Kugel (kʊɡl̩) (pronounced kuh-gull or koo-gull) is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish, often served on Shabbat and Yom Tov (I’m not Jewish and admit that I had to “DuckDuckGo’d-it.”). It’s been around for generations. Basically, a Kugel is a baked casserole, most commonly made with potatoes (and I am seeing some with noodles). BUT, we’re making ours with turnips and parsnips so we don’t get a big BUTT. That’s a joke. We’ll likely share a Kugel recipe with potatoes.
I call this recipe “Kinda-Like-A-Kugel” because I use turnip root instead of potatoes…I’m allergic to potatoes… every time I eat too many of them my belly swells up too big and the scale says that I’m heavier… there’s no cure!
Most of the recipes here on beerandiron.com have beer as an ingredient. Some will have ingredients that are less-than-popular…not “less-delicious,” just “less-popular.” You know, those fresh ingredients that the grocery store checker-outer-person has to ask the customer, “what was this again?” The food varieties you see in the produce section of any grocery store (in the USA) is only a tiny fraction of the varieties that are out there. We have “tomatoes” on our list and, when tomatoes are out of season, we are limited to the 4-5 varieties of tomatoes offered. Did you know that there are over 10,000 tomato cultivars in the world? WOW!
So, when I get a recipe that includes things like turnip roots and parsnips, I love to share those. Plus, deep down, I love teasing my grocery store lady when she asks, “what do they call these white carrots again?”
If you’re not Jewish, you’ll likely start thinking about how amazing this would be if you put a bunch of sausage in it. That’s what we were thinking while we were enjoying it. But, we kept it down-to-Earth and maintained the Kugel tradition.
Cast Iron Turnip, Parsnip, and Sweet Tater Kinda-Like-A-Kugel Recipe
Equipment
- 12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet
- Strainer or Colander
- Bowl to Place the Colander In
- Bowl to Mix Up the Ingredients
- Knife to Cut the Onions
- Cutting Board
- Spoon or Spatula to Mix Up the Ingredients
Ingredients
The Roots
- 4 Turnip Medium
- 5 Parsnips Medium
- 2 Sweet Potatoes Medium (or Yam)
- 2 Onions Medium
Dry Stuff
- ¼ Cup Flour
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Thyme Fresh; Finely Chopped. You will do fine with a teaspoon of dry
- 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt Separated Out From the Other 1 teaspoon
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt Separated Out From the Other 2 teaspoons
Wet Stuff
- 6 Eggs Large Eggs All beaten up
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil Or Another Oil As Preferred. And maybe just a tad more... we'll see...
Instructions
- Peel and grate (like with one of those cheese graters on the big side) all the veggies (turnips, parsnips, sweet taters (not the onions...yet)).
- Place all the grated vegetables in a bowl and toss in the TWO teaspoon of salt and mix all about. NOTE: Not all veggies are created the same. You will need to limit this to about 8 cups of the shredded three: Parsnips, Turnip Root, and Sweet Potato.
- Take this salted-and-grated mixture and place it in a colander over a bowl to catch the drainage from the weeping root veggies. The salt will “pull” some of the water out of the grated root vegetables kind of like making brine when you make sauerkraut.
- Crank that oven up to 425°F / 218°C to preheat.
- Put two or more tablespoons of olive oil in that 12 inch cast iron skillet and stick it in the oven to preheat. You wanted to get wicked hot!
- Finely chop up those two onions and get them ready.
- Finely chop the fresh thyme and get it ready too.
- Get your 1/4 cup of flour, the teaspoon of black pepper, and the other bit of salt and mix that together.
- Beat up those six eggs.
- Squeeze those salted root veggies and try to get as much of the liquid out as you can.
- Now mix everything together (including that other teaspoon of salt) and make sure it's all mixed up real good. This is your “mixture.”
- By now that 12 inch cast iron skillet is wicked hot and you may see a little smoke coming off of it when you pull it out of the oven. That's perfect.
- Pour over your “mixture” into the very hot cast iron skillet and smooth it out real good (that cast iron will be sizzlin' along the edges). Then brush the top with a little bit of oil (or a lot of oil) and then stick it in the oven.
- Turn the oven down to 375°F / 191°C. Let It bake for about an hour or until you stick a knife in it and it comes out kinda clean (like making a pie)
- It’ll be all cooked in about (TIME TO COOK HERE).
