Jamie Geller, kosher cuisine star and best-selling cookbook author, did not go to culinary school but was inspired by her grandparents’ cooking, especially her grandfather, who was a chef at the high-end Philadelphia restaurant Evergreen Tea Room. “I always say, ‘I’m not a chef. I just play one on TV!’” Geller joked in a recent interview with The Jewish Press. She grew up in Philadelphia and made aliyah 13 years ago from New York with her husband and six children.
For Chanukah, Geller has cooked her grandfather’s classic potato latkes, made from eggs, onions, potatoes, oil, salt, pepper and matzo meal, on The Today Show. She noted that out of the over 10,000 recipes on her website, which include recipes from friends, family, and industry chefs, this one remains the most popular.
Although potato latkes are the most famous Chanukah dish, “the Maccabees never met a potato,” noted Geller. They lived in the 2nd century BCE, and potatoes did not arrive in the Middle East until the 19th century, long after Spanish explorers had brought the veggie to Europe in the mid-1500s. Cooking with olive oil symbolizes how the Maccabees found enough oil to light the first Chanukah menorah, which miraculously stayed lit for eight days. “Using oil is really the ‘culinary custom’ of the holiday, and not the potato itself… Don’t feel like you need to be married to the potato,” Geller emphasized.
Her Greek-inspired recipe for zucchini latkes with tzatziki uses matzah meal instead of potato to hold the ingredients together. Kohlrabi, also known as the German turnip or turnip cabbage, can be a lower-carb alternative to potato because it “really mimics the potato in look and style the most,” she explained.
Geller recommends lightly cooking dishes with heart-healthy oils such as olive and avocado, and baking instead of frying. “Just add a drizzle of olive oil at the end so you’re still celebrating the holiday in all its culinary custom and glory,” she said.
Adding a little bit of white potato into lightly fried vegetable latkes made with celery root, corn, carrots, onion, sweet potato, beets, kohlrabi, and zucchini can make them taste and appear like classic latkes, Geller explained. “I don’t want to say ‘sneaky chef,’ but it allows you to sneak in some veg,” which makes this a perfect dish for kids.
She suggests substituting sweet potatoes for white potatoes, which are higher in vitamin A, less likely to cause your blood sugar to rise, and have more antioxidants. Geller invented a recipe for sweet potato, goat cheese, and spinach latkes by combining leftover mashed potatoes with frozen spinach. Vegetables like zucchini, beet, or kale can also be added. You can also crack an egg and form the latke around it. “If we add protein and other vegetables to the batter and a green, it becomes holiday health food,” she said.
A potato-based dish that doesn’t have to be fried or flipped like a latke is potato cake with sweet shallot jam and thyme, created by Geller’s friend David Kolotkin, a kosher chef who was the executive chef at Manhattan’s Prime Grill. Described as a “contemporary version of a traditional kugel,” it’s made from thinly sliced shallots, balsamic vinegar, sugar, port wine, grated Yukon potatoes, salt, white pepper, thyme, and extra virgin olive oil. After baking it in the oven in a 9×13 pan, you slice it and are “getting your 12 servings out of just one fabulous pan of potato goodness,” Geller said.
She encourages people who want to try something new and different to make classic potato latkes and add fun and exotic toppings, such as black caviar, scallions, or a teriyaki drizzle. Sometimes she offers a bagel-inspired toppings bar with cream cheese, sour cream, everything bagel seasoning, and smoked salmon.
Wasabi pea latke bites are an eclectic, Japanese-inspired dish which Geller calls a “fusion of Japanese cuisine and Jewish Chanukah culinary fare.” The recipe includes ingredients like wasabi peas, potatoes, egg, and spicy and sweet wasabi and teriyaki sauces. It can be topped with sour cream, ginger, snipped microgreens, herbs, wasabi peas, scallion curls, avocado, black sesame seeds, tobiko, and ikura caviar.
Geller’s recipes for natural doughnut glazes include unique and delectable flavors like peanut, coconut-lime, orange, raspberry-apple, and blueberry-ginger. She uses fruit juices instead of milk in the glazes, making them dairy-free.
For gluten-free dishes, she recommends using potato starch or Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.
Try out the recipes featured here and find more (including others mentioned in this article) online at jamiegeller.com.
Spinach, Sweet Potato, and Goat Cheese Latkes
Ingredients:
- 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and strained
- ½ cup mashed sweet potato from 1 large sweet potato
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 3 ounces goat cheese crumbled
- ¼ cup panko, optional
- Oil for frying
Instructions:
- Mix spinach, mashed sweet potato, eggs, salt and pepper, and half of goat cheese until well combined. Mixture will stay together without the breadcrumbs, but some like latkes a little firmer, so add the panko if desired. Heat oil in frying pan and drop batter by small tablespoons. Cook about 3 minutes until browned; turn over and cook 2 more minutes. Remove to paper towels to drain excess oil.
- While frying latkes, heat the other half of the goat cheese for about 15 seconds in the microwave. Stir well, adding a little milk if needed to get to a sauce-like consistency.
- Serve latkes with goat cheese sauce.
Serves 12.
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Zucchini Latkes with Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients:
- 2 large zucchinis, shredded
- 1 small onion, shredded
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup matzah meal
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Extra-virgin olive oil such as Colavita, for frying
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons chopped dill
- 1/4 cup diced cucumber
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, combine zucchini, onions, eggs, matzah meal, and salt, and stir to combine.
- Heat ¼-inch oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Drop by 2 tablespoons-full and lightly press down to flatten. Fry for about 4 to 6 minutes per side or until nicely browned. Remove and drain on paper towels. Continue with remaining batter.
- In a small bowl, combine yogurt, dill, cucumber, lemon juice, and salt, and stir. Serve tzatziki alongside latkes.
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Five Natural Doughnut Glazes That Are Full of Flavor
- Peanut Glaze
Ingredients:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup almond milk or milk of choice
- ¼ cup crunchy peanut butter
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl, using a whisk or a fork.
- Coconut-Lime Glaze
Ingredients:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup coconut flakes
- Zest and juice of one lime
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl, using a whisk or a fork.
- Orange Glaze
Ingredients:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- Juice and zest of one orange. You can use any citrus fruits of your choosing, such as grapefruit or lemon.
- Water as necessary
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl, using a whisk or a fork. Thin out glaze with drops of water, as necessary.
- Raspberry-Apple Glaze
Ingredients:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/8 cup apple cider
- 1/8 cup raspberry jam
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl, using a whisk or a fork.
5. Blueberry-Ginger Glaze
Ingredients:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup blueberry jam
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon berry liqueur
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl, using a whisk or fork.