From Tunis, Ethiopia and Holon to Los Angeles and New York, the makings of an oil-rich, taste-tingling Chanukah that touches on many Jewish traditions.

Deborah Fineblum

By Deborah Fineblum, JNS

This is one tour where you’re going to want to bring your appetite along. And quite possibly a towel.

Because oil—and plenty of it—is flowing during the eight days of Chanukah.

That’s why all diets are officially suspended until the last candle sputters out in the chanukiyah (“menorah”) on Jan. 1, the first candle having been kindled after sundown on the previous Wednesday, Dec. 25.

Oil is de rigueur, of course, thanks to the tiny cruse of sacred oil that miraculously remained burning in the reclaimed Temple’s menorah for a full eight days. In fact, the oily theme is the only thing uniting the traditional Chanukah foods from Jewish communities around the world.

So, fasten your bibs. Here we go.

DAY 1: Latkes, Eastern Europe

For Jamie Geller, her maternal grandfather Eugene Zuckerman and the tantalizing aroma of latkes sizzling in the pan are fused into a single memory.

“All four of my grandparents were survivors, and all four were the most amazing cooks,” says Geller, best-selling cookbook author (Jewlish by Jamie, among other titles) and celebrity chef who oversees media and marketing for the nonprofit Aish. But it was this grandfather who was a professional chef. “In fact, I can’t recall ever seeing him without an apron,” she says.

Growing up outside Philadelphia and a day-school graduate, for Geller, Chanukkah meant the taste of these potato pancakes (“crispy on the outside and tender on the inside”) fresh from the pan.

Grandpa’s secret ingredient? Matzah meal.

“Flour just doesn’t do it,” adds Geller, who made aliyah with her family a dozen years ago.

Note: If you’re looking for a professional’s verdict on the age-old sour cream versus applesauce debate, as far as Geller is concerned, “without sour cream, it’s not really a latke.”

Jamie Geller in the kitchen with two of her six children, Noa and Shaulie Dovid. Credit: Courtesy of Jamie Geller.

DAY 2: Tunisian Fricassé

Matan Choufan may live in Tel Aviv now, but he spent his formative years in Eilat with his parents, who are from Tunisia. And his mom, hailing from the capital city of Tunis, brought into their home the French influences of that place.

“You can trace your family’s journeys by their recipes,” says Choufan, a food writer and editor who is senior director of content for Asif: The Culinary Institute of Israel. Still, growing up with Tunisian-born parents was not the norm in Eilat, and his mostly Sephardic schoolmates would regularly beg for a taste of his lunch, typically a baguette with red pepper paste and spicy harissa chili sauce.

Matan Choufan cooks with his mother, Brigette Choufan, at the Asif test kitchen in Israel. Photo by Dan Perez. Styling by Nurit Kariv.

But at Chanukah time, “whatever it is has to be fried,” says Choufan.

His favorite? His mom’s Tunisian Fricassé (“fried rolls”), filled with preserved lemon, tuna, hard-boiled egg and assorted spicy Tunisian condiments. And even now that he’s a professional foodie, Choufan still favors Tunisian dishes.

Day 3: ‘Kiftikas di Prasa’ (Sephardic Leek Patties)

Ariella Amshalem is a professional chef profoundly shaped by her father’s parents who came to New York from Turkey. “As a young girl, I watched biscocchos, bourekas, fiveyos, fritadas and roscas form like magic in my grandmother’s hands,” she recalls. “It was how she knew how to give love.”

Indeed, Sephardic culture tends to be highly social, adds Amshalem, and her grandmother’s tiny house magically held dozens of relatives for every holiday. Chanukah was no exception when oily dishes like Kiftikas di Prasa (“Sephardic Leek Patties”) topped the menu.

“With no room in the tiny dining room, all the relatives sat on folding chairs in a living room that had family photos covering every available surface,” she recalls.

Ariella Amshalem cooking in her kitchen in Sharon, Mass. Credit: Courtesy of Ariella Amsterdam.

Now, after working as a chef in Israel for many years, Amshalem lives with her family in the Boston area, where she teaches Sephardic culture and history through the lens of traditional foods.

“Cooking our grandparents’ foods leaves a powerful imprint on the next generation,” says this mother of four. “Because it uses every one of our senses, it creates strong memories.”

Her advice: For the next Jewish holiday, don’t just rely on the Internet. Use family recipes or look up dishes from the country they came from.

“These foods are part of their legacy, so now they’re part of ours, too,” she points out.

Beejhy Barhany. Photo by Clay William.

DAY 4: ‘Sambusa’: Savory Ethiopian Fried Lentil Pockets

Born in Ethiopia and raised in Israel, Beejhy Barhany brought her family traditions with her to Harlem, where she opened the Tsion Café to showcase her native Ethiopian cuisine fused with Israeli and American influences. And where a lit menorah stands guard each night of the holiday. “For Ethiopian Jews, it’s not so much spinning the dreidel or latkes or sufganiyot (jelly doughnut) but commemorating the miracle of the oil with wonderful oil-rich foods,” says Barhany.

Take the triangle sambusa, for example—a pastry filled with vegetables or lentils.

“It’s nice to share others’ traditions, but the real lesson of Chanukah is not to forget our own roots,” she adds.

For more recipes, see Gursha: Timeless Recipes for Modern Kitchens, from Ethiopia, Israel, Harlem and Beyond by Beejhy Barhany and Elisa Ung, due out from Alfred A. Knopf in April.

Sharon Lurie, “The Kosher Butcher’s Wife,” with one of her grandchildren. Photo by Jason Crouse.

DAY 5: South African Cape Malay Deep-Fried Chili Bites

Sharon Lurie married into a dynasty of butchers; her husband was the third generation of kosher South African butchers, and their son was the fourth.

Starting her career by handing out recipes to her husband’s customers seeking advice on which cuts of meat work best in which recipes, before long, Lurie was publishing recipes in newspapers and eventually in a series of Kosher Butcher’s Wife cookbooks, most recently A Taste of South Africa with the Kosher Butcher’s Wife.

On Chanukah, Lurie hauls out the deep fryer from her home in South Africa and with the help of her teenage twin granddaughters creates a family favorite, Cape Malay Deep-Fried Chili Bites. It’s a fusion dish adapting this local traditional treat for a kosher audience.

DAY 6: Yemenite ‘Zalabye’

Efrat Davis. Credit: Courtesy of Efrat Davis.

Yemenite family traditions are sweet for Efrat Davis. “The rest of the year, Yemenite cooking is more on the tomatoey and spicy side,” says Davis, who lives with her family in Zichron Ya’akov in northern Israel, below Haifa, along the Mediterranean Sea.

“But on Chanukah, everything has sugar on top, and, of course, oil, oil and more oil.”

A case in point: Zalabye, a beloved dessert of fried dough that is equal parts sweet and oily with a hint of salt (Davis uses the recipe from her mom, Ruth Lahav).

“Chanukah is a big deal for our family,” says Davis. “It’s a time when we make sure to get together and watch my parents light the silver chanukiyah that came down from my grandparents.”

Lenny Nour. Credit: Courtesy of Lenny Nour/The Jewish Journal.

DAY 7: Mexican Loaded Latkes

Looking for a kosher Mexican twist on a Chanukah classic? Just travel to Lenny’s Casita in Los Angeles’ iconic Pico-Robertson neighborhood and order the Mexican Loaded Latkes. It’s a traditional potato latke with not a trace of sour cream or applesauce, instead adopting a south-of-the-border flair with black beans, birria (a spicy pulled beef) and, of course, guacamole.

How did this half-Persian and half-Italian guy Lenny Nourafchan (who also happens to be a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces) end up owning a kosher Mexican casita (Spanish for little house)?

“It’s LA,” he answers good-naturedly. “It’s what we do here.”

DAY 8: Israeli ‘Sufganiyot’

Since we kicked off the eight-day gastronomical Chanukah world tour with the classic latke, it’s only right to send it off in style with another classic, sufganiyot. To call them jelly doughnuts would be an insult.

It’s said that Sephardic Jews brought these puffy delights with them from Spain into Arabic countries and eventually to Israel, where they continue to far outstrip the latke in popularity. Indeed, the ones Adir Michaeli sells at his two Michaeli Bakery locations in New York act as a sort of magnet for Israelis like himself.

“Sufganiyot” (doughnuts) prepared at the FIKA bakery, ahead of the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, in Tel Aviv on Nov. 19, 2020. Photo by Miriam Alster/Flash90.

There, Michaeli reports, the most popular varieties include a pistachio-topped creation stuffed with dried raspberries and pistachio custard cream. But his favorite belies his true Israeli roots: the halvah (a Middle Eastern sesame-based dessert) variation with halvah cream filling and crunchy halvah on top. In fact, Michaeli carries with him an early memory of Chanukah growing up in Holon, a town just south of Tel Aviv: “Because everyone is frying everything, even the laundry the moms hung out on their clotheslines that week smelled like frying oil.”

But whatever cuisine you adopt, Chanukah has the power to warm up the world. “It’s winter, it’s cold and the days are short,” says Geller. “So, we light up the darkness with our candles and warm it with wonderful foods that bring us comfort and a sense of home.”

And now, she continues, during a time when “we have so many enemies in the world, we’re reminded that, like the Maccabees, we are still the few against the many. One thing we know is that when you light someone else’s candle, it never diminishes your flame; it just shares it.”

Potatoes. Credit: Pixabay.

RECIPES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

(All dishes are pareve.)

‘The Best Potato Latkes’

Makes 8 latkes

Cook’s Tip: Cornmeal is a great substitute for matzah meal and will also make your latkes nice and crispy.

Ingredients:

4 medium Idaho potatoes

6 tablespoons olive oil

3 eggs beaten

2 Tablespoons matzah meal

2 teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

Optional: applesauce or sour cream

Directions:

Prepare a large bowl filled with cold water. Peel potatoes, and as you finish each, place them in cold water to prevent browning.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cut potatoes lengthwise into halves or quarters so they fit into a food-processor feed tube. Process potatoes using the blade that creates thin, shoestring-like strips and transfer them to a large bowl.

Add eggs, matzah meal, salt and pepper; mix well. Drop 6 to 8 spoonfuls of mixture into the hot oil. Using the back of a spoon, pat down each latke to flatten it. Put as many as you can in the skillet without crowding. Putting them too close together will make them soggy.

Fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden and crisp around the edges; repeat the procedure until finished with all the batter. Blot excess oil with paper towels.

Serve warm with applesauce and/or sour cream.

— Eugene Zuckerman, courtesy of his granddaughter Jamie Geller

Tunisian Fricassé (Fried Rolls)

Makes 20-25

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon salt

2.2 pounds of all-purpose flour

1.7 ounces of fresh yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 egg

3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

2 cups water

1 carrot, peeled and quartered

oil for deep frying

Serve with tuna or sardines; pitted green olives; harissa; tirshi (pumpkin salad); cooked potatoes; diced hard-boiled eggs; and/or sliced preserved lemon.

Directions:

Prepare the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle hook, place the salt, flour, yeast and sugar in this order (the salt should be at the bottom of the bowl and the rest of the ingredients on top), and mix at a low speed to combine.

Add the egg and increase the speed slightly. Gradually and while continuously mixing, pour the oil followed by the water. Mix until a dough has formed.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead with your hands for 5 to 10 minutes, to a soft and elastic nonsticky dough. Shape into a ball and place in a large well-floured bowl. Cover with a towel. Let rise until the dough doubles in volume, about 1 hour (during winter, this may take longer due to the colder temperature) or place in a warm area.

Punch down the dough on a floured work surface and divide it into 20 to 25 equal-sized balls. Roll each ball to a small thick ball, then adjust the edges to create slightly pointed elliptical rolls (like a football).

Alternatively, you can keep the dough shaped as balls. Set aside a small piece of the dough to check the oil temperature later on. Place the rolls over a towel, cover with an additional towel, and let rise for 20 to 30 minutes.

While the dough is rising, heat the oil for deep frying in a pot or a deep pan over medium heat. The oil should be hot but not smoking (if you have a thermometer, the oil should reach 350 degrees).

Tip: Add ¼ carrot into the oil before frying. I believe this helps prevent the oil from seeping into the rolls.

Slide the small piece of dough set aside earlier into the oil. If the dough immediately floats to the top and bubbles form around it, the oil temperature is just right. If it sinks, the oil is not yet hot enough; if it burns too fast, the oil is too hot, and the temperature should be reduced. If the oil is smoking, dispose of it and start over.

Try to maintain the oil at a constant temperature throughout frying so that the oil does not burn, nor is it too cold to create a golden crispy crust, resulting in pale soggy rolls. When the oil is burnt, discard and heat new oil (repeat this until all the rolls are fried). Fry the rolls in batches of two to three at a time to ensure the oil temperature doesn’t drop. Fry the rolls for 4 to 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel.

To serve: Make a slit along the hot rolls. Spread an even layer of tirshi and harissa on the top and bottom of a roll, and then fill with cooked potato, hard-boiled egg, olives, fish and/or preserved lemon to taste.

— Brigette Choufan courtesy of her son Matan Choufan

‘Kiftikas di Prasa’ (Sephardic Leek Patties)

Makes 6-8

Ingredients:

4 cleaned leeks, cut into slices, cooked in a shallow pan of water with salt and pepper until soft

3 boiled and mashed potatoes

2 to 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs

1 to 2 eggs, depending on the consistency of the mixture

Directions:

Let the cooked leeks drain in a colander in the fridge overnight or cool them, and squeeze as much liquid out as possible before using.

Mash the leeks by hand, or pulse them in a food processor. Mix the leeks with the remaining ingredients.

Form them into patties and fry in oil until golden brown. Serve hot.

Translated and adapted from “Gizar Kon Gozo” by Matilda Koén-Sarano, courtesy of Ariella Amshalem

Triangle ‘Sambusa’: Savory Fried Lentil Pockets

Makes 6-10

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked brown or green

lentils, at room temperature

¼ red onion, finely diced

½ jalapeño (optional, for heat) chopped

fine sea salt

squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 (12-inch) flour tortillas, each cut into 6 equal wedges

vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix the lentils, onion, jalapeño, salt to taste, and lemon juice (if using). Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the flour and 2 tablespoons water into a paste, mixing in more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if necessary.

Microwave the tortilla wedges for just 15 seconds to soften, then immediately transfer all but one wedge into a container to keep soft. Place the one tortilla wedge on a work surface with the point facing away from you. Take the two corners of the wedge that are closest to you and fold them inward to meet in the middle. Dab a bit of the flour-water mixture to seal those folded edges into a cone shape. Hold the cone in your hand with the point of the wedge facing up and fill the opening with a heaping tablespoon of lentil filling.

Brush the flour-water mixture along the edges of the pointed tip, fold that tip down over the cone to create a triangle shape, and gently press the edges to seal them in place. Repeat with the remaining tortilla wedges and filling; set aside.

In a large, cast-iron skillet, heat about ½ inch of oil over high heat until it reaches about 350°F on a deep-fry thermometer (or when a tiny pinch of flour sizzles when added to the oil).

Working in batches, add the sambusa to the hot oil and fry, flipping once, until deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Beejhy Barhany from Gursha: “Timeless Recipes for Modern Kitchens from Ethiopia, Israel, Harlem and Beyond,” excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. (All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.)

South African Cape Malay Deep-Fried Chili Bites

Makes 20

1 cup chickpea flour

1½ cups cake flour

1 onion, very finely chopped or grated

9 ounces baby spinach leaves, finely shredded

2 teaspoons crushed dried chilies or 1 heaping finely chopped fresh chili

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon baking powder

water

oil for deep frying

Directions:

Sift the two flours into a large bowl.

Mix the onions, spinach, chilis, paprika, salt, turmeric, coriander and cumin. Add enough water to make a thick batter—not runny, more like a cake batter.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan until it’s fairly hot. Finally, stir the baking powder into the butter just before frying.

Using a tablespoon drop the batter into the oil and fry slowly until golden brown. Make sure the oil doesn’t get too hot; otherwise, the chili bites will burn on the outside and remain raw in the middle. You can test with a toothpick.

When golden brown on all sides, remove from the heat and drain on paper towels.

Serve warm with a ready-made sweet chili sauce.

— Sharon Lurie

Yemenite ‘Zalabeh’

Makes about 20 servings

Ingredients:

8 cups flour

2 tablespoons dry yeast

4 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon salt

3.5 to 4 tablespoons lukewarm water

2 tablespoons whiskey or cognac

1 egg

Directions:

Mix flour with the yeast.

In a separate bowl mix water salt, whiskey, egg and sugar; mix well.

Add the flour to the liquid, and mix everything with a whisk. Wait 10 minutes and whisk again. Wait another 10 minutes and mix. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

Make sure that the oil is not too hot. Take a handful of dough, place it in the hot oil and stretch the sides using two forks.

Fry until it gets a nice brown color and then flip over on the other side. Sprinkle with sugar before serving.

— Ruth Lahav, courtesy of her daughter, Efrat Davis