Greek Herbed Spinach Latkes With Feta-Yogurt Sauce

By Jayne Cohen Check out her blog "Beyond Brisket"

Ingredients
2 lbs. fresh spinach, well-washed, tough stems discarded OR 2 10-ounce packages frozen leaf spinach, thawed
salt
2 tablespoons butter
8 scallions (about 1 cup), trimmed and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup (packed) fresh challah or other egg bread (crusts removed), torn in pieces
1/2 cup fresh dill leaves
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, packed
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
4 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
additional butter and mild vegetable oil, like avocado or canola, for frying

Feta-Yogurt Sauce (recipe follows)
1. Cook spinach in a large saucepan with 1/4 cup lightly salted water until tender. Cool, then place in a colander and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
2. In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add scallions and garlic and saute until scallions are softened. Stir in spinach, season to taste with salt and pepper, and sauté about 3 minutes, or until all liquid is evaporated. Cool completely.
3. Process challah in a food processor to fine crumbs. Add spinach mixture, dill, mint, and cilantro, and pulse, using on/off turns, until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl. Taste, adding more salt and pepper if necessary. Mix in eggs and baking powder.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil in a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches, drop batter by the heaping tablespoonfuls into the skillet, using the back of a spoon to flatten latkes slightly. Fry until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Avoid turning more than once. Using a slotted spatula, transfer the latkes to paper towels to drain.
5. Fry remaining latkes in the same way, adding more butter and oil to the skillet as necessary, and allowing the fat to get hot before adding more batter.
6. Serve with Feta-Yogurt Sauce.
Yield: about 30 small latkes

FETA-YOGURT SAUCE

This sauce is also delicious served with raw or cooked vegetables, or drizzled over a salad of mixed greens.

Ingredients
1 cup crumbled feta
1 cup plain yogurt (preferably Greek-style)
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 clove minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano
freshly ground pepper
salt, if necessary

Mash feta in a medium bowl using a fork. Mix in yogurt. Stir in remaining ingredients, seasoning to taste with pepper. Taste, and add salt, if needed (the feta may be quite salty). Set aside for flavors to blend at least 2 hours before serving. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate until needed.)

Walnut-Cherry Cheese Latkes With Chunky Cherry-Applesauce

By Jayne Cohen

Crisp potato latkes are the taste of Hanukkah for most Ashkenazi Jews. But the first latkes, according to many food historians, were probably made of cheese. Today latkes based on sweet curd cheeses--farmer, pot and cottage--remain popular.
Delicate and dairy-clean tasting, this version begs for a fresh complement of bright-tasting fruit. Instead of the traditional syrup or preserves, which would overpower the natural milky sweetness, serve the latkes with the easy-to-prepare cherry applesauce that follows.
They make a wonderful light supper, breakfast, or brunch. Or serve the latkes as a finish to a more elaborate meal.

Ingredients
1/2 lb. farmer cheese (a 7.5 oz. package is fine), drained
2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon light brown granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dried tart cherries, plumped in hot water 10 minutes, then drained
1/3 cup finely chopped lightly toasted walnuts
unsalted butter and mild vegetable oil, like avocado or canola, for frying

1. Combine both cheeses, egg yolks, and extracts in a food processor and process until well-blended and smooth. Add the flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse to blend. Transfer the batter to a large bowl. Mix in cherries and walnuts.
2. Whip the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff, but not dry. Gently fold the whites into the batter.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons each of butter and oil in a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches, drop the batter by heaping tablespoonfuls into the skillet, and fry until the bottoms are golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Turn, using two spatulas, and cook other side until lightly browned, 1-3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plates or keep warm on a heated platter or in baking sheet in a 200-degree oven, while you repeat with remaining batter. Add more butter and oil if necessary, always allowing the fat to get hot before adding more batter. Serve with chunky cherry-apple or other fresh fruit sauce.
Yield: 3-4 servings

CHUNKY CHERRY-APPLE SAUCE

Ingredients
5 Gala (or other sweet, flavorful) apples (about 2 pounds), peeled, cored, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
about 3 tablespoons cherry preserves (exact amount will vary, not only according to preference, but according to sweet/tartness of preserves and apples; sour cherry preserves are delicious here)

1. Combine apple pieces and unsweetened apple juice in a heavy large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until apples are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cherry preserves.
2. Using a potato masher or fork, mash the mixture to a chunky puree. Taste, add more preserves if desired, and mash again. (Sauce may be prepared up to two days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Serve warm or room temperature. Or refrigerate until lightly chilled. Best not icy cold.

Rav Schulgasser's Crispy Latkes (Gluten Free!!)

Nothing beats home-made latkes (potato pancakes).  They are primarily potato and onion, but some people make them “mushy” with the potatoes and onion ground to a pulp.  Others make them with the potatoes shredded like hash browns.  Either way there’s a lot of prep on the day you make them. 

This recipe was designed to accomplish two goals:  Have the latkes pre-made so they could just be fried on the day you want to eat them, and to be able to make them in a deep fryer.  Both goals are accomplished by freezing the latkes and frying them direct from the freezer. 

This recipe uses the shredded potato approach and simplifies that by using frozen hash browns.  You can, of course, shred your own potatoes.
(makes about 16 good sized latkes)

1 30 oz package of frozen hash browns
2 medium to large onions
2 extra-large eggs
2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tbs potato starch

In a small bowl beat the eggs, salt and pepper until well mixed.   Peel and grate the onion, either with a box grater or use the chopping blade on a food processor.  Put the grated onion and it’s juice in a large mixing bowl.  Pour in the bag of frozen hash browns (yes, still frozen).  If they are frozen in a clump, beat the bag before opening to break them apart.  Pour the egg mixture over the top and stir a few times.  Sprinkle the potato starch over the top and stir thoroughly until everything is well combined and the potatoes are coated thoroughly.   Take about 1/3 of the mixture and place in the food processor with the chopping blade.  Pulse until you have a chunky mush.  Return the mixture to the bowl with the rest of the potatoes and mix thoroughly.

Measure out about 1/2 cup of the mixture onto a non-stick cookie sheet or sheet pan.  Form this into a rough patty about 1/2 inch thick.  The potatoes will be loose and really not stick together like dough.  Repeat with the rest of the mixture.  (This will take several cookie sheets.)   Put the cookie sheets in the freezer and freeze until they are frozen hard (several hours at least).  Once the latkes are frozen, they will stay together.  Lift them from the cookie sheets (by hand or with a spatula) and put them into a freezer bag and keep frozen until ready to use.

To use, remove from the freezer and fry while still frozen.  You can either deep fry them or shallow fry them in a frying pan until golden on both sides.

Larry's Firecracker Latke Poppers

Larry Oxman developed this recipe, which won an award for "Best Multicultural Inspiration" in Mummert's competition, in a single afternoon. He likes to serve these with a mixture of sour cream and mango chutney, but they're good plain, too.

3⁄4 cup grated orange cheddar
3⁄4 cup grated monterey jack
1⁄3 cup cream cheese
5 medium Yukon gold potatoes or 
4 medium russets, peeled
2 eggs, beaten
3 scallions, trimmed and finely chopped

1-2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped

8 tablespoons matzo meal

1/4 cup reduced Veggie Broth (or 1 bullion cube)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper 
Vegetable oil

1. Put cheddar, monterey jack, and cream cheese into the bowl of a food processor and process until well combined and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Divide cheese mixture into 12 equal portions, roll each between the palms of your hands into a ball, then flatten into a 1 1⁄2" disk. Transfer cheese disks to a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 30 minutes.

2. Grate potatoes on the large holes of a box grater. Working with small handfuls at a time, squeeze out moisture from potatoes and transfer potatoes to a large bowl. Add eggs, scallions, jalapeno peppers, matzo meal, and stock, season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir until well combined.

3. Pour oil into a large deep skillet to a depth of 1 1⁄2 and heat over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches, shape 1⁄4 cup of the potato mixture into a 3" loose disk, put 1 cheese disk in center, and fold potato mixture up and around disk completely enclosing cheese disk with the potato mixture. Fry in hot oil, turning once, until golden brown and crisp on the outside, 5-7 minutes per batch. Transfer latke poppers with a slotted spatula to paper towels to drain. Season to taste with salt, if you like.