Before attending this Zoom cooking event, I had never heard of Israeli Celebrity Chef Nir Zook. Where have I been? To be fair, most of his presence is in Israel, although he has a hand in some projects here in the States too. Like all celebrity chefs he is involved in restaurants, writing, and television. During the Corona pandemic, he has been hosting small dinner parties in his beautiful Jaffa home.
 
Last week, the night before Hanukkah, he did an online cooking demonstration on behalf of one of my favorite organizations, A Wider Bridge. Chef Nir shared and demonstrated his recipe for latkes with a variety of toppings, including an Eggplant and Yogurt Topping, Jaffa Ceviche, and Horseradish Cream. Here is a link to the recipes.
 
For me, more inspiring than his recipes, which I love, was the way he shares his passion and love, not only for good food, but for Israel, for Judaism, and for diversity. He is a masterful storyteller and a poet. Chef Nir speaks at least three languages – Hebrew, French, and English. I wish I could be as eloquent in my native language as he is in his third. I know just enough Hebrew to get myself in trouble. When I hear Israelis speak English, often I hear the Hebrew grammar and phraseology, the flavor of the Hebrew coming through and I love it. So maybe I’m biased, but I fell in love with Chef Nir’s language.

A Wider Bridge
 
A Wider Bridge is one of my favorite organizations, because it tics so many of my boxes at the same time. Although it was born mostly as a way to connect LGBTQ American Jews to their counterparts in Israel, it quickly realized its broader potential as an agent to support LGBTQ equality in Israel, fairness for Israel in the States, and to use the commonality among LGBTQ people across all ethnicities, religions, levels of religiosity, cultures, and countries of origin both in Israel and here to create A Wider Bridge for connection, conversation, and engagement. They operate with a small staff and a very impressive Board of Directors. ​

Mission Statement from A Wider Bridge Website
A Wider Bridge is the North American organization working through education, advocacy, relationship-building and grant-making to create equality in Israel by expanding LGBTQ inclusion in Israel, and equality for Israel by cultivating constructive engagement with Israel.
Equality In Israel: With the support of North American LGBTQ people and allies, Israel’s LGBTQ community will be better positioned to advance social, political and cultural change. LGBTQ equality will strengthen Israel as a society where all people labeled “the other” are welcomed and celebrated throughout the country.
Equality For Israel: Israel should be included and treated with fairness in our LGBTQ communities, by our local and national institutions, and within the community of nations. We believe our communities are strengthened when people move from demonizing and delegitimizing Israel to a place of understanding, empathy, and engagement. We work to increase equality for Israel on the global stage so that it too may be supported with the same aspirational hope we hold for our own countries. We celebrate progress and mourn injustice.

On Latkes
The last few years it’s been very trendy in Israel to do latkes from all kinds of vegetables, even put fruit inside. But I like the traditional onion and potato latke; I think it’s the best . . . . At the end of the day, on a holiday, you want to have something traditional, because tradition makes you feel a part of something.
 
On Grating
Always, when I’m grating I have to be careful. I have the tendency of cutting my finger, when I grate things - hardly ever happens with a knife, but when you’re grating your mind can go elsewhere, so please be careful.
 
On What Makes Ceviche so Popular in Tel Aviv
Ceviche came from Peru. Something in the way it’s seasoned – the lemon, the chili, the cilantro, the olive oil - is very appealing to the Israeli taste. And we have the Mediterranean which has amazing fish so . . . .
Because it seemed like it was born here, it’s so suitable for the Israeli taste.

On Adding Chopped Citrus Peel to his Ceviche
[I am] using the mandarin for the ceviche, so now I will use a little bit of mandarin peel as well, because I chose to give it space and then I want to give it a wider space for my guest not to have to look where it came from.

About Celebrating Hanukkah
I think it’s a great holiday - to get together, light candles, and talk about miracles.

This time of year, all Jewish and most food websites and publications run articles about how to make perfect latkes. I personally watched three different Zoom events about latkes just last week.

But here’s the thing. They're all wrong.

Well, maybe not exactly wrong. But all of them talk about only one “style” of latke – made from shredded potatoes - which are fine, sometimes even very good. But if you’ve never had a latke made with GRATED potato, you’ve never had a perfect latke.

The perfect latke is thin, with crisp, lacy edges and a creamy interior. I know this because my Dad (z”l) made perfect latkes. Everyone who ate my Dad’s latkes is forever ruined for any other latke they will ever eat. It’s not a family secret or anything. In fact, this year I came across two different Facebook threads with like-minded people. But we are few and far between, mostly, I think, because shredded potato latkes are easier to make, even if you don’t use a food processor. The Grating technique takes time, work, and lots of practice.
​
Maybe this year, when we are home and without crowds to feed, some of you will make the effort. You won’t be disappointed in the result. But you’ll never be able to go back, either.

Here is a picture of a typical box grater, showing the side that most people use to “grate” potatoes for latkes.

​But it's not a grater; it’s a shredder.
​

Here is the side that GRATES potatoes. See the difference? But a box grater doesn’t have holes big enough to grate pounds and pounds of potatoes; it works for ginger or garlic; for potatoes you need this shape, but bigger. ​

I haven’t been able to find this kind of reibeisen for years, not even in small kitchen shops in Germany. ​

The Oil
Latkes are fried, not sautéed. You need good oil with a high smoke point and plenty of it. Dad used safflower oil, specifically Hollywood safflower oil, which can be a little hard to find. Recently, my sister called the company because we couldn’t find it anywhere. It turns out the same company also makes Spectrum brand safflower oil, which we were able to order.

In addition to having a very high smoke point, safflower oil has a neutral flavor, which is good because you want the latkes to cook in the oil and get crispy in the oil, but not taste like oil.

The Pan
My parents received a set of Club aluminum cookware as a wedding gift in 1958. Over the years, my Mom replaced almost all the pieces, except the latke pan. They are heavy, which makes them hard to maneuver, but also makes great latkes. Also over the years, research began to show that aluminum leached into the food and isn't good for you. But once (or maybe twice) a year isn’t too bad, so not only did the Club aluminum stay, but another one was procured to allow for double frying capacity.

​A good, seasoned cast iron skillet works too, as will any solid, heavy bottomed pan.
​

Reheating
IF you have any latkes left - these four were all that were left from 5 pounds - stand them up in a cookie rack to reheat in the oven at 375.​

The Meat Menu
Latke Corned Beef Sandwich
Some kind of soup - usually Split Pea
​That's all.

The Dairy Menu
A simple dairy menu is just latkes with smoked salmon and cream cheese.

This is a much sexier menu with the addition of Spanish white anchovies, smoked trout and caviar, plus a bean salad.

Latkepalooza
My Mom used to host her women's Chavurah every December, so they could enjoy my Dad's latkes. The Chavurah included our rabbi's wife, so she always took latkes home to him.

One year, my Mom wasn't well in December, so the rabbi missed his latkes. To make up for it, we hosted him and his wife for Latkepalooza during the summer, which warranted a unique menu. Of course latkes were the main event, but we added homemade humous with mushrooms, several fresh salads and Schav - Cold Sorrel Soup. 

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