Hanukkah Recipe: Apple and Cheese-Stuffed Latkes (2024)

FAQs

Why do Jews eat applesauce with latkes? ›

Tradition says so. Latkes are usually served at dinnertime along with a meaty main, like brisket. Mixing milk and meat at the same meal is a no-no for those who keep kosher, so sour cream would be out as a latke condiment leaving the underdog apple sauce victorious.

These potato pancakes (called latkes) are meant to symbolize the miracle of Hanukkah, when the oil of the menorah in the ransacked Second Temple of Jerusalem was able to stay aflame for eight days even though there was only enough oil for one day. The symbolism comes in the form of the oil in which latkes are fried.

Potato pancakes have a creamy, almost mashed-potato-like center, with a thin, golden, crisp exterior. Latkes, on the other hand, should have a deeply browned crust, with wispy, lacy edges. Latkes also aren't hash browns.

During the Jewish holiday, eating crispy, fried, slightly oniony potato pancakes represents perseverance, and a little bit of magic. But miraculously it lasted eight days. Centuries after the fact, Jews were told to celebrate by eating foods cooked in oil.

A latke (Yiddish: לאַטקע latke; sometimes romanized latka, lit. "pancake") is a type of potato pancake or fritter in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine that is traditionally prepared to celebrate Hanukkah.

Mashed potatoes don't need lots of fat to be delicious. Also, I used Yukon Gold potatoes which make especially creamy mashed potatoes. Another option is to substitute the dairy with broth and margarine in order to serve the mashed potatoes with meat at a kosher meal.

Brisket was a favorite for holiday celebrations, such as Rosh Hashanah, Passover, Hanukkah, and Shabbat. Jewish communities first began to favor this cut because it comes from the breast of the cow, located in the front, which makes it kosher.

Fried foods, like potato pancakes and jelly doughnuts, are prepared and eaten throughout the holiday to celebrate the miracle of Hanukkah: oil that kept the menorah (an ancient lamp) lit for 8 days instead of the 1 day it was supposed to last.

These crispy little potato pancakes make a wonderful appetizer or a great side dish all year long.

Rabbi Lapidus: A latke is a pancake and the word itself comes to us via Yiddish, likely from a Russian word meaning “pancake.” Yiddish is a language which was used by Jews in central and eastern Europe for several centuries before the Holocaust.

Are latkes sephardic or ashkenazi? ›

Latkes are potato pancakes, perfected over the years by Ashkenazi Jewish cooks. They are a fritter made from a batter containing either shredded or mashed potatoes, eggs, and flour or matzoh.

Boxty is different from other potato pancakes or latkes, and you'll see that once you bite into one and notice the crispy hash brown-like outside and soft, dough-like inside.

The most famous symbol of Hanukkah is the hanukkiah, the nine-branched candelabra which is lit each night, and can often be seen in house windows. Hanukkah celebrations are centred around lighting the hanukkiah, and families will gather to light the candles together.

The latke, it turns out, has its roots in an old Italian Jewish custom, documented as early as the 14th century. That, it seems, is where Jews first fried pancakes to celebrate Hannukah. Only back then, they were made of cheese.

📣 Easy way to remember: you grate potatoes for latkes, you shred them for hashbrowns. 🥔 Also, you won't find a recipe better then my Papa Leo's, I promise.

Traditional lacy potato latkes can be flavored with onion, parsley, grated carrot, or apple, or made simply of seasoned shredded potatoes. When served as a course on their own, they are usually accompanied by applesauce and sour cream.

A common explanation is that we eat latkes (potato pancakes) because they are cooked in oil and this remind us of the miracle that a single cruse of oil found in the Temple lasted for eight nights.

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'm Team Applesauce, all the way.) However, this Hanukkah, don't feel constrained by these standard-bearers.

Hence, the custom of eating both apples and honey as food on Rosh Hashanah, not only for their nutritive value but especially because of their value as symbols. Honey, into which we dip apples is an expression of hope that sweetness will mark the lives of Jews in the coming year.