Heritage Healthy Kitchen

Hanukkah Recipes: Latkes and the Festival of Oil

Hanukkah cooking celebrates oil – and nothing celebrates it better than a latke fried to golden, lacy-edged perfection. Below: the classic Ashkenazi latkes, their lighter air-fryer cousins, and the Polish and Ukrainian potato pancakes that grew up alongside them in the same villages.

Chag urim sameach – happy Festival of Lights.

The Latkes

Traditional Latkes

THE CLASSIC

Traditional Latkes

Shredded potato and onion, fried until deeply golden. History and technique inside.

Healthy Latkes

LIGHTER TAKE

Healthy Latkes

Air-fried or oven-baked, with zucchini and whole wheat flour – the crisp stays.

Cousins from the Same Villages

Traditional Polish Placki Ziemniaczane

POLISH COUSIN

Traditional Polish Placki Ziemniaczane

Placki ziemniaczane – the Polish potato pancake, one village over.

Traditional Ukrainian Deruny

UKRAINIAN COUSIN

Traditional Ukrainian Deruny

Deruny – Ukraine’s answer to the same question: potato, onion, hot oil.

Healthy Challah Variations

BREAD

Healthy Challah Variations

A lighter braided challah for the holiday week.

Healthy Polish Placki Ziemniaczane

LIGHTER TAKE

Healthy Polish Placki Ziemniaczane

The same pancake, baked or pan-fried with less oil.

Healthy Ukrainian Deruny

LIGHTER TAKE

Healthy Ukrainian Deruny

A lighter take on the Ukrainian potato pancake.

The Dairy Side

Traditional Blintzes

CHEESE

Traditional Blintzes

Cheese-filled crepes, eaten for the holiday dairy custom.

Healthy Blintzes

LIGHTER TAKE

Healthy Blintzes

The same crepes with a lighter cheese filling.

The Doughnuts

Traditional Sufganiyot

THE OTHER CLASSIC

Traditional Sufganiyot

Jam-filled yeast doughnuts, deep-fried and dusted with powdered sugar – Israel’s signature Hanukkah sweet.

Healthy Sufganiyot

LIGHTER TAKE

Healthy Sufganiyot

Baked or air-fried, with whole wheat flour and far less sugar – still jam-filled and dusted.

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