Hanukkah falls on distinctively festive dates this year…

By Faith Kramer

Hanukkah falls on distinctively festive dates this year — the first night on Dec. 25 and the eighth night on Jan. 1. I see this as a great opportunity to deck out your potato pancakes by assembling a latke board as you entertain guests.

This version of an appetizer or nibble board transforms potato pancakes into two-bite treats with a variety of favorite and unexpected toppings. You can use my traditional latkes recipe or try my Middle Eastern and Italian variations. To add even more flare, you can whip up delectable dips and toppings to go with them.

Once your latkes are ready, arrange them on one large or several smaller wooden cheese boards, platters or large plates. Then lay out spoons and small bowls full of toppings. Complete the spread with napkins or small plates, and your latkes are ready to party.

Pair up traditional potato pancakes with the Buffalo sauce dip featuring the zing of hot sauce mixed with yogurt, ranch dressing, blue cheese crumbles and chopped celery. Offer applesauce, sour cream, caramelized onions and cranberry sauce with these pancakes as well.

A green onion and cilantro tahini sauce complements the Middle Eastern latkes, which add cumin, za’atar and other Mizrahi seasonings to the traditional pancake. I also put out labneh or Greek yogurt, hummus, amba (an Israeli-Iraqi fermented mango sauce), and harissa or z’hug (hot sauces from North Africa and Yemen). Amba, harissa and z’hug can be found in local Middle Eastern or kosher markets. You can also make a garlic or garlic-cucumber sauce for a little extra kick.

The Italian latkes are packed with zucchini and mozzarella cheese and are served with chopped-olive dip. I also like to offer marinara or pizza sauce, sour cream and ricotta cheese. Or you can try a (vegan or dairy) whipped feta and garlic dip recipe.

The traditional and Middle Eastern pancakes are parve and there is a vegan variation for them. The chopped-olive dip and the green onion and cilantro tahini sauce recipes are parve and vegan. For a parve version of the Italian latkes, substitute nondairy mozzarella for the cheese. And for gluten-free latkes, use potato starch instead of flour.

The traditional latkes recipe is also the base for the Middle Eastern and Italian variations. Make the traditional version first, divide into three batches and then follow the variation directions.

The latkes and toppings can all be made in advance, which can certainly make holiday entertaining much easier.

Traditional Latkes with Flavor Variations

Makes about 36, 2-inch latkes

8 cups shredded unpeeled yellow, gold or Yukon potatoes (about 2½ lbs.)
1½ cups shredded or chopped onion (about 1 large)
2 tsp. finely chopped garlic
3 large eggs
1 tsp. salt
⅛ tsp. ground black pepper
¼ cup flour or potato starch, plus as needed
Vegetable or other oil

Squeeze out potato and onion shreds and discard excess liquid. Put shreds in a large bowl with garlic. In small bowl, beat eggs with salt and pepper. Stir into shreds, mixing well. Sprinkle in flour and stir. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Compress handful of batter into patty. If it stays together, proceed. If not, add flour by tablespoon until patties stay together when formed.

If making flavor variations, see recipes below.

To continue with traditional latkes, begin frying. Pour oil into a large skillet until it is about ¼-inch deep. Heat over medium-high heat until a potato shred immediately sizzles with bubbles all around.

Wet or oil your hands. For mini-latkes, take about 2 Tbs. of batter and squeeze out remaining moisture with your hands. (Be careful not to let the liquid drip back into the batter bowl.) Pat into a 2-inch round and then put in hot oil, or transfer to large spoon and slide into pan. Patties will keep shape better if they are a little thicker, so keep that in mind as you shape them. (If making full-size latkes, use ¼ cup batter and form into 3-inch patties to make about 24 pancakes.)

Work in batches, adding more oil as needed and allowing oil to reheat between batches. Fry patties a few minutes on each side. Flip when bottom of latke and edges are golden brown. Press down occasionally with spatula, until both sides are browned. Drain on paper towels. Repeat until all latkes are fried.

Middle Eastern latkes: Use the following directions to transform part of your batch of traditional latkes into a Middle Eastern variation. Separate one-third of your potato mixture, stir in ½ tsp. ground cumin, ½ tsp. za’atar or oregano, ½ tsp. crumbled dried mint, 3 Tbs. finely chopped fresh parsley. Shape and fry as directed above.

Italian latkes: Again, these directions will transform part of your batch of traditional latkes. Separate one-third of your potato mixture, stir in 3 cups coarsely shredded zucchini (squeeze out excess water first) and 1½ cups shredded mozzarella, 2 tsp. finely chopped garlic, ¾ tsp. oregano and ½ tsp. chili flakes (optional). Beat one large egg and stir in. Sprinkle in 2 Tbs. flour and stir in. Let sit 5-10 minutes. Shape and fry as directed above. (Note: This variation makes more latkes than the traditional recipe.)

Vegan variation of traditional latkes: Substitute a flax mixture for eggs. Mix ¼ cup ground flax seeds with ¾ cup water. Stir well and let sit 10 minutes. Increase potatoes to 3 lbs. and use 3 tsp. chopped garlic. Continue as directed but drain fried latkes on parchment paper. (They stick to paper towels.)

Make ahead: All the latke recipes can be made ahead and reheated from room temperature in a 250-degree oven on a parchment-lined baking sheet until warmed through.

Buffalo sauce dip for traditional latkes: In medium bowl, mix ½ cup plain Greek yogurt, ¼ cup purchased ranch dressing and ½ tsp. of hot sauce. Stir well and taste and add ½ to 2 tsp. or more hot sauce to taste. Stir in 2 Tbs. thinly sliced and chopped celery and ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese. Garnish with 1 Tbs. additional chopped celery and 2 Tbs. crumbled blue cheese and a drizzle of hot sauce. Makes about ¾ cup. Refrigerate ungarnished up to 3 days and bring to room temperature before adding garnish.

Green onion and cilantro tahini sauce for Middle Eastern latkes: In small or regular food processor, add 1-2 large coarsely chopped garlic cloves, ¼ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves and ¼ cup coarsely chopped green onions (white, light green and dark green parts). Process until finely chopped.

Add ½ cup tahini, 3 Tbs. water, 3 Tbs. lemon juice and ¼ tsp. salt. Add ¼ tsp. chili flakes (optional). Process until smooth. Taste. Add more lemon juice or salt if needed. Sauce should be the consistency of Greek yogurt. Add water by teaspoon as needed. Garnish with 1 Tbs. chopped green onion. Makes about ¾ cup. Refrigerate ungarnished up to 3 days. Then bring to room temperature, and mix in water by the teaspoon if sauce has thickened. Add garnish.

Chopped-olive dip for Italian latkes: Stir together ½ cup purchased olive tapenade, 1 tsp. red wine vinegar, 3 Tbs. olive oil or as needed, ¼ tsp. chili flakes (optional), ¼ tsp. ground black pepper and 2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley. Stir before serving and garnish with 1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley. If tapenade is not available, substitute ½ cup chopped, pitted olives combined with 1 Tbs. chopped capers and 1 Tbs. olive oil. Makes about ¾ cup. Refrigerate up to 5 days without parsley as an ingredient or garnish. Bring to room temperature and stir in and garnish with parsley.

https://jweekly.com/2024/12/16/have-a-global-hanukkah-by-making-a-latke-board/