By Emily Moore, JTNews Correspondent
How many years have Jews from all over the globe created luscious Hanukkah treats, always accented with oil or fried to commemorate the Maccabean miracle of eight days of oil burning in the Temple? Not just during 21 decades — which might seem conceivable — but throughout more than 21 centuries! Our ancestors and grandparents have had a lot of time to perfect their thousands of contributions to the Hanukkah table and to pass them down to us.
Of course, even with the millennia of delicious Hanukkah choices, the traditional Hanukkah fare dearest to our hearts remains — what else — latkes! Since the hundreds of passed-down recipes for our fried favorite would easily fill a substantial cookbook shelf — and since so many of them are delectable and unusual — I thought I’d select and share just a few intriguing pancake recipes in hopes you’ll try a new version on the second, or eighth, night of the holiday.
Baked Carrot Latkes
from Joan Nathan (who reports this dish is even better the second day and freezes very well.)
Serves 6
6 medium carrots, peeled and quartered
6 eggs
1/2 to 1 cups matzoh meal
salt to taste
oil for frying
Sauce:
1/4 cups oil
2 green peppers, diced
16 oz. tomato sauce
2 Tbs. Sugar
Place half the carrots and 3 of the eggs in the bowl of a food processor and grate till medium fine (like grating potatoes for latkes in the food processor). Repeat with the remaining carrots and eggs. Add matzoh meal and salt to taste until the batter can be formed into patties for frying.
Heat a thin film of oil in a heavy skillet. Add a heaping tablespoon of batter and fry till golden on both sides. Continue with the rest of the batter, draining on paper towels. Layer the pancakes in a large baking dish.
To make the sauce, sauté the peppers in the oil till just soft. Drain well and mix with the tomato sauce, the sugar and 1/4 cup of water. Add salt to taste. Pour the sauce over the pancakes and bake, uncovered, in a 325º oven for 30 minutes.
• • •
Here are a couple of recipes that invite you to make the latkes out of apples instead of serving applesauce with the latkes!
Light Brandied Apple Latkes
To make these as a non-alcoholic treat, soak the apples in apple or pear cider or pineapple juice or coconut milk instead of the liqueur. They can be served with a cinnamon-sugar sprinkle, too.
Serves 4
4 tart or sweet apples
2 to 3 Tbs. sugar
3 Tbs. brandy, cognac or other liqueur
2 eggs, separated
2 Tbs. light vegetable oil
A good pinch of salt
1 cup flour
1 scant cup water or milk
Vegetable oil for frying
Superfine sugar for sprinkling
Peel and core the apples with an apple corer, leaving them whole. Cut each apple into 4 thick crosswise slices (cut across the core). Put them in a shallow dish with the liqueur and sugar and turn them to coat with the spirit. Let them absorb the liqueur for at least an hour, turning occasionally.
Meanwhile, make the batter: use an electric mixer if you have one but avoid using a food processor — it might make the batter tough. Beat the egg yolks with the oil and salt till well blended, then whisk in the flour, mixing well. Gradually beat in the water or milk, stirring vigorously to avoid lumps. Let sit for an hour, then beat the egg whites stiff and fold them in.
To fry the latkes, heat 3/4 inch of light oil in a large frying pan — it is hot enough when a cube of bread fries to a golden brown in about 1 min. Dip about five apple slices at a time into the batter and carefully lift them out, making sure that each slice is well-covered in batter. Lower the battered apples into the hot oil, being sure not to crowd them as they cook.
Fry till golden brown on one side, then flip over and finish on the other side. If the oil is too hot the batter will brown before the apple inside is cooked through.
Drain the latkes on paper towels and serve right away, passing the sugar to sprinkle on top.
Grated Apple Latkes
Serves 6
2 eggs, well-beaten
1-1/2 cups orange juice, yogurt or milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Dash salt
1/4 to 1/2 cups sugar (to taste)
3 medium apples, peeled, coarsely grated
Light vegetable oil for frying
Confectioner’s sugar to dust on
Beat the eggs with the orange juice, yogurt or milk. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture along with the apples.
Heat a thin layer of oil in a large frying pan. Drop tablespoons of batter into the oil to make the latkes and press down lightly with a spoon. Cook about two minutes on each side or till golden, but not brown.
Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and serve immediately.
• • •
A Hanukkah custom broadly known around the world, but now much less celebrated, began in the Middle Ages. It involves cheese, a heroine, and the slaying of an evil villain. The story is about Judith, a widow whose Judean city, Bethulia, was besieged by the Assyrians. The Assyrian general, Holofernes, reportedly was in love with Judith and wanted badly to compromise her.
She agreed to an evening meeting with him, but with a plan. During their “tryst,” she fed him lots of salty cheese, made him very thirsty, then fed him lots of wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep she slit his throat, liberating herself and her fellow Judeans. It is said that the tradition of eating pancakes at Hanukkah actually started with the serving of cheese “cakes” to commemorate Judith’s ability to battle evil with cheese! Hanukkah latkes later came to be traditionally made from potatoes, but I think that preserving both traditions is a worthy (and delicious) endeavor.
This is a very simple and easy “fried” cheesecake. It is made as one cake, cut into wedges and served with fruits cooked in syrup, with applesauce and sour cream, jam, cinnamon and sugar, or a combination of any of these.
Sweet Ricotta Pancake
from Claudia Roden Serves 8
1 lb. ricotta cheese
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
2 Tbs. oil
Preheat the broiler unit in your stove. In a food processor, blend the sugar and ricotta, then add the eggs and blend well. Heat the oil in a large, nonstick frying pan and pour in the cheese mixture. Cook on very low heat till the bottom has set firmly. Place under the broiler and cook the top until it’s firm and browned — watch carefully to make sure the cake doesn’t burn. It should be firm inside but still creamy and soft to the touch. Slip onto a serving plate and serve hot or cold.
• • •
Fried noodles are a worldwide favorite and this noodle “latke” satisfies the oil requirement of Hanukkah while fulfilling the comfort food quotient of everyone in the family. I must admit, I’m a fool for creamy noodles with a crispy crust.
Serve these pudding/pancakes with warmed spiced fruit and sour cream or ricotta, or sprinkle with nuts and cinnamon. Or, add raisins to the noodles before frying and serve with braised beef or chicken — or with duck or goose, a very traditional dish for Hanukkah among Eastern European Jews during the 19th century.
Roumanian Fried Noodle Pancake
Serves 4
1/2 lb. fine egg noodles
2 Tbs. parve margarine (butter for dairy meal)
1 large onion
6 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
Nutmeg (optional)
Cook the noodles in boiling water till just tender, then drain. Transfer to a bowl and blend in the margarine or butter. Sauté the onion in 2 Tbs. oil until golden and add to the noodles along with the eggs. Mix well and add salt and pepper (and nutmeg, if you like).
Heat the remaining 4 Tbs. of oil in a large, heavy frying pan. Pour in the noodle mixture and let cook over medium heat until the bottom and sides are golden brown; be careful that the noodles don’t burn over too high a heat.
When browned on one side, place a large plate over the pan. Turn the pancake over onto the plate and then slide it back into the pan to brown on the other side.
Cut into wedges to serve. Enjoy!
• • •
Every year it’s good to add a new tradition to our own beloved Hanukkah rituals. This year, an old Russian Jewish custom has caught my heart: it combines light, warmth, brandy, camaraderie and…tea! Each person puts a cube of sugar into a spoon, douses it with brandy, lights it off like a Hanukkah candle and drops it into their tea while wishing the other tea-drinkers a happy, joyous Hanukkah.
I hope for much light, peace and joy — and many, many latkes for you and your families this Hanukkah season.