(Food

Oh, Chanukah!

Latkes, Iatkes and a few other yummy things.

Annabel Cohen

Special to the Jewish News

L

atkes equal Chanukah. Not really,
but they are the classic go-to food
of the holiday, which begins at
sundown Dec. 1.
That's because Chanukah food is all
about the oil. There's the miracle of the
temple candelabrum and how the lamp's
oil — enough for one day — endured for
eight days, until purified olive was avail-
able for the rededication of the ancient
temple in Jerusalem.

Latke "Do" List:
Do use different vegetables in your lathes
— all starchy, root vegetables (potatoes
of every variety, carrots, etc.) work well as

do hard winter squashes or zucchini. You
may have to adjust the flour content to
attain the correct consistency. Think about
2 pounds of vegetables, 1 cup of onions
and 2 eggs as a starting point. Add sautéed
onions if you like instead of raw onions.
• Do make a test lathe — you want them
perfect! After all, your vegetables could be
watery, your seasonings bland, etc., etc. A
test pancake will help you adjust all these
things.
• Do work quickly! Potatoes get dark
and unappealing fast! If your spuds get
dark, drain them well and rinse under
cold water until they are white again.
• Do fry using different fats and oils
for a change — duck fat, chicken fat
(schmaltz), vegetable oil — it's all good.
• Do heat the oil until very hot — The

oil must be hot, or the lathes will boil in
the oil instead of fry to crispy delicious-
ness.
• Do give the lathes space in the skillet
— don't overcrowd the pan
• Do let the lathes cook undisturbed
— if you try to turn a lathe before a crust
forms on the bottom, they will stick to the
pan. And when you turn them over and
over and over in oil, they get greasy!
• Do drain lathes well — if you don't
drain them well on a grate over a baking
sheet or on several layers of paper towel or
paper grocery bags, you get soggy, greasy
lathes.
• Do reheat correctly — place the lathes
on a baking sheet (do not overlap), at
about 300F and drain again before serv-
ing.

Latkes
2 pounds Idaho or russet potatoes,
peeled or not
1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. flour (more if needed)
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying
Make lathes: Coarsely grate potatoes by
hand (with a box grater) or in the food
processor and let them sit until they turn
reddish-brown, about half and hour. Drain
the potatoes in a colander and rinse well
with cold water until the potatoes are
white again. If the strands of potato are
too long (as sometimes happens with a
food processor), chop them slightly.

Food on page 36

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November 25 • 2010

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