Recipe in Spotlight - Apple Kugel

Editor's note: This post is part of a series highlighting Passover recipes used by members of the White House staff.

This recipe has been in my family for at least five generations. Esther Jacob, my grandmother, brought it with her when she arrived in Ellis Island from  Alba Iulia, Romania in 1932. She made her home and life in the Bronx, New York, and every year her family eats this kugel at our seder. Over the years, the size of the family and the seders have grown, but we take time to tell the stories of how our grandparents and great-grandparents made the difficult choice and hard journey to America in search of the very freedom that we celebrate on Passover.  

Esther Jacob’s Apple Kugel

• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• Cinnamon to taste
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups matzah farfel
• 6 large apples-peeled & diced
• ¼ lb. pareve margarine melted

1. Beat eggs till light & fluffy. Add sugar & beat the mixture.
2. Add melted margarine & beat some more.
3. Add Cinnamon & vanilla.
4. Pour boiling water over farfel & drain.
5. Add farfel & apples to mixture. Mix well
6. Pour into 9x13 greased pan. Bake 1 hr. at 350 F.

Kenneth Baer is Senior Advisor and Associate Director for Communications and Strategic Planning at the Office of Management and Budget