Recipe: Mushroom-Onion Kugel

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From: Nancy,.SanFran

Mushroom-Onion Kugel
Serving Size : 8

8 oz Medium or wide egg noodles
6 tb Clarified butter
2 lg Onions -- diced
2 lb Crimini mushrooms -- diced in large dice
Salt and pepper
2 Garlic cloves -- minced
1 3/4 ts Paprika -- (Hungarian paprika recommended)
3 lg Eggs -- beaten
1 1/2 c Small curd creamy cottage cheese
3/4 c Sour cream
1/4 c Snipped fresh dill -- OR
1 tb Dried dill
3/8 ts (or more) cayenne pepper or ground chipotle chili powder
Additional butter for the baking dish and the top of the kugel

Divide clarified butter in half. Saute the onions in half the butter using the following technique: Saute over very low heat, covered, for 20-30 minutes. The onions will caramelize if you cook them for a very long time over a very low flame. The onions will be done when they are limp, translucent, and golden brown.

Saute the mushrooms in the remaining butter, uncovered, over moderate heat. At the beginning of the cooking, the mushrooms will cook in the butter. However, shortly, the mushrooms will give off quite a bit of liquid. Keep cooking until all the liquid has evaporated. Add the minced garlic to the mushroom saute pan at this point. Cook 2-3 additional minutes beyond the point when the liquid evaporates.

Combine the onion-garlic-mushroom mixture and set aside.

Combine the paprika, eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, dill, salt and pepper, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Boil the noodles in salted water for about 4 minutes until they are tender, but firmer than usually desired. Drain the noodles. Butter a 2- 1/2 quart baking dish. Combine the cooked noodles, onion mixture, and cottage cheese mixture and pour into the baking dish. Dot the top of the kugel with additional butter. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.

NOTES: This kugel may be made one day in advance. If so, take the kugel out of the oven 15-30 minutes before cooking. Also, increase the cooking time by 15 minutes. For the first 15 minutes, the kugel should cook covered. Then, remove the cover, and continue cooking following the standard procedure described above.