December 21, 2006
FROM THE ARCHIVES: WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF THE GOLDFISH YOU WIN AT PURIM CARNIVALS...:
Lots of latkes to suit all tastes: A variety of ingredients including potatoes and beyond all say Happy Hanukkah (PHYLLIS GLAZER, December 21, 2005, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
It's cute. It's small. It's crispy. And it's much more than yesterday's mashed potatoes.That's the latke, the quintessential Hanukkah food. But wait -- what exactly is a latke and how did it earn its honored place in Hanukkah's culinary tradition? The first clue lies in the Hanukkah story itself.
The origins of Hanukkah date back to 165 B.C. in ancient Israel, when an small but intrepid band of warriors, called the Maccabees, managed to quash the three-year reign of King Antiochus, the Syrian Greek king whose army had pillaged the country and defiled the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
When the Maccabees sought to rekindle the Menorah at the temple's entrance, they found only enough consecrated olive oil to burn for a day. And then, according to legend, a miracle happened: Instead of burning for one day, the oil lasted for eight, just enough time for freshly pressed oil to reach Jerusalem.
The original Hanukkah was an eight-day celebration of the fall holiday of Sukkot, which the Maccabees had missed because the temple was defiled. From then on, they instituted a winter holiday, celebrated with great torches, to commemorate the rededication of the temple, and encouraged their brethren around the country and as far away as Egypt to make it an annual celebration. [...]
These are the beloved basic potato latkes my family grew up with. Serve with applesauce or sour cream.
CLASSIC POTATO LATKESMAKES 12-14 LATKES,
SERVES 4-6
# 1 pound potatoes, peeled
# 1 large onion ( 1/2 pound), sliced in half crosswise
# 2 large eggs, beaten
# 1 teaspoon salt
# 1/4 teaspoon pepper
# 1/2 cup matzo meal
# 1/4 cup vegetable oilGrate the potatoes on the medium or fine side of a grater and place in a fine wire-mesh strainer placed over a bowl. Grate the onion on the medium side of a grater and transfer to a separate strainer. Let both stand 10 minutes to drain liquids. Press down gently to extract as much moisture as possible.
Transfer the potatoes to a bowl, add the grated onion, beaten eggs, salt and pepper, and mix well. Fold in matzo meal. Let stand for 10 minutes, while heating oil in a medium skillet.
Scoop up one heaping tablespoon of the mixture and place in the hot oil. Press down gently with the back of a spoon to flatten. Repeat to form 4-5 latkes, depending on size of pan, leaving space between them to facilitate turning.
Cook on medium heat until golden, turn over with a spatula (or use 2 -- one from each side for leverage) and cook the other side. Remove and place on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Repeat to use all potato-matzo mixture. Serve warm.
...the highlight of all the Jewish holidays.
(Originally posted: 12/21/06)
Posted by Orrin Judd at December 21, 2006 7:26 AM"..while heating oil in a medium skillet."
"...and place in the hot oil.
"...and place on paper towels to absorb excess oil. "
Yup, it has all three elements of an OJ favorite food.
Posted by: Bruce Cleaver at December 21, 2005 7:33 AMI got hooked on latkes growing up in the big apple. Unfortunately there are no restaurants nearby that serve them, and I since I retired from cooking about ten years ago, making them myself is out.
One thing always puzzled me about latkes. How did the potato which originated in Peru (Origins of the Potato) come to be the highlight of the Jewish holidays?
Posted by: erp at December 21, 2005 8:48 AMI share erp's curiosity about the potato/Jewish connection. I was able to find this:
"Chanukah tradition dictates that foods be cooked in oil, to symbolize the one-day supply of oil that burned for a miraculous eight days in the rededicated Temple. Italian Jews cooked fried chicken on Chanukah and Iraqi Jews zalabia, or fried dough.
Potato pancakes, being cheap and easy and delicious, fit into the concept, and became a staple of Ashkenizic tradition. As for the latke, Yiddish for “potato pancake,” it is common in Eastern European and Germanic cuisine, a Christmas staple served with goose at Ukrainian tables where Jews no doubt adapted the tradition to their own needs. Potatoes didn’t arrive in Europe from their native Peru until the 1500s, so for more than a millennia we managed to keep the holiday alive without them. According to cookbook writer Joan Nathan, before latkes, fried buckwheat cakes were the European Chanukah staple."
http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/searchview.php?id=13317
I am not sure if it is properly allowed, but I am going to try these cooked in duck fat which is delicious when used for frying.
Posted by: Rick T. at December 21, 2005 9:48 AMIt sure beats what you get to eat during Passover.
Posted by: John at December 21, 2005 10:01 AMOh, gosh. Don't get us started on the Inca-Israelite connection.
To make a long story short, some scholars believe that "Inca" is a garbled version of one of the ten lost tribes, Issachar, who got really, really lost. (Those guys apparently couldn't find their way around the block for either love or money, which is probably why the rabbis of yore described them as a very studious group, supported by the neighboring, seafaring tribe of Naftali.)
Actually, just Google
Posted by: Barry Meislin at December 21, 2005 10:22 AMActually just Google "Van Daniken" + Latkes
Posted by: Barry Meislin at December 21, 2005 10:23 AMAt UChicago there's a famous debate every year: latkes vs hamentashen.
I believe the real debate ought to be sour cream or apple sauce with one's latkes, since there's no question that lakes beat hamentashen hands down.
(Of course, the latke itself is just a vehicle for shoveling as much sour cream as possible into one's mouth).
As an aside, when I was a pledge in a Jewish frat in college I made latkes for 70 for a seder. Not a pleasant experience grating that many potatoes and getting the water out of them.
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at December 21, 2005 12:52 PMJim:
For a number of years I was drafted to fry the Christmas Eve potato pancakes for my wife's Italian/Polish/Irish relatives in Elmwood Park. My glasses would be so covered with oil that I could barely see. My skin was great for a few days, though. As a white-bread heathen from Indiana, I just ate mine straight, without either. Most went with applesauce, IIRC.
Wonder if OJ will do a Paczki Day posting, another ethnic fried food holiday?
Posted by: Rick T. at December 21, 2005 1:38 PMIt makes sense now. One of the really lost tribes found their way to Peru where they came upon the lowly potato and immediately realized its potential value. So far, so good, but what's puzzling now is, how did they get their great discovery from the high Andes to Mittel Europe? I'd guess there's a heck of a tale to tell here.
Call me non-traditional, but I like my latkes with sour cream and apple sauce.
Years ago when I was a kid, before we knew anything about cholesterol, my grandmother Ethel Kaufman used to make yummy latkes with solid Crisco, which was the Jewish equivalent of lard.
Posted by: Jim Siegel at December 21, 2005 8:41 PMJust discovered there's a new book out that's a best of the great latke-hamantash debate at UofC since its start on 1946.
I look forward to the BrothersJudd review.
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at December 21, 2005 9:22 PMIf you are going with Vegtable oil (a must if you want to top them with sour cream) use a good quality olive oil.
The classic fat was goose fat, then you can eat them with meat. The difference between goose and duck is that there is a lot more fat on a goose.
In Israel, they eat jelly donuts which they call sufganiyot.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at December 22, 2005 1:31 AM