Cooking for the Holidays: Hanukkah Potato Latkes

You’ve got to love a holiday that lasts for 8 days. Traditional celebrations of any kind stir thoughts of food and family memories. For me, the two are incredibly intertwined. Which brings us to this holiday season’s potato latkes.

Why Latkes for Hanukkah?

Some say it has to do with the oil. History tells us that the just a bit of oil used to light the temple burned for eight nights. Others say, its the golden color of the fried potatoes that commemorate the light of the burning oil. I’m not sure that I ever learned a definitive answer. For me, it’s the memory of this family tradition that’s the most important. And that is why I think potato latkes are a delicious addition to the table any night of Hannukah and then again, any time of the year!

These are flavors on which food memories are made.

Heidi Billotto

My mom would make latkes on the first night of Hannukah; and then, we would have dinner. As my mom cooked, my dad, my brother and I would eat. The latkes disappeared as fast as Mom could make them. They, very simply, never made it to the table. Instead, the latke course was for us a run of first night of Hannukah appetizers prepared  a la minute.

Traditions Continue

Now I make potato latkes as the main event of the event. Sometimes I serve a local veggie or maybe a salad on the side. But, for me, the potato latkes are what this holiday is all about.

Mom had a large plate covered with paper towels. She’d fry the mix of potatoes and onions, painstakingly grated on a box grater, in shmaltz – rendered chicken fat. And as soon as the fried potato pancakes hit the plate covered with paper towels for draining, they were fair game. It was every man or girl for themselves and somehow we all got our fill.

Food Memories That Make the Hanukkah Holiday

The latkes which we only ate at Hanukkah were fried in shmaltz. But truth is, I now use organic vegetable oil or avocado oil in a well-seasoned pan.

You can make the potato latke recipe with any kind of vegetable. Try the classic recipe here with shredded NC sweet potatoes, shredded local carrots or any kind of firm winter squash. Want to cut back on all the oil? You can make them in a non-stick pan just as easily.

If you want to make them the old fashioned way and soak in all the traditional flavors food memories are made of, you’ll need to make the Shmaltz first. Its really pretty easy – you just need chicken fat and chicken skin.

Everything you’ll need is available from a local farmers market. Buy a whole local pasture raised or organic chicken or two and some additional chicken thighs or leg quarters. Pull off the skin and fat. Use the rest of the chicken and bones to make chicken soup or stock to freeze for later or enjoy right now.

Shmaltz it up for Hanukkah ( Or Christmas) This Year

The recipe for shmaltz is an easy one, but it does take a bit of time as the cooking is low and slow. Break the chicken fat and skin up into smaller pieces, put them in a heavy pan and turn the heat on a medium high. As soon as you begin to see a bit of fat accumulating in the pan, add one small finely chopped onion to the mix, and turn down the heat to medium low. The point here is to render the fat, not to quickly fry up the onion or chicken skin. I promise, all things will brown in their own time.

Simply, let it all cook until the fat is melted into a golden elixir and then skin is shriveled and crisp. If your heat is too high, you’ll burn the fat and thats not good. So remember low and slow.

Once there is an accumulation of fat and then chicken skin is crisp and browned take out the chicken skin pieces. These wonderful little gems, created in the process of making smaltz are called gribeness. More on that in a few. First, to finish the smaltz, strain the fat from pan into a glass jar. My mom used to use an old soup or pickle jar. It stayed in our fridge until that batch of smaltz was gone and it was time to make another.

The Goodness of Gribeness

If shmaltz is your only goal, then you can toss away the crispy rendered chicken skin, but I would advise against that. Instead, I suggest you season the crispy browned gribeness goodness with a bit of salt and pepper and savor this crunchy, salty snack. When my mom would make shmaltz she would always treat herself, and sometimes me, if I was around, to a gribeness sandwich. These are flavors, on which food memories are made.

Spread two slices of good toasted rye or marble rye bread with a bit of cooled shmaltz. Layer the seasoned gribeness and thin sliced raw red onion on top of one slice and then top with the other. Yes Please!

Back to the Hanukkah Latkes

Now that you’ve heard my story of holiday memories, its time to make some of your own.