredients. It's fantastic for a crowd because you can make it ahead of time...so you don't end up frying hash browns and grilling a steak at the same time. My OCD prefers to concentrate on a single task at a time.

I have modified this recipe to suit my own preferences. The traditional recipe will have you shredding and squeezing the moisture out of your potatoes and onions. I'm not interested in making this from scratch. I'm interested in getting all of the flavors of this dish as fast as possible and with as little work as possible. If you are a purist, google Kugel and have at it.

A bag of Simply Potatoes shredded hash browns will eliminate, at the very least, an hour of work. Well, actually 3 bags...because you need 3 pounds of shredded potatoes for this recipe. With 3 bags, you'll have ready-to-cook spuds plus 12 ounces left over for another occasion. All that's left to do is slice some onions, combine the ingredients and cook.

I used a short cut for the onions as well. I used a mandoline to create thin slices of onion and then used a knife on the slices to make the onions the same size as the shredded hash browns. After that,. it's basically mix everything in a bowl and then spread it out on a pre-heated , 9-inch X 13-inch casserole dish. And in just 55 minutes, your golden brown Kugel will be ready for serving!

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup of potato starch or corn starch

3 bags of Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns, 12-ounces reserved for another use 

1-1/2 yellow onions, sliced on a mandoline and chopped to same size as hash browns

1/2 cup chopped chives, divided

2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil 

DIRECTION

1. Preheat the oven to 400º F, using the convection bake setting if you have it. Place a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish into the oven to heat up. 
2. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, salt, garlic, pepper and potato starch. Whisk to blend well, then add the potatoes, onion and half the chives. 
3. Pull the hot baking dish out of the oven and add the oil. Spread it so it coats the entire bottom. Now add the potato mixture and spread it evenly in the pan. Bake this in the oven for 55 minutes (use convection bake if you have it).  Remove dish from oven, top with remaining chives and serve.