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½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Nonstick cooking spray

BOIL A pot of water and cook the noodles according to the package directions. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, place thawed spinach in a colander and leave it in the sink to drain.

If making your own matzo meal, place the matzos in the food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse until they are crumbs. Transfer to a medium-size mixing bowl.

Add the vegetable broth, oil, and tofu to the food processor and puree until smooth, scraping down the sides to make sure you get everything. Add the tofu mixture to the mixing bowl.

Press the spinach in the colander to get out as much water as you can, then add it to the mixing bowl. By this time, your pasta should be done, so drain it and run it under cold water.

Add the pasta along with the remaining ingredients (except, of course, for the cooking spray—cans don’t taste good) to the mixing bowl and mix very well. Use your hands if you have to.

Coat a 9 × 13-inch glass casserole dish with cooking spray. Press the kugel into the casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.

SOUTHWESTERN CORN PUDDING

SERVES 6

TIME: 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES

This insanely flavorful, velvety side dish is the perfect accompaniment to any Southwestern meal—that is, whatever else you’re making with cilantro and scallions and jalapeños and stuff in it. Or, serve with Green Pumpkin-Seed Mole (page 210) and Chile Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu (page 125).

2 tablespoons corn oil

4 cups fresh corn (about 6 ears)

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped finely

2 jalapeños, chopped finely

1 cup coconut milk

¼ cup cornstarch

½ cup cornmeal

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 cup finely chopped scallions

¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne

PREHEAT THE oven to 350°F and lightly grease an 8-inch square baking or casserole dish. A cast-iron pan would work here, too (in fact, to cut down on dishes, you can sauté the corn in a cast-iron pan and later use it to bake the batter).

Sauté the corn, bell pepper, and jalapeños in a large skillet for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally; the corn should be very lightly browned. Meanwhile, stir together the cornstarch and coconut milk until the cornstarch has mostly dissolved.

When the corn and peppers are ready, transfer 2 cups of them to a blender or food processor. Add the coconut milk and cornstarch mixture, and pulse about twenty times, until the mixture is mostly pureed but not completely smooth.

Transfer to a large mixing bowl and mix with the remaining corn, cornmeal, maple syrup, scallions, cilantro, salt, and cayenne.

Pour the batter into a baking dish (or your cast-iron pan) and bake for 40 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

CARAMELIZED ONION-BUTTERNUT ROAST WITH CHESTNUTS

Serves 6 to 8

TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes

Holidays a pain in the butt? Just imagine perfectly roasted chestnuts in a rich, savory medley of tender butternut squash, white beans, and caramelized onions in this stuffinglike casserole—little bit like the best parts of a holiday meal all rolled up into one. It’s only natural to want to serve this with simply roasted Brussels sprouts (page 31) and Holiday Cranberry Sauce (213). Enjoy this special casserole in those early fall months when the holidays seem so far away and all you crave are the fixins’ of Thanksgiving dinner.

P.S. We’ll admit that peeling a pound of chestnuts could have you longing for a drive around the mall parking lot. So if you’d rather not channel all your jolly, festive anxiety into peeling these little bastards, you can also grab prepeeled or even jarred chestnuts for this recipe.

➣This dish is best made with fresh chestnuts when they are in prime season, between October and January. After that, the freshness of most nuts in stores is often dubious; all too often we’ve purchased a pound and found out after peeling them that many a chestnut to be nasty, moldy, and shriveled.