ssugarpill

I wouldn’t have called this a latke ((in Jewish cooking) a pancake, especially one made with grated potato) if yiddish hadn’t become so hip all of a sudden. But it seems like this year everybody knew so much about jewish cooking that we jews should start calling it by what it is. Yiddish food usually consists of cheap and filling ingredients, like potatoes, and is usually nobody’s favourite. I come from two totally different traditions: lebanese and yiddish. And not to be disrespectful to either of them, but lebanese cooking is always better. No matter what you do with it or how basic- it’s always better. Don’t get me wrong, yiddish food can be filling and more… colourful? But not even my Zeide (yiddish word for grandpa) would disagree with me. But they do fry stuff! So they have something going for them. Anyways, this amazing brunch/breakfast is a fusion of both worlds, and yet not as caloric as either of them. It is a simple sweet potato latke covered with labneh (Strained yogurt) and avocado slices, sprinkled with za’atar, and topped with a perfectly fried egg.

Recipe (Serves 2):

• 1 sweet potato
• 3 eggs (separated)
• 1/4 cup low fat grated mozzarella cheese
• Olive oil for frying
• Labneh
• Za’atar
• 1/2 avocado

Peel and grate sweet potato. Place on a bowl with ice water for 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Return them to the bowl and mix with one egg, salt and pepper. If they are too thick, grind them in a food processor (but you can skip this if they’re finely grated). Add mozzarella cheese and miz well. Heat a frying pan with olive oil, and when almost smoking, drop four squeezed balls of sweet potato. Let them brown on one side without moving for about 4-5 minutes, then turn them carefully and wait until golden brown. Take them out, divide them in two plates, add a dollop of labneh in each, sprinkle with za’atar, two slices of avocado, and a fried egg on top. You can eat them by destroying everything and making a very delicious homogeneous mixture, like Aslan does, or eat it like more civilised common people. But either way, enjoy!

Español

Para todos ustedes que conocen la cocina yiddish, las latkes (tortitas fritas de papa) son uno de los poco platillos realmente deliciosos. Aparte de la sopa de matze-ball y un par de platillos más, la comida yiddish tiene poco a su favor. En especial si la comparas con su mayor contrincante (en mi familia la menos), la comida árabe. Creciendo bajo el techo de una madre yiddish (de ascendencia judeo-polaca) y un padre de familia siria, queda más que claro que ni siquiera mi mamá se dignó a tratarnos de acercar al difícil placer de la comida de sus ancestros. Combinando mis tres culturas, me inspiré en lo pesado de los desayunos mexicanos para crear un platillo con latkes de camote cubiertas en jocoque y aguacate, espolvoreadas con za’atar, y terminadas un huevo estrellado encima para no quitarle proteina necesaria para el día.

Receta:

• 1 camote
• 3 huevos (divididos)
• aceite de oliva para freír
• 1/4 taza queso mozzarella rallado (bajo en grasas)
• 1/4 aguacate
• Jocoque
• Za’atar
• Sal y pimienta

Se pela y ralla el camote. Se pone a remojar por 5 minutos en un bowl con agua helada. Se cuela y seca con toallas de papel, y se regresa al bowl en dónde se sazona con sal y pimienta y se le agrega un huevo. Se mezcla (si está rallada demasiado gruesa, se muele unos segundos en un procesador). Se combina con queso mozzarella y se pone a calentar un sartén con aceite de oliva. Cuando esté casi humeando, se van haciendo bolitas con el camote, exprimiendo el exceso de líquido. Se ponen a dorar 4-5 minutos sin mover, luego se voltean y se dejan dorar del segundo lado. Se dividen en dos platos, se cubren con una cucharada de jocoque, dos rebanadas de aguacate, un poco de za’atar, y un huevo estrellado encima.