JNS
As Jews left country after country, they took their favorite recipes, adapting them for the kosher kitchen and enriching cuisine everywhere they went, including America.
Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, begins this year on the eve of Wednesday, Dec. 25, coinciding with Christmas Day, and ends on the evening of Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. While the date varies on the solar Gregorian calendar, it always starts on the same day on the Jewish calendar: the 25th of Kislev. When it falls this late, it does seem to make the month of December more festive as the holiday shopping, cooking and celebrating goes almost until New Year’s Day (and this year, even a few days beyond that!)
Potato latkes are the most popular dish for Chanukah, right? Not so. In other countries, wherever Jews settled or passed through, they learned the regional dishes, and their cuisine was influenced by their non-Jewish environment. In American markets, mainstream items such as hummus, lox, baklava and bagels were all brought to our shores by immigrants.
Throughout history, Jews exiled from their homelands have wandered the globe. In the Middle Ages, Jews traveled to escape oppression, wherever it reared its head. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, hundreds of thousands fled Europe—Eastern and Western—and movements associated with czarist tyranny, fascism, Nazism and communism. Moving on, they took their favorite recipes, adapting them for the kosher kitchen and thus enriching Jewish cuisine everywhere they went, including America.
But in every place, oil and dairy products are recognized as symbolic, traditional Chanukah foods related to Jewish history and redemption. Oil emphasizes the miracle of the cruse found in the Holy Temple, which burned for eight days when there was only enough for a single day. Dairy food products commemorate the heroism of Judith. She fed the enemy general Holofernes large quantities of salty cheese, washed down with wine, perhaps the specialties of the area. He fell into a drunken stupor, Judith killed him, the enemy army fled, and the Jews were saved. It’s a version of “They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat!”
Latkes and sufganiyot—basically, a holiday doughnut classically filled with jelly but these days run the gamut from salted caramel to cookies-and-cream—are most common; however, other items remain deeply connected to individual countries using ingredients of origin. In Italy, for example, eggplant is sliced, dipped in egg and matzah meal, and fried in olive oil. Today, Caribbean Jews fry eggplant in coconut oil. They create a salsa of pineapple, peppers and lime juice, rather than the original Mexican spicy version of tomatoes and chili peppers. The recipe for gefilte fish croquettes, which uses cooked flaked fish, was inspired by the football-shaped croquettes I devoured at a kosher-style restaurant in London. Always requested this time of the year, my quick and simpler version of sufganiyot is made with baking powder instead of yeast. And along with favorite preserves, delight the kids with a filling of Nutella. If you don’t have a deep frying thermometer, to reach 350 degrees, a piece of white bread should brown nicely in 60 seconds.
A small silvery fish about six inches long, smelts are found in the North Atlantic as well as in Canada. Tossed in egg and seasoned breadcrumbs, and then cooked either in the oven, a pan or the air fryer, they’re eaten whole—crunchy, and a good source of protein and omega-3s. In Israel, sufganiyot are often fried in olive oil pressed from local olives. The milk chocolate cookies resemble gelt, or “coins.” Press a square of chocolate-mint candy on top for the last two minutes of baking time, and you have instant frosting. (I use Andes Crème de Menthe thins cut in half.)
Unless you’re on a restricted diet for medical reasons or have food allergies, forget about trying to alter your grandmother’s or family’s recipes. To do so will take away from the rich symbolism of Chanukah. Instead, eat moderate portions, keep exercising despite temperatures having plummeted in many parts of the world this time of the year and celebrate the light of the holiday, which is needed now more than ever.
Fried Eggplant with Pineapple Salsa (Pareve)
Makes 4 servings
Cook’s Tips:
*Use fresh pineapple. Canned is too liquid. Fresh pineapple is available in markets already cubed. It’s more expensive but a real time-saver.
*Coconut oil is a saturated fat but gives flavor as well as crispness. Any vegetable oil may be substituted.
Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
1½ cups seasoned breadcrumbs
1 medium eggplant, trimmed and sliced ½-inch thick
coconut oil
Directions:
Place the beaten eggs and breadcrumbs in separate shallow dishes.
Dip the eggplant slices in the egg, then coat with breadcrumbs. Pat lightly. Place on a paper towel-lined platter and set aside for 15 minutes.
In a large skillet, heat ¼ cup oil over medium-high heat. Arrange the eggplant in one layer in the skillet, about ¼-inch apart.
Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until tender when pierced with a pointed knife and nicely browned. If browning too quickly, reduce heat.
Drain on paper towels.
Serve hot or at room temperature.
Pineapple Salsa (Pareve)
Makes 1½ cups
Cook’s Tips:
*Always use fresh pineapple. Canned is too liquid. Cubed fresh pineapple is available in markets. It’s more expensive but saves time.
*For a milder punch, remove the seeds and white pith from jalapeño peppers.
*Chop the onion, bell pepper and jalapeño pepper separately in a food processor.
Ingredients:
1 cup pineapple cut into ½-inch dice
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
¼ cup red bell pepper, chopped
½ jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons snipped cilantro
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
½ teaspoon salt
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a serving bowl. Mix gently.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Oven-Fried Smelts (Pareve)
Make 4-6 servings
Cook’s Tips:
*Frozen smelts should be thawed, rinsed in cold water and patted dry before cooking.
*Substitute seasoned breadcrumbs or matzah meal for panko.
Ingredients:
1 pound smelts (about 8-10)
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400° degrees.
Spray a baking sheet with nonstick baking spray.
Rinse the smelts in cold water and pat dry. Set aside.
In a Ziploc bag, place the remaining ingredients. Add the smelts and shake to dredge the fish, covering all over.
Arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Spray with an olive-oil baking spray.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until nicely brown. Turn and bake 10 minutes longer.
Arrange on a platter and serve hot with lemon wedges.
Gefilte Fish Croquettes (Pareve)
Makes 4-6 servings
Cook’s Tips:
*Perfect for any leftover cooked fish such as salmon, haddock or cod.
*Freezes well.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for frying
½ medium onion, finely chopped
4 cups cooked flaked fish
½ cup mashed potatoes
3 tablespoons ground almonds (optional)
2 eggs, beaten
½ to ¾ cup matzah meal
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Directions:
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the onion. Cook until softened and lightly browned, for 3-4 minutes. Scrape into a mixing bowl.
Add the fish, mashed potatoes, almonds, eggs, half-cup matzah meal, salt and pepper. Mix well. The mixture should be firm enough to shape. If needed, add a little extra matzah meal.
Using an ice-cream scoop, form the mixture into balls and flatten them slightly. Chill in the fridge while heating oil.
In a large deep saucepan or deep fryer, heat about 1½ inches of oil over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. Gently slide croquettes into hot oil. Fry, turning, until browned all over. If browning too fast, reduce heat to medium. Drain on paper towels.
Serve hot or cold.
Sufganiyot (Dairy or Pareve)
Makes 15-18
Cook’s Tips:
*To make pareve, use a nondairy milk such as oat milk.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter, softened (or margarine for pareve treats)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
3 tablespoons preserves or Nutella
favorite oil for frying
confectioners’ sugar
Cook’s Tips:
*To sour milk, add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Do not stir.
Directions:
In a medium bowl or food processor, rub or process the butter into the flour and sugar to resemble coarse breadcrumbs. If in processor, transfer to a bowl.
Stir in the baking powder. Make a well in the center. Mix in enough buttermilk to make a soft dough.
With floured hands, roll a heaping tablespoon dough into a ball about 1½ inches in diameter.
Using the handle of a wooden spoon dipped in flour make an indentation large enough to hold ½ teaspoon preserves. Work dough around to seal preserves completely. Refrigerate while the oil is heating.
In a large deep saucepan or deep fryer, heat about 1½ inches of oil to 350 degrees. Gently slide dough balls into hot oil in batches, without crowding. Cook over medium heat, turning often until crisp and brown, about 4 minutes.
Drain on paper towels. Toss in confectioners’ sugar and serve hot.
Mint Chocolate Coins (Dairy)
Makes 18-20
Cook’s Tips:
*Turn off the oven for the last 2 minutes of baking time. Cookies will continue to bake with residual heat.
Ingredients:
⅓ cup butter at room temperature
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
9-10 chocolate peppermint wafers, each cut in half
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add the egg and about ½ cup of the flour and mix.
Add the remaining flour and cocoa. Mix well to make a stiff dough. No white streaks should remain. If the mixture is too soft, add a little more flour. Lightly flour a board.
Roll the dough into a 10-inch log. Cut into half-inch thick slices and place on the prepared cookie sheet.
Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 12 minutes. Remove from oven.
Place a piece of peppermint wafer onto each cookie. Return to the oven and bake for two minutes more.
Gently press the melted mint wafers into the cookies. Cool on a wire rack.
Ethel G. Hofman is a widely syndicated American Jewish food and travel columnist, author and culinary consultant.
