Just in time for the start of Passover, here is a recipe recently shared with me that will add a little pizzaz to your Seder table, and will have you hunting for leftovers as soon as your holiday company has gone home.

A kugel is quite the versatile dish. It is traditionally a baked casserole, either savory or sweet, often made with noodles or potato. This version adds a wrinkle by using matzah, the unleavened bread of the Passover holiday, as the core ingredient.

The wonderful mix of lemon, apples, brown sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon elevates this dish to either accompany a holiday dinner or as a stand alone dessert with either whipped cream or ice cream.

I used a mix of apples (Granny Smith and Fuji) and added dried cranberries for some tartness and chewiness. Mixing all of this together with the soaked matzah sheets forms the base of the kugel.

The special cap of this dish is the streusel topping, a mix of chopped pecans, almond flour, and brown sugar, which becomes a toasty brown topper for the soft center of the kugel.

Since I’ve been taking Culinary classes, I’ve gotten the itch to try new things. Celebrate the Passover holiday or just the arrival of the weekend by treating yourself to a new recipe that’s a little out of the box from your usual efforts. Have fun experimenting!

Apple Matzah Kugel

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total: About 1:10 minutes

Ingredients: The Kugel

4 matzah sheets

3 large apples (Your choice of one or a mix of Fuji, Granny Smith, Pink Lady,…)

Juice of ½ lemon

3 eggs

⅓ cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted (options: vegan butter or margarine)

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ cup currants or raisins (optional)

¼ teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

Ingredients: Streusel Topping

½ cup pecans (chopped finely)

⅓ cup almond flour

3 tablespoons butter (cubed)

⅓ cup brown sugar

pinch of salt

The Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 x 8 inch or 12 x 6 inch baking dish.
Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small pan or the microwave. Cool and reserve.
Soak the matzah in a bowl of cold water. While the matzah soaks, peel, core, and dice the apples. Transfer them to a medium bowl and sprinkle the lemon juice over the apples. Reserve for later.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, melted butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, and ground ginger (if added).
Drain the matzah and squeeze out the extra liquid. Crumble the matzah into the egg mixture. Add the diced apples and currants (if added). Mix until everything is combined. Transfer the kugel mixture to the greased baking dish.
Add the streusel ingredients to a small bowl. Using your hands, rub the butter into the mixture until the streusel starts coming together and forms pea-sized crumbs. Crumble the streusel over the top of the kugel.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown on top and bubbly underneath. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes prior to serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The kugel keeps for up to one week in the fridge, and can be reheated in the oven or the microwave.

NOTE: Adopted from a recipe by Sonya Sanford (thenosher.com). I tried this with gluten-free matzah and it came out well. I also substituted dried cranberries for the currants and decided to leave out the ginger.