By FAYE LEVY, YAKIR LEVYUpdated: JANUARY 19, 2017 12:07Root vegetable latkes(photo credit: LAUREN VOLO)
We didn’t expect to find ideas for Hanukka recipes when we judged a Kitchen Queens cooking contest in Little India, California. Yet as we tasted one delicious fried appetizer after another, we couldn’t help thinking of the Jewish Festival of Lights, when fried treats are highlights of meals.One of the winning dishes was Shami Shah’s broccoli and feta cheese balls, which were held together with mashed potatoes and served with a slightly spicy carrot dip. We knew we had a star for our next Hanukka menus. (See recipe.) Luckily, Hanukka lasts for eight days, and so we plan to make another tasty fried potato and cheese starter – Ecuadorian potato cakes filled with cheese from Raghavan Iyer’s new cookbook, Smashed, Mashed, Boiled and Baked – And Fried, Too!The cheese filling is flavored with fresh coriander, green onion and smoked paprika, enclosed in a cooked potato mixture, shaped in cakes, fried and served with peanut sauce. Iyer describes this dish as “nothing short of a showstopper.” (See recipe.) He makes spinach-filled potato cakes, too, and serves them with a raisin ginger sauce.Iyer, who was born in Mumbai, makes lacy, grated potato latkes, too. They are flavored with turmeric and hot green chili peppers. For the applesauce that he serves with them, he cooks apples with fresh ginger and ghee (Indian clarified butter), as well as brown sugar, cloves and lime juice.Of course, Hanukka is not the same without traditional European potato latkes. In their just-published book The Gefilte Manifesto: New Recipes for Old World Jewish Foods, Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern give two formulas for making them – as pure potato latkes and as root vegetable latkes. They prepare their latkes the old-fashioned way, carefully squeezing the extra liquid out of the grated vegetables. (See recipe.) To accompany the latkes, there is applesauce sweetened with pears and apple juice, just like Yoskowitz’s grandmother used to make.The Gefilte Manifesto showcases the “robust, colorful, fresh flavors of Ashkenazi cuisine,” wrote Yoskowitz and Alpern, which is “excellent when done right.”Ashkenazi dishes should be served with pride, they added, “not simply out of deference to hollow convention.”Faye Levy is the author of 1,000 Jewish Recipes.Broccoli and feta cheese balls with carrot garlic dipTo serve her golden-brown vegetable balls, Shami Shah skewered each one with a celery leaf and a cherry tomato, using a toothpick, and set them on a salad of pearl couscous cooked with sautéed green onions, broccoli, peas, carrots, zucchini and celery and seasoned with garlic salt. You can instead serve them on lettuce leaves.While the vegetable and mashed-potato mixture for making the balls is cooling, you can prepare the carrot-garlic dip.Makes about 20 to 25 medium-size ballsFor the broccoli feta balls:■ 15 to 20 small chunks of feta cheese■ 1 Tbsp. cream cheese■ 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil■ ½ cup chopped onion■ 1 Tbsp. chopped garlic■ 2 tsp. finely chopped green chilies■ ¼ cup grated carrot■ ¼ cup chopped sweet green pepper■ 2 sticks celery, finely chopped■ 1 Tbsp. finely chopped celery leaves■ 1 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley■ 1 cup finely chopped broccoli■ 1 cup boiled and mashed potatoes■ Salt, to taste■ 2 Tbsp. corn flour or cornstarch■ 2 Tbsp. bread crumbs, plus more for rolling■ Oil for deep fryingFor carrot-garlic dip:■ 1 tsp. vegetable oil■ ½ tsp. red chili powder■ 2 Tbsp. chopped garlic■ 1 cup grated carrots■ Salt, to taste■ ½ tsp. lemon juice■ 3 Tbsp. chopped tomatoes■ Cherry tomatoes, halved (for garnish)■ Mint leaves (for garnish)For broccoli feta balls: Crumble feta chunks and mix with cream cheese. Make balls of this mixture and set aside.Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet, add the onion, garlic and green chilies and sauté for about 3 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add carrot, green pepper, chopped celery sticks, celery leaves and parsley and sauté for 2 minutes. Add broccoli and sauté until slightly tender. Add mashed potatoes and salt and mix well.Transfer to a bowl and cool. Stir in the corn flour and 2 tablespoons bread crumbs. Mix well.Shape mixture into balls. Flatten the balls and put a cheese ball on each one. Enclose the cheese ball in the potato mixture and shape in a ball. Roll each ball in bread crumbs until coated.Heat oil for deep frying in a heavy deep saucepan or deep sauté pan.Add the balls in batches and fry until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.For carrot-garlic dip: Heat oil in a small skillet. Stir in chili powder, then garlic, followed by grated carrot and sauté for 2 or 3 minute. Remove from heat. Add salt, lemon juice and tomato.Transfer to blender and blend to a smooth dip. At serving time garnish with halved cherry tomatoes and mint leaves. Serve with broccoli feta balls.Ecuadorian filled potato cakes with peanut sauce – llapingachos“This Ecuadorian classic showcases potatoes in their simple form,” wrote Raghavan Iyer, and commented that these potato cakes are easy to make. Iyer uses Mexican Cotija cheese but notes that feta cheese or Parmigiano-Reggiano work well, too.Makes 12 cakes For shells:■ 680 gr. (1½ lb.) russet potatoes■ 3 Tbsp. potato starch■ 1 tsp. coarse sea or kosher saltFor filling:■ 55 gr. (2 oz.) feta cheese, crumbled■ 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro (fresh coriander) leaves and tender stems■ 2 Tbsp. thinly sliced green onions (green tops and white bulbs)■ ½ tsp. smoked paprikaFor sauce and topping:■ 1 cup whole milk■ 1 small onion, cut into 1.25-cm. (½-in.) pieces■ ¼ cup chunky or smooth natural peanut butter■ ¼ tsp. coarse sea or kosher salt■ Canola oil, for panfrying■ 1 large ripe Hass avocado, cut into 6-mm. (¼-in.) cubesFor shells:Peel potatoes and rinse well under cold, running water. Cut them into large chunks. Place them in a medium- size saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Partially cover pan, lower heat to medium low, and simmer briskly until chunks are tender when pierced with a fork or knife, 12 to 15 minutes.Lay out a large sheet of wax paper or parchment paper on the counter.Drain potatoes in a colander and return them to pan. Set it over medium- low heat and stir potatoes once or twice to dry them out, about 1 minute.Working in batches, if necessary, transfer chunks to a ricer and press them directly into a medium-size bowl. Sprinkle on the potato starch and salt and stir them in while the potatoes are still warm, until dough is satin smooth. Once dough is cool enough to handle, divide it into 12 equal portions and set them on the wax paper.For filling:Lay out a smaller sheet of wax paper or parchment paper on the counter. Combine cheese, cilantro, green onions and paprika in a small bowl. Divide this into 12 equal portions and set them on the small sheet of wax paper.One at a time, shape each portion of dough into a disk about 7.5 cm. (3 in.) in diameter. Place a portion of the filling in the center and fold over the dough to cover it. Reshape each halfmoon into a cake roughly 6½ cm. (2½ in.) in diameter and 1.25 cm. (½ in.) thick. Return each to the wax paper while you finish flattening, filling and shaping the remaining cakes.For sauce:Bring milk and onion to a boil, uncovered, in a small saucepan over medium heat. Lower heat to medium low and simmer milk, uncovered, stirring occasionally, to allow it to absorb some of onion flavor, about 5 minutes.Fish out onion pieces with a slotted spoon and discard them. Whisk in the peanut butter and salt and continue to simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Cover pan, remove from heat, and keep sauce warm while you panfry the cakes.Set a wire rack over a cookie sheet and place it in the center of the oven.Preheat the oven to 93°C (200°F).Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium- size nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Once the oil appears to shimmer, place 6 of the cakes in the pan. Fry them until reddish brown and crispy on the underside, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip them over and fry on the other side, 3 to 5 minutes more. Transfer the cakes to the rack in the oven to keep warm as you finish panfrying the remaining cakes. Add more oil to the pan, as necessary.Serve the cakes warm, drizzled with the peanut sauce and topped with avocado.Pass around any extra peanut sauce.Note: This recipe from Raghavan Iyer’s Smashed, Mashed, Boiled and Baked – And Fried, Too! (Workman Publishing).Root vegetable latkes Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern noted that if you prefer traditional potato latkes, simply substitute 6 small russet potatoes (about 1.40 kg. or 3 lb.) for the veggies in this recipe. “The root vegetable version is a bit lighter and more fragile than the purely potato version, so take care when forming into latkes for frying.” If you like, serve the latkes with applesauce, apple-pear sauce, or sour cream.Makes 18 to 22 latkes■ 4 russet (baking) potatoes (about 900 gr. or 2 lb.), peeled■ 1 medium parsnip or carrot, peeled■ 1 medium turnip, peeled■ 1 small onion■ 4 green onions, finely chopped■ 3 large eggs, lightly beaten■ 1 Tbsp. kosher salt■ ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper■ 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour■ ¹⁄3 cup bread crumbs or matza meal■ Schmaltz or peanut, canola or grapeseed oil, for fryingShred potatoes, parsnip, turnip and onion on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor, using the shredder plate. Place the grated vegetables in a large bowl and add cold water to cover. Let sit for about 5 minutes.Drain vegetables in a colander and squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the shreds into a bowl. It’s helpful to take cheesecloth or a clean, thin kitchen towel, drape in an empty bowl, then pour in the shredded vegetables.Wrap the cheesecloth or towel around the vegetables and squeeze tightly in the bowl. Repeat until as much liquid as possible has been removed. White potato starch will collect at bottom of bowl. Carefully drain off the water, leaving the potato starch. Set aside.Place the drained vegetable shreds in a large bowl. Add the green onions, eggs, salt, pepper, flour, bread crumbs and the reserved potato starch. Mix well, preferably using your hands.In a 23-cm. (9-in.) nonstick or castiron skillet, heat a layer of schmaltz or oil, about 0.3-cm. (¹⁄8-in.) deep, over medium heat. Form the latke batter into thin patties, using about 2 tablespoons for each. As you form the patties, squeeze out and discard any excess liquid. Carefully slip the patties, about 4 at a time, into the pan and fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crisp. Take care to flip them only once to avoid excess oil absorption. If pan begins to smoke at all, add more schmaltz or oil and let it heat up again before frying another batch of latkes.Remove latkes from pan and place on a baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain excess fat. Latkes are best and crispiest when served right away. If serving later, transfer to a separate casserole dish or baking sheet and place in the oven at 93°C (200°F) to keep warm until serving.Serve hot.The recipes are taken from Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern’s The Gefilte Manifesto (Flatiron Books).