Hanukkah Recipe - Vegetable Latkes

Hi All

What a fun day it was announcing to our families the gender of our twins! How fun was that?! Can you believe it - two boys!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time to get into the holiday season so let's kick off the season with the first celebration - Hanukkah - this year it starts at sundown on Friday, December 11th.

As many of you know I grew up on Long Island, NY and I spent a lot of time in Massapequa. The two predominant ethnic/cultural heritages there were Italian and Jewish, hence the nickname "Matzo-Pizza". Even though I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools through High School (and was seriously considering going into the priesthood - but that is another blog for another day!), I was exposed to the Jewish culture. One of my best friends back on Long Island is Jewish and I spent so many holiday celebrations with him and his family.

Enough about me - let's get into cooking!

Latkes, also called Potato Pancakes, are a traditional Hanukkah dish that are pan fried in olive oil. This is done to remember the miracle in which oil was needed to light the eternal flame in the Temple - there was only enough oil for one day but miraculously it lasted for eight.

In my recipe, I add some veggies to this as it is a great snack for baby/toddler as well as the whole family. Do NOT just make this for the holidays and forget about it until next year - this can be eaten all year round. It was our turn for snack at Alina's Co-op a few weeks back and I made several batches there and served them fresh...the kids LOVED it, especially when I served it with some Organic Applesauce for dipping...that was so fun and healthy! What a great way to get veggies into a snack...And the parents and teacher could not get enough either.

The Goods:

Vegetable Latkes
Country: Israel
Babies: 12+ months

Ingredients:
1 large Zucchini, grated
1 large Yellow Squash, grated
1 large Carrot, grated
1 large Yukon Gold or Russet Potato, grated
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 C of Matzo meal or all-purpose flour
pinch of sea salt
pinch of pepper
butter or olive oil
applesauce and/or sour cream for dipping

Directions:

Put all the grated veggies in a cheese cloth or clean kitchen towel and squeeze to discard the excess water. Note: for younger babies, run the veggies though a food processes to create a finer consistency.

Then place the veggies in a bowl an combine the egg, matzo meal, salt and pepper.

In a non-stick pan, melt the butter or heat the oil on medium heat (taste wise I prefer butter - just a person opinion), Using a large soup spoon or ice cream scooper drop enough latkes mixture into the pan to form small pancakes about the size of your palm or smaller. Don't overcrowd the pan.

Cook the latkes 6 minutes per side, adding more butter/oil as needed. Serve immediately or you can keep cooked latkes warm on a wire rack set in a baking pan in the oven.

Serve with applesauce and/or sour cream for dipping.

Latkes will last for about 3 days in the refrigerator or freeze them for up to 2 months. To reheat, set oven to 350 and bake for about 5 minutes until warm.

Yield: 14-16 Latkes


PS - Thank you for all your well wishes on the announcement of our twins. We really appreciate it!

PSS - We will be sending out holiday gift ideas soon, along with tips and recipes for the season!

PSSS - We should be able to announce our special pricing and delivery options on my first book The Baby Cuisine Cookbook just in time for the holidays. Please, if you know a friend(s) who would be interested have them sign up at: http://www.alinascucina.com/signup.php.

With Gratitude,
Shane

(c) 2009 - Shane Valentine