While I like making this every year for Rosh Hashanah, it is also perfect to make for Sukkot and Thanksgiving, when cranberries are fresh and available. Apples and cranberries taste amazing together and give a sweet-tart contrast to the whole dish. Buy extra bags of fresh cranberries and store in the freezer so you can make this any time of year.
This recipe is excerpted from Celebrate: Food, Family, Shabbos by Elizabeth Kurtz.
Ingredients
12 oz. extra-wide noodles
4 Tbsp margarine, divided
2 Granny Smith apples, chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
3 Tbsp brown sugar
5 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup Tofutti sour cream
3/4 cup vanilla soy milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
Topping:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add noodles and cook about 7 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and mix with 2 Tbsp of the margarine in a medium bowl.
Melt the remaining 2 Tbsp margarine in a large skillet over medium-heat heat. Add apples and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until soft. Add cranberries and brown sugar; stir and cook about 4 minutes, until cranberries are cooked through but not popping open.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Combine eggs, sugar, sour cream, soy milk, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl; whisk until smooth. Add reserved noodles and apple-cranberry mixture; stir to mix. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
To prepare the topping: Combine flour, sugar, oats, oil, and cinnamon in a small bowl; mix well. Sprinkle over kugel. Bake about 1 hour, until set and cooked through. Best served warm.
Sukkot
Pronounced: sue-KOTE, or SOOH-kuss (oo as in book), Origin: Hebrew, a harvest festival in which Jews eat inside temporary huts, falls in the Jewish month of Tishrei, which usually coincides with September or October.