Festival Of lilies

Just in time for Chanukah, author Steven Raichlen
reveals how to slash the fat in Jewish cooking.

BY ANNABEL COHEN

joke about latkes goes
something like this. There's
a rumor that during the
time of the Maccabees,
someone set fire to a latke by mistake
and it burned for eight days.
Anyone who's had a latke hot out
of the pan knows why this joke is
funny. Most also feel guilty every
time they finish off one or more of
these fried potato pancakes, dripping
with fresh, thick sour cream and tart
applesauce. Even though folks ratio-
nalize that it's a once a year thing,
they still wish there was a way to get
the texture and flavor of the real
thing without the 1/2-cup of oil in
which latkes are often fried.
Other fried foods distinguish this
holiday, including sufganiyot, those
deep-fried donuts dusted with sugar.
And in keeping with a holiday story
which features cheese, it's common to
serve foods filled with potatoes and
cheese — from blintzes to knishes.
Multiply this type of eating by
eight days, and just thinking about it
is enough to raise your blood pres-
sure.
With the myriad of cookbooks
touting lire this and healthy that, it
seems that there must be a way to
enjoy Chanukah foods without sacri-
ficing flavor and texture. Right? Of
course.
Steven Raichlen has made a career
of writing cookbooks that leave out
the bad stuff from fat-and calorie-
laden foods. The latest in his "High-
Flavor, Low-Fat" series is called

A

Healthy Jewish Cooking

(Viking, $29.95). This 150-
recipe book takes Jewish
cooking to a healthier level by
substituting less, shall we say,
dangerous ingredients and
cooking methods (like deep
frying) with happily delicious
results. His method of bake-
frying potato latkes takes the
fat content from 25 grams of
fat per serving down to a
more healthful 6 grams for
about 4-5 small pancakes.
Raichlen's cheese blintzes
use the same bake instead of
fry method of cooking, egg
whites instead of whole eggs
and low or no-fat cottage
cheese.
Then again, you may have
favorite recipes of your own
for the holiday which a little
tinkering will lighten. Here
are the top five ways to make
your own recipes lighter.
• Substitute lighter ingredi-
ents for the full far version —
non-fat cream cheese can
replace the full fat version
with little effect on the fin-
ished product.
• Add more flavorings when using
lighter ingredients
you'd be sur-
prised what a little extra vanilla or
grated citrus peel will do for your
recipes. They distract you from the
exclusion of fat. The same theory
holds true for savory dishes.
• Use egg whites instead of whole

book are traditional
Chanukah recipes with a
healthier twist. The one
Chanukah recipe you won't
find here is for that greasy
donut, sufganiyot. It seems no
one has been able to produce
a good sufganiyot without
deep frying. Oh well. You
can't win them all.

Cheese Blintzes

•••

Note: Low-fat cottage cheese
tends to be a bit watery, so
add some breadcrumbs to
absorb the excess liquid.

PANCAKES FOR BLINTZES
1 egg
1/4 cup egg substitute or 1
egg or 2 whites
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
3/4 to 1 cup water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1 tsp. canola oil
1 cup unbleached white all-
purpose flour
Spray oil

eggs.— think rwo whites to one
whole egg .
• Bake instead of fry
a brush of oil
or butter will impart flavor and make
Your foods fry (slower than the nor-
mal way) in the oven.
• Cut the portion size
half the
size, half the calories.
The following recipes from Raichlen ' s

One or more crepe or omelet
pans (7 inches in diameter)

1. Combine the crepe ingredients in a
blender and blend just to mix. (Run
the blender at medium speed in short
bursts.) If the batter looks too thick,
add a little more water.
2. Lightly spray the crepe pan(s) with