Zapechena Lokshyna (запечена локшина, noodle bake)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A deep 30 x 22cm baking dish
• •A wide frying pan for the bacon and onion
• •A large mixing bowl
• •A big pot for boiling noodles

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the dish

   Butter a deep 30 x 22cm baking dish and set the oven to 190C. Choose a dish with some height; the noodles need room to settle into the custard, not spread out into a dry mat.

2. 2

   Render the bacon

   Put the bacon into a wide pan over medium-low heat and let the fat come out slowly, stirring now and then, until the pieces are bronze at the edges and the pan smells smoky and sweet. Add the onion and 30g butter, then cook until the onion has softened and gone golden at the edges. You're not frying it hard. You're making the fat taste like breakfast.

   If your bacon is very lean, add a spoon of unrefined sunflower oil. Butter gives sweetness, but that green-gold oil is Ukraine in a bottle of oil and it won't sulk here.
3. 3

   Boil the noodles

   Cook the noodles in well-salted boiling water until they bend easily but still have a little bite in the center. Fresh lokshyna may need only a few minutes; dried noodles need longer. Drain well, but don't rinse them. The starch on the surface helps the custard hold on.

4. 4

   Mix the custard

   In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, smetana, milk, salt, and black pepper until smooth. Stir in the crumbled curd cheese, the brynza if you're using it, and most of the dill. It should look generously lumpy, not perfectly smooth. Those white pockets of cheese are the good bites.

5. 5

   Fold it together

   Add the warm drained noodles to the bowl, then scrape in the bacon, onion, and every spoonful of fat from the pan. Fold with a big spoon until the noodles are glossy and coated. Listen for it: first dry and scratchy, then softer as the custard catches. That is Aunt Nadia's "until it sounds right" becoming useful.

   This is the step that matters. Warm, firm noodles drink the custard in the oven; cold or overcooked noodles sit apart from it and the bake turns heavy.
6. 6

   Crumb the top

   Tip the noodle mixture into the buttered dish and press it down lightly, just enough to level the surface without packing it tight. Toss the breadcrumbs with the melted butter and scatter them over the top, especially into the corners, because the corners are why people behave badly at brunch.

7. 7

   Bake and rest

   Bake until the center no longer wobbles like liquid when you nudge the dish, the sides are browned, and the top is crisp and golden. Let it rest for at least ten minutes before cutting. The smell changes near the end: less egg, more toasted butter, bacon, and dairy. That's when you know the pan has come together.

8. 8

   Serve generously

   Cut into large squares and serve with more dill, cold smetana, and fermented cucumbers or cabbage alongside. It is rich food, so give it something sour at the table. Enough for eight guests or one hungry Ukrainian, depending on the morning.

Chef Tips

• •Use dry curd cheese or farmer's cheese, not wet cottage cheese in a puddle. If yours is damp, drain it in a sieve while you cook the bacon.
• •The noodles and custard forgive changes. Swap bacon for fried mushrooms if you don't eat pork; buckwheat and mushrooms have been feeding Ukrainian tables for centuries, so the tradition got there before your restriction did.
• •A sweeter lokshynnyk with curd cheese and raisins exists in many homes. This one is the Carpathian savory cousin, smoky, salty, and built for a cold breakfast.
• •Make the bake the night before if you like. Cover it and chill unbaked, then bake from cold until the center sets and the crumbs go golden.
• •Don't skip the sour thing on the side. Fermented cucumbers, pelustka, or a small bowl of sharp cabbage cuts through the dairy and bacon properly.

Advance Preparation

• •The whole dish can be assembled up to 24 hours ahead, covered, and chilled. Bake from cold and trust the center, not the clock.
• •Leftovers keep for 3 days in the fridge and reheat well in a covered dish, then uncovered at the end so the crumb wakes up again.
• •If making fresh lokshyna, cut and dry the noodles a few hours ahead on a floured towel so they don't clump in the pot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 360g)