By Abigail Klein Leichman for Israel21c via JNS.org
As a child in the former Soviet Union, Janna Gur knew little about Jewish holidays. It wasn’t until her family emigrated to Israel when she was a teenager that she learned about the eight-day winter Festival of Lights known as Chanukah.
“I’ve always loved Chanukah,” says the Tel Aviv-based food journalist and cookbook author. “I love Israeli winter, and I love the songs, and the candle lighting is beautiful. It reminds me of the Russian New Year [Novy God] of my youth.”
But she is not fond of sufganiyot, the deep-fried, jelly-filled doughnuts that reign supreme in Israeli Chanukah food culture.
“As time goes by, people are buying rather than making sufganiyot, and bakeries are getting crazy with outrageous toppings and not even frying them, which is the whole point,” Gur says.
If we take donuts off the table, what’s left? After all, Gur points out, “There’s no such thing as a Chanukah meal like you have on Passover or Rosh Hashanah.”
Her preference is savoury latkes (levivot in Hebrew), the potato pancakes that American Ashkenazi Jews associate most with the holiday.
On her website are recipes for Ashkenazi Potato Latkes, Chanukah Balkan Potato and Leek Pancakes, and Orna and Ella’s Sweet Potato Latkes. The latter is a rare vegan latke; usually, potato pancakes are bound with eggs.
There’s a recipe for Syrian ejjeh fried vegetable and meat patties in her 2014 cookbook Jewish Soul Food: From Minsk to Marrakesh, an interesting main-dish alternative for Chanukah.
Two lovely latke variations appear in Gur’s cookbook, Shuk: from Market to Table, The Heart of Israeli Home Cooking, coauthored with Israeli-American chef Einat Admony.
One is aruk, a patty made of herbs and mashed potatoes, traditionally served for Friday lunch in Iraqi Jewish households.
The other is more evocative of Gur’s Soviet childhood, jazzing up plain potato pancakes with the addition of beets. (See recipe below.)
“I’m a beet freak, so when I wanted to give an upgrade to the traditional Ashkenazi potato pancake, beets were my solution,” she writes in the recipe intro.
“Unlike potatoes, beets don’t start turning black the moment you grate them, and they preserve their crispiness a bit longer, so it’s easier to pace their preparation and serving. These crunchy-chewy latkes have just the right hint of sweetness to offset the bright dressing.”
The following recipes are excerpted with permission from Shuk by Einat Admony and Janna Gur (Artisan Books), copyright © 2019.
Beet Latkes With Preserved Lemon and Yogurt Dressing (Pareve)
Makes 10 to 12 latkes
• 1 medium russet potato (270g), peeled
• 1 large or 2 small beets, peeled
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• ¼ cup (30g) all-purpose flour
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• Preserved Lemon and Yogurt Dressing (see below) or plain yogurt, for serving
Grate the potato coarsely on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor using the grating blade. Wrap the grated potatoes in a clean kitchen towel (no fabric softener, please!) and squeeze vigorously to get rid of any excess liquid. Transfer to a large bowl. Do the same with the onion. If you don’t care about staining your dish towel, do the same with the beets. Otherwise, grate the beets and squeeze out the moisture by hand; add to the bowl with the potatoes and onion.
Add the egg, thyme, rosemary, flour, and several twists of pepper and mix thoroughly — your hands are good for this.
Line a plate or tray with paper towels. Fill a large nonstick skillet with vegetable oil to a depth of ¼ inch (6 mm) and heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, stir the salt into the latke mixture, pick up a small handful, and squeeze out even more liquid (depending on the potato and onion you use, you might have quite a lot of liquid).
Shape the mixture into a round, flat patty about 3 inches (7.5 cm) in diameter and carefully add it to the hot oil. Repeat until you have a panful of patties, but with plenty of room between them to flip the latkes. Fry until the latkes are crunchy and slightly browned, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to the paper towels to drain. Repeat to form and fry the remaining potato mixture.
Serve at once, with the preserved lemon and yogurt dressing or plain yogurt alongside.
Preserved Lemon and Yogurt Dressing (Dairy)
This vibrant yellow, citrusy dressing is a wonderful match to subtly sweet beet latkes, but that’s just the beginning. Serve it on roasted vegetables or pan fried or grilled fish, or as a dipping sauce for any deep-fried snack (the acidity cuts right through the fat). It can keep for up to two weeks in the fridge, though it will probably be gone sooner.
Makes about 3 cups (720ml)
• 8 wedges preserved lemon, store-bought or homemade (see below)
• 1 jalapeño chili, cored, seeded and coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup (60ml) fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup (60ml) water
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups (480 ml) whole-milk Greek yogurt
Rinse the preserved lemon wedges and remove the seeds. Combine the preserved lemon, jalapeño (if using), lemon juice, water, honey, turmeric, salt and oil in a food processor and puree until you have a completely smooth mixture—this may take a couple of minutes, so be patient.
Add the yogurt and pulse a few times, until the sauce is smooth and lemony yellow. If not using at once, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
Variation: Keep the sauce chunky. Instead of mixing everything in a food processor, finely dice the preserved lemon and jalapeño and fold together with the rest of the ingredients.
Quick Preserved Lemons (Pareve)
Makes about 2 cups (500 g)
• 5 lemons, washed and quartered lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for storing
Combine the lemons, salt, turmeric, sugar, and 3 cups (720 ml) water in a medium saucepan and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about one hour, until the lemons’ flesh has broken down and the rinds are very soft.
Drain thoroughly and transfer to a clean, dry jar with a lid. Pour in just enough oil to cover the lemons. Seal the jar and store in the fridge for up to 1 month. Use a clean, dry spoon or fork (never your fingers) to remove the lemons from the jar as needed. Give them a quick rinse and remove any seeds before using.
This article was first published by Israel21c.
Published in the print edition of the December 2020/January 2021 issue.
Download the Dec/Jan issue PDF here.
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