Chanukah Foods
From Around
the World
Fascinadora / iStock / Getty Images Plus
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
N orth American Ashkenazi Jews may associate Chanukah
celebrations with potato latkes and sufganiyot, but there’s nothing
in the Maccabees story that says these are our only options.

For Jewish communities around the world, the tradition of eating fried
foods during the Festival of Lights means holiday tables can feature
fried meat, sweet and savory fritters and any kind of doughnut iteration
imaginable. This year, I sampled four traditional Chanukah dishes from
Italy, Spain, Latin America and India.

POLLO FRITTO PER
HANUKKAH KEFTES DE PRASA
Photos by Sophie Panzer
(Fried Chicken for Hanukkah)
Having grown up with brisket or
roasted chicken as the protein of
choice at a Chanukah table, I was
intrigued to fi nd that Italian Jews
traditionally celebrate the Festival of
Lights with a special fried chicken
recipe and wanted to give it a try.

I chose an Italian recipe from Leah
Koenig’s cookbook “Little Book of
Jewish Feasts.” It combines lemon,
thyme and cinnamon in a quick
marinade that makes the chicken
moist and tender without requiring
it to sit too long (if it does, the acid
from the lemon juice will make the
meat tough).

I had never had fried chicken
made with lemon before, but it’s a
pretty genius inclusion. Th e acidity
cuts through the fat and prevents the
dish from being overwhelmingly oily,
which is especially welcome if you’ve
still got piles of other fried delicious-
ness to plow your way through. I
wouldn’t think to include cinnamon
in a fried chicken recipe either, but it
adds a nice depth of fl avor.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Pollo Fritto
Keftes de Prasa
WINTER HOLIDAY MAGAZINE
Th ese leek fritters are a Sephardic
holiday staple and are oft en eaten at
Chanukah because they are fried in oil.

Th ey originated in the Iberian penin-
sula but can also be found in Turkish,
Greek and Middle Eastern cuisine.

I found a simple recipe by Michael
Natkin on Serious Eats that called for
leeks, eggs, bread crumbs, herbs and
salt. At least, it seemed simple until I
started washing the leeks ... and kept
washing the leeks for what felt like
two hours because they had so much
grit in them. Th e batter comes out
a little thinner than a typical latke,
which threw me off as I tried to
judge whether they were done, but
I managed to avoid burning most
of them.

Fine, half of them.

Th e keft es have a light, sweet, almost
nutty taste when they’re cooked, and I
could easily have eaten four or fi ve at
a time. Th e crispy fried texture defi -
nitely screams “Chanukah,” although
these leek pancakes are a little less
starchy and fi lling than a latke.

See Foods, Page 20
NOVEMBER 26, 2020
19