Chanuka Dish #1: The Lattke

The lattke is the first dish that I am presenting in my Take Back December campaign, my small but sincere attempt to take a part of December back for Chanuka from another holiday that shall remain nameless. (Although I did name it in my post from yesterday.) The lattke, a combination of espresso and the latke, is perfect for today's Jews on the Go. Since the tradition of lighting candles for Chanuka takes place at night, the caffeine in the lattke assures that participants will be sufficiently alert to pay attention to what is going on during the ceremony. This is good not only for religious reasons, but for safety, because all of those skinny candles burning so close together with oil from the latkes flying everywhere can be a hazard. Careful not to overdo it on the caffeine, though, because with too much, it can start to look like you have three times as many candles as you really do.

You may be thinking that if this is such a great idea, why hasn't it been tried before? To that I say, better lattke than never. Or, to paraphrase Clint Eastwood, when I invented this dish, I was feeling lattke. I appreciate your hearing me out on this, and thank you a lattke. Ok, I'll stoppke.

On a more serious note, the lattke may be a bit before its time, but the recipe below, which a teacher of mine gave to me,  makes very tasty traditional latkes:

4 Idaho potatoes (about 20 ounces)
2 eggs
1 medium onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup matzah meal
Olive oil

Peel and grate potatoes and onions. Mix everything together. The mixture should not be too loose. Shape latkes. Preheat pan very well with olive oil and fry latkes on a medium flame until they become golden brown.

Happy Chanuka!