Arts Life Food LOTS Of Latkes A new anthology of Jewish recipes features dishes from around the world. dine in every Wednesday with the New York Times. "Dining In" is the weekly section that accom- panies the paper every Wednesday morning, which contains restaurant reviews, food trends and recipes. So, I was pleasantly surprised one week to read about the recently published New York Times Jewish Cookbook (St. Martin's Press, $35). This comprehensive cookbook (614 pages to be exact and more than 825 recipes) is edited by Linda Amster, a manager of news research at the New York Times. In the preface, Amster writes about the food of her youth — chicken soup, pot roast, stuffed cab- I bage and sponge cake. She also men- tions the unexpected rewards — dis- covering dishes from the Middle East she never encountered before and per- haps finding the first Chanukah latke recipe made with lentils centuries before the potato was introduced in Europe. Mimi Sheraton, a food expert and former food critic for the New York Times, wrote the introduction. She becomes philosophical when asking the question, "What is Jewish food?" According to Sheraton, "The Jewish kitchen developed naturally over cen- turies, as home cooks migrated with their native dishes, fiised them with l die Aq ork TAtites EWI S H COOK B A , A MSTER strange local products and food cus- toms and with recipes of their new Jewish neighbors from other coun- tries." She goes on to note the one constant — kosher laws or kashrut. Sheraton expounds on the blending of cultures and religion over the centuries with the traditional defining dishes and the infusion of contemporary Jewish cuisine. The preface and the introduction are as delectable as the recipes. Since it's Chanukah, here are some interesting latke dishes featured in The New York Times Jewish Cookbook. —Carla Schwartz, local columnist 41%;MM $ AMI.S,,Mkg >, nft:3",q,tt 4 07 EL ‘A. 1 CURRIED SWEET-POTATO LATKES Adapted from the New Prospect Cafe, Brooklyn, in Jewish Cooking in America. 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon brown sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon- cayenne pepper or to taste 2 teaspoons curry powder 1 teaspoon cumin Salt to taste Freshly ground pepper to taste 2 large eggs, beaten 1/2 cup milk, approximately peanut oil for frying 1. Grate the sweet potatoes coarse- ly. In a separate bowl mix the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cayenne pepper, curry powder, cumin, salt and pepper. 2. Add the eggs and just enough milk to dry ingredi- ents to make a stiff batter. Add the potatoes and mix. The batter should be moist but not runny; if too stiff, add more milk. 3. Heat 1/4 inch of peanut oil in saute pan until it is barely smoking. Drop in the batter by tablespoons and flatten. Cook sev- eral minutes on each side until gold- en. Drain on paper towels and serve. Yield: 16 (3-inch) pancakes Joan Nathan ALAYNE ZATULKOV'S GIANT VEGETABLE LATKE 1 pound Idaho potatoes, scrubbed but unpeeled and shredded 1/2 pound carrots, scraped and shredded 1 cup shredded onion 3/4 cup finely shredded celery root 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and coarsely shredded 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1/2 cup finely minced parsley 1/4 cup flour 1 teaspoon dried thyme Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1/2 cup cooking oil 1. Combine shredded potatoes, carrot, onion, celery root and apple in a bowl. Stir in eggs, parsley, flour and thyme. Season with salt and pep- per. 2. Heat half the oil until very hot in a heavy 10-inch skillet. Spread vegetable mixture into the skillet in an even layer, covering the entire sur- face 3. Fry vegetable mixture undis- turbed until edges begin to show color, 5-8 minutes. If it sticks to the pan, gently release it with a thin spat- ula. 4. When underside is golden, slide the pancake into a large plate. Invert another plate over it and flip it over. Add remaining oil to the skillet and when it is hot, slide the pancake back into the skillet to brown the other side. Fry until crisp. NOTE: This pancake can be served with 12 ounces fresh mush- rooms, sliced and sauteed, spooned on top. Yield: 8 Servings APPLE LATKES Adapted from Ada Shoshan, in The Jewish Holiday Kitchen. 2 eggs, well beaten 1 1/2 cups orange juice,•yogurt or milk 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Dash of salt 1/4 cup sugar if using juice, 1/2 cup if using yogurt or milk 3 medium-size apples peeled, cored and grated Vegetable oil for frying - 1. Mix eggs with orange juice, yogurt or milk in a bowl. 2. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add dry ingredients to the egg mix- ture along with grated apples. Heat a thin layer of oil in a skillet. Allowing 1 large tablespoon of batter per latke, or pancake, drop batter into the hot oil. Cook about 2 minutes on each side or until slightly golden. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with con- fectioners' sugar and serve. Yield: About 36 Latkes — Joan Nathan — Florence Fabricant j.N 12/12 2003 99