Latkes as you Like them

However you make latkes one thing is certain: They’ll go like hotcakes

LATKES, or potato pancakes, are usually eaten on Chanukah, the eight-day Jewish holiday sometimes referred to as the Festival of Lights. The holiday commemorates the rededication of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and the miraculous length of time the small amount of oil found in the temple kept a lamp burning. Lighting a candle on a menorah for eight nights and eating foods fried in oil are typical ways to celebrate the holiday.

Google a recipe for “latke” and you’ll find page after page of recipes for not just potato latkes but also carrot and zucchini and cheese and just about any vegetable or combination of vegetables as well as seasonings from mild to spicy. In fact, before potatoes and other vegetables were used, the pancake was made with cheese and fried in oil. It wasn’t until the 14th century that potatoes became the favored ingredient to use for latkes. The common denominator among all the different latkes is that they are fried in oil.

I like my potato latkes to be thick and potato-y because that’s how my grandmother made them, and that’s how my mother made them and now how I make them. I have always eaten potato latkes with sour cream and sugar, lots of sugar. But my way is very controversial. In fact, it’s sacrilegious to those who like their latkes thin and crisp. Thin crisp latkes eaten with applesauce, and most certainly not with sugar are what most people prefer.

I can almost see the shudder among those of you reading this who’ve enjoyed latkes the “traditional’ way, or at least what you consider the traditional way. But guess what: As with any ethnic food, there really isn’t a traditional way set in stone. There may be traditional ingredients but every cook has the freedom to play with those ingredients to suit their tastes and mood. And my taste is for thick latkes.

There really is no right recipe for latkes although the standard recipe contains potatoes, onions, eggs and flour or matzoh meal with some people adding a leavening agent. What if you use purple potatoes or sweet potatoes, or use scallions or shallots in place of onions? What if you choose to season your latkes with curry powder or add jalapeños? As long as they are shaped like pancakes and fried, they’re latkes.

Since there are Jews all over the world, the ingredients used are those that are available where and when the holiday is celebrated. In the United States, we do usually use potatoes although I’ve made zucchini latkes and carrot latkes and sometimes mixed potatoes, carrots and zucchini! But I’ve always served them with sour cream and sugar!