Michele Platman’s lokshen pudding
Lokshen pudding (or lokshen kugel) was made slightly differently by each of my grandmas. My Nana Katie’s ‘high teas’ were family legend. At Hanukkah, she’d cook latkes and fresh doughnuts while we all tucked into the savouries – calf’s foot jelly, chopped herring, chopped eggs with onions, chopped liver, pickled cucumbers, matzo crackers, rye bread, bagels and more. The whole table would be heaving! And, when all that had been cleared, there was apple strudel, the doughnuts and yeast or madeira cake. Lokshen pudding, a dish commonly made of noodles cooked in sweetened custard with spices and raisins, was often made for Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest), but also other gatherings and holidays. The ‘cook’s perks’ are the crispy bits at the edges.
SERVES 6 PREP 10 mins COOK 40 mins EASY V
200g unsalted butter, melted
500g pack broken vermicelli, or crush 500g vermicelli
100g golden caster sugar
60g sultanas
1 lemon, zested
1 orange, zested
2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp mixed spice
grating of nutmeg
cream and fruit compote, to serve (optional)
Heat the oven to 210C/190C fan/gas 6½. Brush 1 tbsp of the melted butter over the base of a 16 x 26cm ovenproof dish. Cook the vermicelli in a
