December 14, 2017
Tonight is the third night of Hanukkah and even though my husband and I did not grow up in the Jewish faith, for many years, we’ve made a tradition of reading the children’s book “Latkas, Latkas Good to eat, a Chanukah story” to the girls and talking about the meaning and celebration of this Jewish holiday. Then, we cook up traditional latkas for dinner. The book has an easy and delicious recipe at the end which I’ve included below. It also describes Hanukkah in a beautiful and kid-friendly way.
In the book, a magical pan cooks up latkas for a family, but things go awry and latkas start piling up and spilling out the door. Every year when I make latkas for dinner, I tend to over estimate my peeling and shredding of potatoes so we usually have latkas nearly spilling out the door too. But we all devour them and sleep with happy bellies. Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends!
Latka recipe from the Children’s Book:
Ingredients:
- 3 large potatoes
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 c finely chopped onion
- 1 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. pepper
- 3 tbsp. flour
- vegetable oil
Peel the potatoes and rinse them in cold water. Grate very fine. Place the grated potatoes in a colander and run cold water over them. (This will keep the potatoes from turning dark). Using your hands, squeeze out all the water. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add onion, parsley, salt, pepper and flour. Stir. Add grated potatoes and mix well. Heat a small amount of oil to sizzling in a large frying pan. Drop pancake mixture by the soup-spoonful into oil and flatten slightly. Cook until golden brown underneath, turn and cook on the other side until browned. Eat while tender but crisp! Latkas are traditionally served with applesauce and/or sour cream.
