As the Hanukah legend goes, the Jews reclaimed their temple from the evil tyranny of an oil-hoarding ruler. To celebrate the temple's rededication, they wanted to light the menorah, an eight-pronged candelabra -- but they only had enough oil to last one day. Miraculously, it it burned for eight whole days, and now Jews all over the world celebrate by eating fried potato pancakes (latkes) and jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot) during Hanukah.
As a Jew, however, I worry we're not taking this whole oil thing seriously enough. This oil burned for eight days...shouldn't we be branching out and eating more oil-rich, fried goodness -- you know, in honor of our ancestors?
Here are eight recipes that I propose we all put into rotation this holiday season. (Non-Jews, feel free to take a page from our oily book!)
- Fried chicken, a classic and a nice southern twist...
- ...perfect with fried green tomatoes (which are also perfect for a BLT; use turkey bacon if you're trying to keep it kosher.)
- Fried pickles, the perfect Jewish food, only battered.
- Fish and chips, for pescetarians.
- Stuffing Sandwich, the perfect breadless vessel for leftovers.
- Fried Mars bars, served with...
- ...fried ice cream.
- New Orleans-style beignets -- because why stop at just one kind of donut?
Eaters, what else should we be frying up this Hanukkah? Weigh in in the comments.
Photos: Flickr CC / Garrett Ziegler and derivativeofcourse
Talia Ralph is a freelance writer pursuing her Master's in Food Systems at NYU. She also hosts a radio show about pizza. Follow her on Twitter @TaliaBethRalph.
