Health & Fitness
FOOD
Chanukah Oriental
With a bow to the Iatke, some Sephardi tastes for the Festival of Lights.
F
ood symbolizes the miracle of
Chanukah. The holiday begins
at sundown Friday, Dec. 11.
Though potatoes weren't introduced to
Europe until the late 1500s, well after
Jewish expulsion from Spain in 1492, no
Chanukah story is complete without the
lathe. For the other recipes below, I go
back to my Sephardi heritage.
LATKES
Dress these up by substituting part of the
onions with minced scallions and adding
some crumbled feta cheese to the batter.
2 pounds Idaho or russet potatoes,
peeled or not
1 cup chopped onions
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. flour (more if needed)
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying
Coarsely grate potatoes by hand or in the
food processor and let sit until they turn red-
dish-brown, about 30 minutes. Drain pota-
toes in a colander and rinse well with cold
water until potatoes are white again.
If strands of potato are too long (as some-
times happens with a food processor), chop
them slightly. Combine potatoes, onions,
eggs, flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix
and let stand for 10 minutes before frying.
In a large skillet, heat 1/8-inch of oil until
very hot. Stir the potato mixture. Make a test
pancake by dropping a heaping tablespoon
of the potato mixture into the skillet. Using
a spoon or spatula, form the mixture into a
circle shape. Cook 3 minutes or so on each
side until golden.
Drain well on paper towels. Adjust salt
and pepper to taste and make the remaining
latkes. If needing more oil, add to empty skil-
let (never pour new oil onto cooking latkes
— it makes them greasy). Stir the batter
once or twice each time before adding to
skillet. Makes 8 servings.
BIMUELOS
Vegetable oil for frying
Batter:
1 /2 cup warm (105 to 115F) water
1 packet (about 2 tsp.) active dry
yeast
1 tsp. sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
1 /4 tsp. salt
Another cup warm water
1 large egg
Syrup:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey
"3 cup cold water
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Prepare the batter. Combine water, yeast and
sugar in a large bowl. Allow the mixture to sit
until it becomes foamy, about 5 minutes. Add
the remaining batter ingredients and, using
an electric mixer, beat until uniform. Cover
the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel
and let rise for 1 hour.
While batter rises, prepare honey syrup.
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and
slowly bring to a boil over medium-high
heat. Cook until sugar dissolves. Remove
from heat and cool.
Line a baking sheet with several layers of
paper towel.
Heat about 2 inches of oil in a large
saucepan over high-heat to 375E Dip two
teaspoons into the oil. Use one spoon to
scoop up a small amount of batter. Use the
other spoon to form the batter into a ball
while dropping it into the oil (do not crowd
the pan). The fritters will puff and rise to the
surface of the oil.
Cook for 1-2 minutes, turning them in the
oil to cook all around. Transfer the bimuelos
to drain quickly on the prepared baking
sheet. Place in a bowl and drizzle the syrup
over. Serve hot or warm. Makes 8 servings.
GREEK FRIED FISH
WITH VINEGAR
(PSARI SAVORI)
1 egg, well beaten with 3 Tbsp. water
in a shallow bowl
3 A cup flour
1 1/2 pounds sole (or any white fish)
fillets (cut into 6 portion sizes if nec-
essary)
Olive oil for frying
% cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary
2 tsp. fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp.
dried)
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh chopped parsley, garnish
Line a baking sheet with several layers of
paper towel. Set aside. Preheat oven to 200E
Place flour in a large shallow bowl, next to
the egg bowl.
Heat 1/4 - inch of olive oil in a large skillet
over medium-high heat until hot. Dip the
fish in the eggs, then dredge in flour. Fry fish
(as they fit in the skillet) on both sides until
golden. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet
as you finish frying.
To the skillet, add the vinegar, garlic, bay
leaves, rosemary and oregano, scraping up
any "bite stuck to the skillet. Bring mixture
to a boil and cook for 2 minutes more.
Place the fish on a serving dish and serve
with sauce drizzled over. Garnish with pars-
ley. Makes 6 servings.
CHEESE BOUREGS
Call these bourekas, triopita or bouregs.
These are triangles, but you can make
these into "cigars" or little eggrolls.
1 pound frozen phyllo or filo
dough, thawed
1 /2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup olive oil
Filling:
3 cups shredded Brick (or other
white cheese)
1 cup crumbled Bulgarian feta
cheese
% cup fresh grated Parmesan
cheese
1 /4 cup finely chopped parsley
2 large eggs, beaten
Melt butter and oil together in a small
saucepan over medium heat.
Unroll the phyllo dough on a clean
surface and cover with plastic wrap
(otherwise the dough will dry).
Working quickly, place one sheet of
phyllo on your work surface (keep the
rest covered). Using a pastry brush,
brush with oil/butter. Place a second
sheet over and brush again. Place a third
sheet on top and brush again.
Cut the layers into three long strips.
Place a tablespoon of filling close to
one end of each strip.
Fold dough over filling, forming a tri-
angle. Fold dough over again like fold-
ing a flag. Fold under any extra dough.
Repeat with all the dough and filling
(you may run out of dough or filling).
Freeze at this point. To cook immedi-
ately, preheat oven to 350F. or arrange
on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes
or until golden. Makes about 2 dozen
triangles.
MARINATED FETA WITH
OLIVES AND HERBS
12 oz. Feta cheese, cut into 1/2 - inch
cubes
% cup good quality dry cured
olives, or other olives
3 /4 cup olive oil
2 tsp. fresh minced garlic
1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
1 /2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
% tsp. whole cumin seeds
Place Feta in a bowl. Combine remain-
ing ingredients and whisk well. Pour
mixture over cheese and toss well. Cover
and chill overnight (may be made two
days ahead). Before serving, toss again.
Makes 8 servings.
iN
December 3 • 2009
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