Latkes and sufganiyot, the jelly-filled doughnuts especially popular in Israel, are well-known Chanukah fare made with oil to signify the holiday tale.
Lesser known is the tradition of cheese and the story of Judith.
Like the Chanukah story, the book of Judith is part of the Apocrypha — books not incorporated in the Bible. It tells of a beautiful widow whose town was under siege by the army of the Assyrians and decided to visit the commander-in-chief and to ask him not to take the town. As the story goes, she gives him wine, he gets falling-down drunk and ends up in a stupor. Judith beheads the king and saves her people and the town.
Legend has it that Judith fed him cheese to make him thirsty, and since she lived in the same period as the Maccabees, Jews in various communities instituted the custom of eating cheese dishes in honor of her heroism.
On my cookbook shelf is a classic written in the 1970s — “A Taste of Tradition” by Ruth Sirkis. She has written numerous cookbooks and was the food editor for a major Israeli women’s magazine; she also had a radio show.
“A Taste of Tradition” covered all the Jewish holidays; below are some of Sirkis’ recipes and one that features cheese from a Lubavitcher cookbook.
Paradise Ponchekes
1 cup water
4 oz. margarine
1 cup flour
4 eggs
oil
Boil water in saucepan. Add margarine and continue boiling until it melts. Add flour and mix with wooden spoon until mixture forms ball and leaves sides of the pan.
Remove from heat. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Heat oil in a pot for deep frying. When oil is hot, drop in pieces of dough from a teaspoon. Let puff and turn as needed to assure even browning.
Remove from oil with slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with warm chocolate sauce.
Chocolate Sauce
1 cup light corn syrup
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbs. unsalted margarine
Combine syrup and chocolate in a saucepan. Heat over low heat until the chocolate melts. Remove from heat, add vanilla and margarine. Mix well. Serve warm.
Cheese Latkes
(From “Spice and Spirit”)
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup drained cottage cheese
1 1⁄2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1⁄2 tsp. salt
5 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1⁄2 cup oil
Place eggs, milk, cottage cheese, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and mix until smooth. Heat oil in a frying pan (if using nonstick pan, use less oil).
Drop batter by spoon into hot oil. Fry until brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and continue until all batter is used. Keep warm until serving. Serve with sour cream or applesauce.