Happy Hanukkah!
When there is so much darkness in the world we need these little lights more than ever. Let them shine in our homes and in our hearts. Let us see light in each other and be light for each other. 🕎
61-69, M
This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
Northwest · M
@ServantOfTheGoddess
bout 1 pound russet potatoes (2 large potatoes). Peeled, washed and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large onion (8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
Mix well, and using a food processor with a coarse grating disc, grate the mix.
The traditional receipe calls for letting the mix rest for a half hour, and patting it down using a paper towel, to remove extra moisture. I prefer to put it into a fine strainer for 30-60 minutes and let the extra moisture drain out.
In a large bowl, put a 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, shape like a round hole. Add 2 large eggs, one at a time, as you beat the mixture, to make it uniform.
Add 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
Add 1 teaspoon baking powder
Add 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Mix well.
Add the grated potato/onion mix, and 3 tablespoons olive oil, and mix well.
Back in the day, they did not have Air Fry ovens, but we do, so place a parchment paper on a large baking sheet, and slpit the mixture into 12 round portions, and pat into a flat patty and place on the parchment paper.
Cook in the air fry oven, set to 450F for about 7 minutes, then flip and continue cooking for another 7-8 minutes, or until brown (how dark will depend on how crispy you want your latkes).
You can also add chopped up green onions to the mix, prior to cooking.
bout 1 pound russet potatoes (2 large potatoes). Peeled, washed and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large onion (8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
Mix well, and using a food processor with a coarse grating disc, grate the mix.
The traditional receipe calls for letting the mix rest for a half hour, and patting it down using a paper towel, to remove extra moisture. I prefer to put it into a fine strainer for 30-60 minutes and let the extra moisture drain out.
In a large bowl, put a 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, shape like a round hole. Add 2 large eggs, one at a time, as you beat the mixture, to make it uniform.
Add 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
Add 1 teaspoon baking powder
Add 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Mix well.
Add the grated potato/onion mix, and 3 tablespoons olive oil, and mix well.
Back in the day, they did not have Air Fry ovens, but we do, so place a parchment paper on a large baking sheet, and slpit the mixture into 12 round portions, and pat into a flat patty and place on the parchment paper.
Cook in the air fry oven, set to 450F for about 7 minutes, then flip and continue cooking for another 7-8 minutes, or until brown (how dark will depend on how crispy you want your latkes).
You can also add chopped up green onions to the mix, prior to cooking.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@Northwest the oil is supposed to represent the promised for lamps 2000 years ago, that was olive oil. Even the story of the oil is a bit of a myth. There is archeological evidence of the desecration of the temple and the resanctification, the oil thing is of more recent origin.
You can choose to use whatever you think appropriate to your tradition.
You can choose to use whatever you think appropriate to your tradition.
Northwest · M
@samueltyler2 We're talking about two different things here.
1. Lighting the menorah (oil-based candelabrum). In 164 BC, when the Maccabees under Judah, defeated the Seleucid army that had captured Jerusalem some 35 years earlier, and reclaimed The Temple, they had only enough ritually purified olive oil to last for one day, but miraculously, the one day supply burnt for 8 days, hence the 8-day tradition of Chanukah.
Though, technically, we light candles today, when Leviticus 24:2 specifies that pure olive oil must be used to light the menorah.
2. Latkes. Best I can tell, they appeared in Eastern Europe early 19th century, and became a "tradition" as Eastern European Jews migrated. There is no "oil" in the mix. Oil is used to fry the mixture, and vegetable/animal oils were more of an Eastern European thing.
The recipe, as I modified it, calls for the. mixing of olive in (Omega-3s, as opposed to animal-based, or coconut oil to clog your arteries), and Air Fry, instead of deep fry.
I like to use Latkes, this time of year, instead of bagels, as a starch base for Lox, and all the other fixings. I am not religious, but the traditions of Chanukah and Christmas are not necessarily about religion.
1. Lighting the menorah (oil-based candelabrum). In 164 BC, when the Maccabees under Judah, defeated the Seleucid army that had captured Jerusalem some 35 years earlier, and reclaimed The Temple, they had only enough ritually purified olive oil to last for one day, but miraculously, the one day supply burnt for 8 days, hence the 8-day tradition of Chanukah.
Though, technically, we light candles today, when Leviticus 24:2 specifies that pure olive oil must be used to light the menorah.
2. Latkes. Best I can tell, they appeared in Eastern Europe early 19th century, and became a "tradition" as Eastern European Jews migrated. There is no "oil" in the mix. Oil is used to fry the mixture, and vegetable/animal oils were more of an Eastern European thing.
The recipe, as I modified it, calls for the. mixing of olive in (Omega-3s, as opposed to animal-based, or coconut oil to clog your arteries), and Air Fry, instead of deep fry.
I like to use Latkes, this time of year, instead of bagels, as a starch base for Lox, and all the other fixings. I am not religious, but the traditions of Chanukah and Christmas are not necessarily about religion.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@Northwest you are quoting modern mythology. There is absolutely no "proof" to the oil story. It makes a great story to tell kids, to give them something "cool" to believe in, almost like Santa Klaus. Actually it is believed that the reclamation of the temple by the Jews probably baby didn't even happen at the time of year we now celebrate the "holiday." It was moved there, partially as a delayed celebration of Succot.
You are correct that latkes are a fairly recent addition, but the entire celebration of Hanukah, as we know it, is only a hundred some odd years or so old. I never said oil is part of the recipe, it isn't. The modern tradition is to eat things fried in oil, jelly donuts count as well. Hence, my questioning of your use of an air fryer.
You are correct that latkes are a fairly recent addition, but the entire celebration of Hanukah, as we know it, is only a hundred some odd years or so old. I never said oil is part of the recipe, it isn't. The modern tradition is to eat things fried in oil, jelly donuts count as well. Hence, my questioning of your use of an air fryer.
Northwest · M
@samueltyler2 yes I’m old enough to realize that Santa is not real, that the Holy Spirit did not fuck the Virgin Mary, that end of December religious miracles build on the same time of the year used by the Romans, Greeks before them and Phoenicians before them.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@Northwest so?
Northwest · M
@samueltyler2 So??? I don't really get what you're arguing. It's just a fucking recipe.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@Northwest No, it is part of an cultural tradition. If you choose to alter that, cook your latkes without oil, in an air frier, it is your decision. You are the one who argued against the tradition.
Northwest · M
@samueltyler2 OK dude.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@Northwest founds some interesting facts and recipes for latkes. i'd love to try the cheese latkes, i guess sort of like blintzes:
Of course we associate potato latkes with Hanukkah, but in reality latkes descends from Italian pancakes that were made with ricotta cheese. The first connection between Hanukkah and pancakes was made by a rabbi in Italy named Rabbi Kalonymus ben Kalonymus (c. 1286-1328). According to The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food by Gil Marks, the Rabbi “included pancakes in a list of dishes to serve at an idealized Purim feast, as well as a poem about Hanukkah. After the Spanish expelled the Jews from Sicily in 1492, the exiles introduced their ricotta cheese pancakes, which were called cassola in Rome, to the Jews of northern Italy. Consequently, cheese pancakes, because they combined the two traditional types of foods–fried and dairy–became a natural Hanukkah dish.”
Potato latkes are a more recent Ashkenazi invention that gained popularity in Eastern Europe during the mid 1800?s. A series of crop failures in Poland and the Ukraine led to mass planting of potatoes, which were easy and cheap to grow. But before potatoes came on the scene, the latke of choice was cheese.
https://www.pbs.org/food/features/history-of-latkes/#:~:text=Of%20course%20we%20associate%20potato,1286%2D1328).
Of course we associate potato latkes with Hanukkah, but in reality latkes descends from Italian pancakes that were made with ricotta cheese. The first connection between Hanukkah and pancakes was made by a rabbi in Italy named Rabbi Kalonymus ben Kalonymus (c. 1286-1328). According to The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food by Gil Marks, the Rabbi “included pancakes in a list of dishes to serve at an idealized Purim feast, as well as a poem about Hanukkah. After the Spanish expelled the Jews from Sicily in 1492, the exiles introduced their ricotta cheese pancakes, which were called cassola in Rome, to the Jews of northern Italy. Consequently, cheese pancakes, because they combined the two traditional types of foods–fried and dairy–became a natural Hanukkah dish.”
Potato latkes are a more recent Ashkenazi invention that gained popularity in Eastern Europe during the mid 1800?s. A series of crop failures in Poland and the Ukraine led to mass planting of potatoes, which were easy and cheap to grow. But before potatoes came on the scene, the latke of choice was cheese.
https://www.pbs.org/food/features/history-of-latkes/#:~:text=Of%20course%20we%20associate%20potato,1286%2D1328).