Recent Recipes:

Latkes Fit to Fry

December 18, 2008
By Judy Bart Kancigor

image
I’m bored. Maybe it’s the 40-year itch, but I’ve been making the same Hanukkah potato latkes for decades. (Not that there’s anything wrong with them. Several years ago, in reviewing my first cookbook “Melting Pot Memories,” Food Editor Cathy Thomas of The Orange County Register called them “crispy-brown snowflakes” and “lacy, almost-crunchy wonders”…but I don’t like to brag.) Now I’m itching for something new.

Like the song about love, I seem to be lookin’ for latkes in all the wrong places, because lately, daring latke diversions have been popping up where I least expect them, and I’m like Alice in Latke-land. They all seem to say, “Fry me!” “No, me!”

For Hanukkah it’s all about the oil. When Judah Maccabee and his tiny army defeated the Syrian-Greeks, they found only a tiny flask of oil with which to purify the desecrated Temple. Miraculously, it burned for eight days, setting off a frying frenzy that has lasted for centuries.

But who says traditional potato latkes are the only fritter fit to fry? My latkes this year come from unusual sources. (No Jewish cookbooks were injured in the writing of this story.)

Latkes from a novel? In Sharon Boorstin’s irresistible romp, “Cookin’ For Love” (chick-lit for the 49-year-old-plus set…with recipes, of course), Miriam, a married Jewish cookbook author, fantasizes about food while her divorced friend, Kate, fantasizes about a past relationship. When Kate heads to Muslim Malaysia, she begs Miriam to come along.

Miriam’s thoughts seldom stray from food - a waxing reminds her of Grandma Estelle plucking a chicken – and when she awakens from a dream about Grandma’s latkes to find her cleaver-toting captor frying curried onions, it’s an “aha” moment of the kitchen kind. Cashews! Ginger! This is a latke with pizzazz!

Next, Hanukkah shopping for my grandchildren, I stumble on Joanne Rocklin’s “The Very Best Hanukkah Gift,” chosen by the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee of the Association of Jewish Libraries as one of the best Hanukkah books of the past few years.

In the story, eight-year-old Daniel, an awkward middle child, eagerly awaits Hanukkah - eight nights of candle lighting, games and gifts, not to mention the wonderful food. But while Daniel revels in the story of the brave Maccabees, he has to face his own dog phobia before his sister’s dream of a puppy for Hanukkah can come true. To top it off, his mom is making green latkes! GROSS! Daniel faces both challenges, and I’ve got another recipe. Made with zucchini – the holiday is not about the potato, but the oil, remember – these latkes are called “Miracle Latkes,” as they use hardly any oil at all. Healthy and delicious, and I don’t have to wear them. Now, that’s a miracle!

And speaking of healthy, when I’m hankering for a low-fat dish with panache, the Moosewood Collective never lets me down. These 19 folks who own and operate the legendary Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York, helped put vegetarian dining and organic foods on the culinary map (the restaurant is not kosher, but their cookbooks offer some great recipes for all). So this mecca of healthy, natural food would hardly be the first place I’d look for latkes to fry. But, wait. Potatoes are vegetarian, and this lemon-scented sweet potato pancake makes a fine…excuse me? Dessert? Another surprise, but why not! A sweet ending to a sweet celebration.


image



Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family” and can be found on the web at www.cookingjewish.com.





MIRIAM’S MALAYSIAN LATKES

Adapted from “Cooking For Love” by Sharon Boorstin (iUniverse)

1/2 cup chopped cashews or peanuts
1/4 cup chopped mint or flat-leaf parsley or a combination
1/4 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno pepper (veins and seeds removed)
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste (see note)
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 large eggs
2 large baking potatoes (12 ounces each), peeled and cut into wedges
1 medium onion (6 ounces), coarsely chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil for frying

1. Combine the nuts, mint, peppers, ginger, salt, curry powder and eggs in a large bowl.

2. In a food processor with the shredding disk attached, shred the potatoes and onions together and drain well in several changes of ink-free paper towels. Squeeze to release as much liquid as possible. Add the potatoes and onions to the egg mixture and combine well. Stir in the flour.

3. In a large, heavy skillet, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan on medium-high heat. When the oil is quite hot but not smoking, add a scant 1/4 cup batter per latke and flatten with a fork. Fry only as many patties as will fit without crowding. Cook on one side until crisp and brown, about 2-3 minutes. Turn over and repeat. Remove the patties to paper towels to absorb excess oil. Serve with yogurt mixed with chopped cucumbers and salt and cumin seeds to taste.

Makes 24 latkes

Note: To taste the potato mixture (or any mixture containing raw eggs), microwave a teaspoon or two until cooked through, 10 seconds or so, depending on size and strength of the microwave.


MIRACLE ZUCCHINI LATKES

From “The Very Best Hanukkah Gift” by Joanne Rocklin (Delacorte Press)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 medium zucchini, unpeeled
3 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
2 large eggs
2/3 to 1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Coat 2 cookie sheets with 1 tablespoon of oil each. Spread with a spatula. Spray with vegetable cooking spray.

2. Clean the zucchini well. Grate them by hand or in batches in the food processor. Drain on several changes of ink-free paper towels for 30 minutes.

3. Place the grated zucchini in a bowl and mix with green onions, eggs, 2/3 cup of the breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Use your hands to form a "dough" that can stick together, adding up to 1/3 cup bread crumbs, if necessary.

4. Using a soupspoon, mound the zucchini mixture on the cookie sheets into 10 equal portions. Press down with a fork to form thin pancakes. Bake until brown on the bottom, about 12 minutes. Turn the pancakes over and bake until brown on the other side, 5-8 minutes more.

Makes 20 latkes


SWEET POTATO PANCAKES WITH LEMON-MAPLE SYRUP AND WHIPPED CREAM

From “Moosewood Restaurant New Classics” by Moosewood Collective (Clarkson Potter)

1 cup peeled and finely grated raw sweet potatoes
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
1 large egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil or melted butter
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly whipped cream

1. In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine sweet potatoes, lemon peel, egg, milk and oil. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just to combine. Do not beat or overstir. Set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes.

2. Warm a lightly oiled skillet, griddle, or nonstick frying pan on medium-high heat. When a drop of water bounces and sizzles on the skillet and before the oil smokes, pour a scant 1/4 cup batter to form round pancakes. When pancakes are evenly dotted with bubbles and about half the bubbles have broken, about 2 minutes, flip pancakes with a spatula. Cook the second side until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Repeat until all the batter is used.

3. Serve right away or keep warm in a 250° oven. If you plan to serve at room temperature or reheat later, cook the pancakes in a single layer on a flat surface and then stack for storage. If storing for more than a few hours, refrigerate.

4. Combine maple syrup and lemon juice in a small bowl. Serve pancakes at room temperature drizzled with lemon-maple syrup and top with whipped cream.
Serves 4


More articles from this author





Submit a Comment

Comments posted on this website are subject to editing for space, language and/or clarity.


Name:


Email: (Rest assured, your email address will not be published.)

Comment:


Please enter the word you see in the image below: