Jewish Holidays Articles

Article / Updated 12-02-2022

Ideal latkes (potato pancakes) are lacy and crisp — and this recipe delivers. Delicious potato latkes are a Hanukkah tradition in many Jewish families, but they're always a hit at any kind of party, at dinners, or as a savory snack. Serve them with applesauce, sour cream, or yogurt. In kosher kitchens, sour cream is not served with latkes if they accompany meat or poultry dishes, but you may find applesauce on the table. Usually, you don’t need additional toppings for latkes when they are companions for main dishes like stews or any that come with a sauce. You simply spoon some of the sauce over the latkes, too. Light and Crispy Latkes (Potato Pancakes) Special tool: Food processor with large grating disc or hand grater Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes Yield: 4 servings (12 to 15 pancakes) Keeping kosher: Pareve 1-1/4 pounds large potatoes, peeled 1 medium onion 1 egg, lightly beaten 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 2 tablespoons flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup vegetable oil, more if needed Using coarse grating disc of a food processor or large holes of a hand grater, grate potatoes and onions, alternating them. Transfer the mixture to a colander. Squeeze mixture by handfuls to press out as much liquid as possible; discard liquid. Put potato-onion mixture in a bowl. Add egg, salt, pepper, flour, and baking powder. Heat 1/2 cup oil in a deep heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet. For each pancake, add about 2 tablespoons of potato mixture to pan. Add 3 or 4 more pancakes. Flatten with back of a spoon so that each measures 2-1/2 inches. Fry over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Using 2 pancake turners, turn them carefully. Fry second side about 4 minutes, or until pancakes are golden brown and crisp. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Stir potato mixture before frying each new batch. If all the oil is absorbed during frying, add 2 or 3 tablespoons more oil to pan. Serve hot.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

This fruit and wine compote is basically fruit poached in liquid with sugar, which forms a syrup. Compote is perfect for making ahead and tastes even better after it’s been refrigerated for a day or two. Vary the compote according to the seasons and to your taste. You can make it with firm, fresh fruit, such as apples or cherries, or dried fruit, such as prunes or figs (as in this recipe). Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus 30 minutes soaking time Cooking time: 25 minutes Yield: 4 to 6 servings Keeping kosher: Pareve 1/4 pound pitted prunes 1/4 pound dried apricots or pears 3 cups dry white, rose, or red wine 1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith, Pippin, or other tart apples 1 lemon 2 cinnamon sticks 1/2 cup sugar, or more if needed About 2 cups water Combine prunes, apricots, and wine in a glass bowl. Cover with a plate that fits inside the bowl to help keep fruit submerged. Let soak at room temperature for 30 minutes, or for 2 or 3 hours in refrigerator. Drain wine into a large saucepan. Peel and core the apples and cut them in thick slices. Put them in the saucepan of wine. Zest and juice the lemon. Add the zest, cinnamon sticks, and sugar to the pan. Heat for 2 minutes, stirring gently to dissolve sugar. Add dried fruit to saucepan and enough water to barely cover the fruit. Bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. You want the apples, apricots, and prunes tender when pierced with the point of a knife. Taste syrup and add lemon juice or more sugar, if needed. If adding sugar, stir very gently to dissolve it, without breaking up fruit. Pour compote into a glass bowl and let cool. Remove strips of lemon zest. You can leave the cinnamon sticks in the compote, if you like. Serve cold in bowls, or either warm or cold over ice cream.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

This Sephardic grilled chicken appears on the barbecues of homes and restaurants throughout Israel. With its Mediterranean marinade, the grilled chicken is a succulent and flavorful main dish. Preparation time: 10 minutes, plus at least 4 hours for marinating chicken Cooking time: 40 minutes Yield: 4 servings Keeping kosher: Meat 2 lemons 2 large garlic cloves 3 small sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper Pinch of cayenne pepper 2 1/2 to 3 pounds chicken pieces Salt (optional) and freshly ground black pepper to taste 2 teaspoons ground cumin, preferably freshly ground Juice the lemons. Crush the garlic cloves. Break the fresh thyme sprigs into pieces. In a shallow baking dish large enough to hold the chicken, mix 1/4 cup lemon juice, garlic, thyme, oil, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and cayenne. Put the chicken in the dish and turn pieces over to coat all sides with marinade. Cover and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight. Turn the chicken in the marinade from time to time. Remove the chicken from the marinade, removing any pieces of thyme or garlic stuck to chicken. Discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken with salt, freshly ground pepper, and cumin on both sides. Prepare your barbecue for indirect heat. Heat charcoal barbecue until the coals are glowing; or heat gas barbecue to medium. Set chicken on rack about 4 to 6 inches above heat source. Grill breast pieces for 20 minutes per side, and leg and thigh pieces for 30 minutes per side, or until thickest part of meat near bone is no longer pink You can cut the chicken to check for doneness. Serve hot.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Jewish cooks have created an amazingly varied selection of Passover desserts. They prepare their dessert batters by replacing the flour with matzos, matzo meal, cake meal, or potato starch. Flourless Passover desserts have a different taste and texture because of the ingredient substitutions, but they still taste great: Cakes: With yeast and baking powder not permitted, cakes depend on whipped eggs to make them rise. To emphasize the holiday’s springtime theme, you may like to accompany each slice of cake with strawberry sauce or fresh berries. Cookies: Macaroons are time-honored treats for Passover. You can make these delicious cookies from any nut. Cream puffs: Make the dough for for cream puffs during Passover from matzo meal, rather than the usual flour. Meringues: Crunchy, airy meringues are another cherished Passover sweet. You can make them plain or fold in a small amount of chopped chocolate or nuts for accent. Pie crusts: You can make these from matzos or matzo meal, too.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Hanukkah fritters are light puffs of batter or simple dough that have been fried. This recipe makes fritters that are quick to prepare, because they use a batter leavened with baking powder instead of yeast. Forming them is quick, too. Instead of rolling out dough with a rolling pin and cutting it in rounds, you shape the fritters with spoons, like making cookies. Serve the fritters a short time after frying them. Accompany them with a small bowl of jam, jelly, or fruit preserves if you like. Sweet Hanukkah Fritters Special tools: Deep fryer or heavy deep saucepan, frying thermometer if possible Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes Yield: 4 to 6 servings (16 to 18 small fritters) Keeping kosher: Dairy 1-1/4 cups flour 1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder 2 large eggs 3 tablespoons sugar 1/3 cup milk 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons cool melted butter or vegetable oil 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1-1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest 5 cups vegetable oil (for deep frying) Powdered sugar, sifted (for sprinkling) Prepare a tray lined with paper towels. Sift flour with baking powder. Whisk eggs and sugar in a bowl. Whisk in milk, salt, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in orange zest. Add flour mixture and stir slowly with the whisk to a smooth thick batter. Heat oil for deep frying in a deep fryer or a deep heavy saucepan to 350°F on a frying thermometer, or until a small piece of dough added to oil makes it bubble gently. Take a rounded teaspoon of batter. Dip a second spoon in the oil and then use it to push the batter from the first spoon gently into the oil. To prevent hot oil splatters, do not drop dough from high above oil. Be careful not to crowd pan. Fry 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted metal spoon. Drain on paper towels. Pat tops gently with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Check oil temperature and reduce heat if it has increased. Continue making more puffs with remaining batter. Serve fritters hot or warm, dusted with powdered sugar.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

This savory leek and mushroom topping for Hanukkah latkes is scented with cumin and thyme. It enlivens any vegetable or potato pancakes. If you’re including dairy foods on the menu, top each latke with a spoonful of sour cream or yogurt and then with the topping. When creating alternative toppings for your latkes, you can stay fairly close to custom by simply mixing a few herbs in your sour cream or substituting yogurt. Or go wild with toppings like pesto, Mexican salsa, or the French olive paste called tapenade. Leek and Mushroom Latke Topping Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes Yield: 4 to 6 servings as topping Keeping kosher: Pareve 1 pound leeks, white and light green parts only 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 to 6 tablespoons vegetable stock 1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled 1 teaspoon ground cumin Salt and freshly ground pepper 6 ounces mushrooms, halved and sliced 1/2 teaspoon paprika Cayenne pepper to taste 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley Split and clean leeks. Cut them in thin slices. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy sauté pan. Add leeks and sauté, stirring, for 1 minute. Add 4 tablespoons stock, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring often, about 10 minutes or until leeks are tender; add more stock if pan becomes dry. If mixture is soupy, uncover and simmer until excess liquid evaporates. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Sauté mushrooms, stirring often, about 2 minutes or until just tender. Add paprika and 1/2 teaspoon cumin and cook over low heat about 1/2 minute. Add mushrooms to pan of leeks and mix gently. Heat over medium heat for 1 or 2 minutes to blend flavors. Season to taste with cayenne, salt, and pepper. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Almost every Passover seder (ritual dinner) includes various ritual foods and other items. Nothing on the seder table is selected randomly; each item has its purpose and often its specific place on the table or seder plate. Remember that as with all symbols, each item has a traditional symbolism, but that shouldn’t stop you from coming up with new ideas that are meaningful for you and the people at your seder. At a Passover seder, the following traditional items are on the table: Seder plate: The seder plate (there’s usually one per table) holds at least six of the ritual items that are talked about during the seder: the shankbone, karpas, chazeret, charoset, maror, and egg. While the booming seder plate industry would like you to buy a beautiful, ornate, and expensive plate, you can use any plate. If you have kids, get them involved by decorating a paper plate with pictures of the events or things the seder foods symbolize. The ritual seder plate. Roasted lamb shankbone: One of the most striking symbols of Passover is the roasted lamb shankbone (called zeroah), which commemorates the paschal (lamb) sacrifice made the night the ancient Hebrews fled Egypt. Some people say it symbolizes the outstretched arm of God (the Hebrew word zeroah can mean “arm”). If you don’t like the idea of a bone sitting on your table, you may consider using a roasted beet instead. (That’s what vegetarians usually do.) This isn’t a new idea; the great Biblical and Talmudic commentator Rashi suggested it back in the eleventh century. Roasted egg: The roasted egg (baytsah) is a symbol in many different cultures, usually signifying springtime and renewal. Here it stands in place of one of the sacrificial offerings which was performed in the days of the Second Temple. Another popular interpretation is that the egg is like the Jewish people: the hotter you make it for them, the tougher they get. This egg isn’t even eaten during the meal; the shell just needs to look really roasted. Maror (“bitter herb”): Any bitter herb will work, though horseradish is the most common. Bitter herbs bring tears to the eyes and recall the bitterness of slavery. The seder refers to the slavery in Egypt, but people are called to look at their own bitter enslavements, whether addiction or habit. Charoset: There’s nothing further from maror than charoset (“kha-ROH-set”), that sweet salad of apples, nuts, wine, and cinnamon that represents the mortar used by the Hebrew slaves to make bricks. Karpas: Karpas is a green vegetable, usually parsley (though any spring green will do). While karpas may symbolize the freshness of spring, others say people eat it to make them feel like nobility or aristocracy. Some families still use boiled potatoes for karpas, continuing a tradition from Eastern Europe where it was difficult to obtain fresh green vegetables. Chazeret: The chazeret (“khah-ZER-et”) is a second bitter herb, most often romaine lettuce, but people also use the leafy greens of a horseradish or carrot plant. The symbolism is the same as that of maror. Salt water: Salt water symbolizes the tears and sweat of enslavement, though paradoxically, it’s also a symbol for purity, springtime, and the sea, the mother of all life. Often a single bowl of salt water sits on the table into which each person dips their karpas during the seder. Then, it’s traditional to begin the actual seder meal with each person eating a hardboiled egg (not the roasted egg!) dipped in the bowl of salt water. Matzah: Perhaps the most important symbol on the seder table is a plate that has a stack of three pieces of matzah (unleavened bread) on it. The matzot (that’s plural for matzah) are typically covered with a cloth. People have come up with numerous interpretations for the three matzot. Some say they represent the Kohen class (the Jewish priests in ancient times), the Levis (who supported the priests), and the Israelites (the rest of the Jews). What symbolism you attribute to this trinity isn't all that important, as long as you’re thinking about it. During the struggles of Soviet Jewry, a fourth piece of matzah was added to the seder plate to symbolize the struggles of Jews who were not yet free enough to celebrate the Passover. Today, some families still use that fourth matzah as a way of remembering all people who are not yet free to celebrate as they wish. Wine cups and wine (or grape juice): Everyone at the seder has a (usually very small) cup or glass from which they drink four cups of wine. Traditionally, the four cups represent the four biblical promises of redemption: “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you from their slavery, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments. And I will take you to me for a people . . .” Others say the four cups represent the four letters in the unspeakable Name of God. Some of the symbols aren’t eaten, such as the roasted lamb shankbone and the roasted egg. However, when it comes time to eat the karpas, the charoset, and the other symbols, different families have different traditions. Some eat the symbols from the seder plate; others give each person their own mini-seder plate to eat from; at larger events, these items may be served family style, with large bowls being passed around so that people can serve themselves.