While staying in theme with the Hanukkah miracle story, it is tradition to pay homage to the oil that saved the people by eating all of the oily foods. Can you see why this might be one of my favorites? ;-) We make and eat fried potato pancakes or latkes and fried jelly donuts or sufganiyot. Some people get creative with the kinds of oily foods they eat and prepare, but latkes are my absolute favorite. It is customary to pair the latkes with either applesauce or sour cream (some do both). If you haven’t tried latkes like that yet, I highly recommend it. The food brings such added comfort during an already celebratory time. Another food tradition is chocolate gelt, which are those foil-covered chocolate coins that you might see in the store. They are another delicious way to bring in the holiday and also act as a nice treat if PMS reaches you during Hanukkah.
Here’s a recipe for some delicious latkes!
Ingredients:
- 4 potatoes
- 1/2 a yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pinch of pepper
- 1 cup of canola oil
- Apple sauce to put on top of your pancakes!
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
- Scrub the potatoes and cut each in half lengthwise
- Grate the potatoes and the 1/2 of the onion in a food processor
- Squish out all the excess liquid by using a cheese cloth
- Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl
- Set the batter aside for 20 minutes
- Add the canola oil to a pan and place a pancake (1/4 inch thick) in the oil
- Fry the pancake on both sides
- Enjoy with applesauce on top!
