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Being in New York City during the holiday season for the first time means i am experiencing a whole new world of festivities, traditions and therefore tastiness!!! After using my cooking love throughout Thanksgiving to get over the jet lag (1 giant Turkey, stuffing and dressings later) Hanukkah the Jewish holiday was quick to jump in… Now i understand why they call it The Holiday Season, there is literally something on from the start of carving that Turkey…
Naturally I wanted to understand the concept of Hanukkah… for all my Jewish friends interrupt where you feel you need to ;)… Through a little research i have found that it is celebrating 2 Miracles… The oil used to provide the fuel for light was only meant to last 1 day… however it ended up lasting 8 full days… hence why the Jewish light a multiple candle like object called a Menorah. They light one more than the previous day… so by the 8th and final day there are 8 candles lit, thus is the Festival of light 🙂
It also celebrates the miracle of the Jewish army who defeated the Syrian army allowing Jewish laws, customs and cultures to be embraced and practiced 🙂
Now i am not Jewish but i love hearing about all these different customs and when there is food involved i am always going to be participating and adding a DC twist 😉 With Hanukkah comes plenty of Jewish tasty traditions including Challah (a braded bread) and the ever popular potato pancake called Latkes!
Like all long traditions everyones grandmother made the best Latkes, with a variety of flavours and accompaniments to go with there are plenty of tasty ways to complete your pancake of wonder… i mean lets stop for a second… if you think pancake you think fluffy and happiness… then comes potato and the comfort fulfilment and often crispiness associated… so how can this not be awesome!!!
Well despite there being the tradition way of life… i am always one to go astray and break the rules a little bit, and when it comes to Potato you guys know how much i love to smash Sweet Potatoes 🙂 Before i go on through testing a few myself there are two ways to cook them for alternative endings… if you like them crispy like a potato chip, make your paddies really thin, if you like then slightly crunchy but then soft like a melting lava cake on the inside make the paddies like a solid burger 🙂
These are the perfect little appetiser to make at a party or just have in the fridge to munch for a snack… you don’t have to be jewish to enjoy these bad boys 😉
Ingredients
- 2 Sweet Potatoes, peeled & Grated
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 tsp dried Oregano
- 1 Tbsp Almond/Coconut Flour
- Pinch of salt
- 2 Eggs whisked
- Olive oil
- 1/2 Cup Natural Yoghurt
- 2 tsp Turmeric ground
- 2 Cumin, ground
Method:
- Combine Sweet Potato, onion, oregano, flour, salt and eggs in a bowl
- Heat 1/2 an inch of oil in a fry pan on very high heat, then form golf ball size paddies from the mix. Place in the oil, flatten down to your desired thickness, and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side (remember if you like them thin and crispy to push them down really flat). Transfer to a tray lined with paper towel and sprinkle over salt. Repeat with remaining batch
- Combine yoghurt, turmeric and cumin in a bowl and serve on top of the latkes… i like them super tasty and warm 😉
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