Israeli latkes-levivot

Recipe by Chef Dalia

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — the Jewish eight-day, wintertime “festival of lights” is nearing and it’s hard to imagine a Jewish celebration without a large tray piled high with potato latkes, levivot in Hebrew, as a centerpiece.

Every Jewish holiday and major life event is marked by food. Special foods are eaten on different holidays that relate to the specific theme, or event, the holiday celebrates. In most cases, we celebrate the holidays of Israel because we were saved from an enemy wanting to destroy us. On Passover, it was the Egyptians, on Purim, the Persians and on Hanukkah, the Greeks.

I understand that we need to celebrate because we miraculously survived our enemies, but why do we have to gain weight in the process? Indirectly, the way we have been exploited causes us to eat endlessly on holidays. Hanukkah is celebrated in many ways, and no surprise here, most importantly and deliciously, it’s celebrated by eating fried food.

Just to think that everything happened because of one jar of oil. It turns out that we were destined to eat fried food for eight days. In other words, the Romans tried to destroy us, we won, now let’s go and eat fattening food!

But I’m just complaining. There’s no argument that the holiday of lights is one of Judaism’s all-time favorite holidays when it comes to fun. No one loves the holidays more than me. Some of my strongest memories of being Israeli are associated with the comforting smells of Hanukkah family meals. I hadn’t even realized how much those aromas had been a part of my childhood until now.

It’s not a secret that I am a big fan of healthy food and a gluten- and dairy-free diet, but Hanukkah has its own character. Since Hanukkah comes but once a year, I allow myself to break from my healthier diet. I am Team ‘sweets and fried food’ all the way. Plus, I don’t support the matter of turning a donut or latkes into something less fattening. Any attempt to turn a donut into a baked donut, with sugar-free jam and vegan sweeteners or zero-calorie powdered sugar, does not work, in my opinion. A donut or latkes, in their essence, must be fried, with everything on top.

For Jews of Eastern European descent, who make up the majority of Jews in the United States, latkes (potato pancakes) take the spotlight. But in Israel, sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) are as popular as latkes are here.

Every year, the range of doughnuts in Israeli shops becomes wider and yummier. But there is a victim of the Israeli love relationship with doughnuts: the latkes.

There’s no doubt that latkes have been displaced by doughnuts.

Today, unless you are a recent immigrant from the West or a guardian of Ashkenazi traditions, chances are, latkes do not feature in your Chanukah celebrations. However, for most American Jews, Hanukkah would not be Hanukkah without latkes.

Although we are of Sephardic heritage, my husband and children eat latkes all year round, because the magic that happens between potatoes and oil cannot be achieved with any other cooking method. Forgive those who say they make baked latkes and they turned out amazing… perhaps it did come out delicious, healthier for sure, but there is no chance of it coming out as juicy and mouthwatering as latkes fried in oil. My big tip for cutting the calories of a latke in half is very simple — take a latke, cut it in half and eat only one half, or just make them bite-sized. Either way, it tastes the same!

I wanted to share one more Hanukkah dish with you before the end of the festival of fried food. Israeli potato latkes, my Israeli family calls the dish “levivot” in Hebrew. In some families, the Hebrew word levivot can refer not only to potato pancakes, but to any small fried food for Hanukkah. My potato pancakes are tasty and delicious no matter what you call them. They are simply divine, probably the tastiest potato dish you have ever tried.

Latkes are usually made from grated potatoes or mashed potatoes. In this recipe, I combined them and added my “secret ingredient,” fried onions, as well. I recommend that you make a double recipe, because these pancakes are snatched up before you finish frying them.

Applesauce and sour cream are the traditional accoutrements for latkes. Some load their potato pancakes up with both toppings, while others have strong feelings about one over the other. I say, don’t feel constrained by these ‘old standards.’ I love to serve latkes just like in Israel, with shakshuka (eggs in a savory tomato sauce), spicy schug, labneh cheese/feta cheese, hummus, and a lot of pickles and olives. Pick any of my Israeli toppings and try something new this year.

Personal Chef Dalia Hemed can be reached at daliahemed@msn.com.

Ingredients

• 1 pound medium potatoes (red skin are the best), cooked and mashed into a smooth puree

• 1 pound large potato, grated

• 2 medium onions, chopped and fried (until golden brown)

• 3 tbsp. potato flour

• 1 tsp. salt

• ½ tsp. black paper

• 2 eggs

• Canola oil for semi-deep frying

Preparation

1. In a big bowl, mix together the mashed potato, grated potato and fried onion.

2. Add eggs and mix well.

3. Fold in potato flour, salt and black pepper until just combined.

4. Let the mixture rest on the side for about half an hour. (Batter can be made up to 5 hours in advance and kept in refrigerator.)

5. Drop spoonful of batter into hot oil (350 degrees). (Best not to crowd the pan.)

6. Fry in semi-deep oil for about three minutes on each side.