It’s all about the oil.
Hanukkah, perhaps the most widely celebrated Jewish holiday in America, begins at sundown Dec. 11 and spans eight days. The word “Hanukkah,” also spelled Chanukah and other variations, comes from the Hebrew word for “dedication” and celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after a Jewish victory over the Syrians more than 2,000 years ago.
Jewish revolutionaries, the Maccabees, had reclaimed their Temple after three years of fighting. Inside the Temple was an eternal light, fueled by consecrated olive oil. But the Maccabees had only enough uncontaminated oil to burn the light for one day, and it would take eight days to prepare more. To their amazement, the one container of olive oil burned for the full eight days.
The modern eight-day Festival of Lights celebrates this miracle in the lighting of a menorah at sundown each day and in eating foods fried in oil. Recently, five members of the Congregation Or VeShalom Sisterhood met us in the synagogue’s kitchen to demonstrate three fried Hanukkah dishes. Frying may not be in favor most of the year, but at Hanukkah, it’s required.
Cooking is a large part of the tradition for the women of the sisterhood. They’ve been getting together for more than 50 years to prepare foods that reflect their Sephardic history, dating to roots in Spain and Portugal in the 15th century.
For many in the sisterhood, they are carrying on a practice started by their grandmothers, mothers, grandmothers-in-law and mothers-in-law. “These traditional dishes are time-consuming to make,” said Clare Habif, sisterhood president. “They came together to enjoy each other’s company while they fixed these dishes for their families.”
About 30 years ago, the cooks decided they could use their culinary skills to make money for the synagogue and began to sell these traditional dishes. Word spread, and now the sisterhood contributes about $30,000 each year to the synagogue in bureka sales alone. Prices range from $15 to $20 a dozen, depending on the complexity of the filling.
At 10 each Tuesday morning, the cooking sessions start. Making the labor-intensive burekas, a pastry filled with potatoes, rice, eggplant or spinach and cheese, is most often the task of the day. As many as 40 people come each week, each assigned a specific job.
Diane Benatar arrives an hour early to prepare the dough.
Inside the social hall is a station for rolling the dough, another for filling the pastries and another for painting the filled pastries with an egg wash and sprinkling them with sesame seeds or Parmesan cheese.
Trays of burekas go into the kitchen for baking, and another team cools and packages them for freezing.
Meanwhile, three women are preparing lunch for all the cooks. At 1 p.m., all work stops and the cooks eat their $1 lunches.
Bureka sales go on throughout the year, but once a year the sisterhood invites all of Atlanta to sample its wares. This year marks the 34th anniversary of its Hanukkah Bazaar.
The women are expecting more than 2,000 people to attend Sunday’s bazaar. They come for the activities, the shopping and the food.
Elise Meyer will make more than 1,100 burmuelos, a deep-fried pastry covered in honey syrup. She’ll stand at the stove and form each burmuelo by hand from 9 a.m. until late in the day when she runs out of batter. She took over the task about seven years ago to become a part of the fourth generation staffing the event.
Meyer and her friends agreed to share the secrets of their burmuelos, and to prepare two other dishes to provide a little variety on Hanukkah dinner tables this year.
Lynn Simon demonstrated Sweet Potato Latkes, a variation on the white potato latkes that may be Hanukkah’s signature dish, and Jacqueline Benveniste fried pieces of flour tortillas to be dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with ice cream.
Their camaraderie in the kitchen is testimony to the fact that they’ve been cooking together at the synagogue for close to 30 years, and their dedication to the task reflects their desire to carry on a long-standing tradition.
As each cook is intent on her task, Habif noted.
“So many of the women who cooked before us have passed on,” she said, “but we’re not going to let the tradition go.”
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Or VeShalom’s 34th annual Hanukkah Bazaar
11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday. $2.50 adults and children. Congregation Or VeShalom, 1681 N. Druid Hills Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-633-5938, www.orveshalom.org .
What to eat: In addition to serving hundreds of burmuelos, the sisterhood will be offering an array of Sephardic dishes, including burekas; quajado, a spinach and cheese quiche; and travados, an almond-, walnut- and honey-filled dessert. Some of these items will be available to go.
Other things to do: Kids will have their own activities, while adults can shop for art, pottery, jewelry, gifts and Judaica or bid at the silent auction.
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Tips for deep-frying
If it’s been a while since you’ve fried, here’s some help.
● The tools you’ll need are a heavy pan, a slotted spoon, a deep-frying/candy thermometer, a pair of tongs and a plate or baking sheet lined with something absorbent like paper towels.
● The temperature of the oil is the most important factor in frying. Deep-frying thermometers can be found everywhere, from the grocery store to fine cookware shops and are well worth the small investment to keep your fried foods from becoming heavy and greasy.
● When adding something to the hot oil, carefully put one edge in the oil and then let go. If you drop your mixture into the oil from above the surface, you’re likely to splash hot oil on yourself.
● Don’t overload the pan. There should be room for everything to float freely.
● Be patient and allow the oil to come back to temperature between batches.
● Use a slotted spoon to remove the item from the oil. Allow to drain and cool slightly before serving.
Adapted from “The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook” (Countryman Press, $35)
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This collection of fried foods is a combination of the old and the new. Sisterhood cooks have been making burmuelos for decades, while the sweet potato latkes are an adaptation of a very traditional Hanukkah dish. The tortilla quarters are a modern nod to the primarily Sephardic tradition (descended from Jews of Spain and Portugal) of Congregation Or VeShalom in Atlanta.
C.W. Cameron, for the AJC
Sweet Tortillas
Hands on: 10 minutes Total time: 10 minutes Serves: 4
These sweet treats are a good introduction to frying, and for something so simple, are surprisingly good. You’ll have extra cinnamon sugar, which you can use to make buttered cinnamon toast, to sprinkle over an apple pie or to use as an alternative topping for the burmuelos. Like the burmuelos, you can serve these in batches like pancakes or make the whole recipe and keep the tortilla quarters warm in a 200-degree oven. The sisterhood cooks suggest serving these with ice cream.
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon
Vegetable oil, about 1 cup
4 (6-inch) flour tortillas, cut into quarters
In a bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
In a 10-inch skillet, add oil to a depth of about 1/4 inch and heat to 365 degrees. Carefully add 6 tortilla quarters at a time and cook until golden brown on each side, about 1 minute total. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture and serve warm.
Adapted from a recipe provided by Congregation Or VeShalom Sisterhood
Per tortilla (cut in quarters): 332 calories (percent of calories from fat, 55), 3 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 20 grams fat (2 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 153 milligrams sodium.
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Hanukkah Burmuelos
Hands on: 30 minutes Total time: 2 hours, 30 minutes; includes time for rising Makes: 25 burmuelos
If you’re not familiar with burmuelos, you might think of them as a close relative to beignets, those deep-fried puffs of dough served with a snowy top of powdered sugar. The women of the sisterhood have traditionally used White Lily flour in this recipe, but any all-purpose flour will do. You can serve these in batches like pancakes or make the whole recipe and keep the burmuelos warm in a 200-degree oven, adding the syrup just before serving. These burmuelos are fairly large, about the size of a lemon. Use a teaspoon to make smaller ones, and reduce the frying time by about half.
For the burmuelos:
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 cups warm water, divided
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 egg
Pinch salt
Vegetable oil, about 8 cups
For the syrup:
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
In a small measuring cup, combine yeast with 1/2 cup warm water. Stir and allow yeast to soften, about 5 minutes. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, egg and salt. Add yeast mixture and remainder of warm water; mix well. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow batter to rise 2 hours. The dough is ready when the top is iridescent or mirrorlike.
In a 2-quart saucepan, add oil to a depth of 2 inches. Heat oil to 365 degrees and then carefully scoop tablespoons of batter into the hot oil, 6 or 7 at a time. Turn burmuelos to brown evenly and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes total. Remove with slotted spoon and allow to drain on paper towels.
While burmuelos are frying, in a small saucepan, combine honey, sugar and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes.
When ready to serve, arrange burmuelos on plate and cover with hot syrup.
Adapted from a recipe provided by Congregation Or VeShalom Sisterhood
Per burmuelo: 192 calories (percent of calories from fat, 42), 2 grams protein, 27 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 9 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 39 milligrams cholesterol, 238 milligrams sodium.
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Sweet Potato Latkes
Hands on: 30 minutes Total time: 30 minutes Makes: 12 latkes
Potato latkes are one of the most traditional Hanukkah dishes. Here the women of the sisterhood have adapted the idea and turned it into a dessert. Not too sweet, these latkes could accompany a main course, minus the powdered sugar garnish, of course. You can also make them ahead of time and refrigerate, tightly covered. To serve, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until crisp.
1 pound sweet potatoes (about 2 medium), peeled and grated
2 eggs
1/2 cup half-and-half or milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vegetable oil, about 2 cups
Powdered sugar, for garnish
Applesauce, optional
In a medium mixing bowl, combine grated sweet potatoes, eggs, half-and-half, flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Stir well.
In a 10-inch skillet, add oil to a depth of 1/2 inch and heat to 365 degrees. Drop 2 tablespoons of potato mixture into hot oil to form each latke. Cook until golden brown on each side, about 4 minutes per side. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with applesauce, if desired.
Adapted from a recipe provided by Congregation Or VeShalom Sisterhood
Per latke: 239 calories (percent of calories from fat, 76), 2 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 20 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 39 milligrams cholesterol, 238 milligrams sodium.
