"Latkes, like bagels, have gone mainstream," said Michael Batterberry, editor-in-chief of Food Arts Magazine, as he recently dipped his fork into - what else? - a crispy, plump, potato pancake.

Although latkes may be ubiquitous, served at many restaurants year-round throughout the country, they are served once a year in many Jewish American homes as a symbolic food on Hanukkah, which begins this year at sundown on Sunday.

The holiday celebrates the victory of the Jewish Maccabee brothers over Antiochus of Assyria in 164 B.C. When they returned to the ransacked temple, the Maccabees found a tiny bit of sacred olive oil that miraculously lasted not one, but eight days; the miracle is commemorated by eight days of lighting candles.

For most American Jewish families, at least one of those eight days includes eating potato latkes fried in oil, symbolizing the cleansing and rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after it was defiled by the Assyrians.

Today, potato pancakes have many American regional and international incarnations: German cooks serve them all year long; the French make a paper-thin pancake called a craque; Allen Susser, chef-owner of Chef Allen's in North Miami, Fla., uses boniato, a Cuban white sweet potato, to make a full-flavored and multi-textured Caribbean latke in the same way that many of his Cuban Jewish customers use boniato in their potato kugels. He adds excitement to an old standard by adding a little bit of orange zest and ginger, and serving it with a green onion sour cream.

In Israel, where one might expect potato latkes everywhere, they are often served as levivot, light, floury pancakes, or as cheese and vegetable pancakes. But the most popular fried treat of all are soufganiyot, jelly doughnuts, modern Israel's contribution to this ancient holiday.

Because potatoes came from the New World to the Old, they are a relatively new creation in terms of the history of the Jewish people. It wasn't until the 18th century that they reached Eastern Europe, where they first were blended with schmaltz, a fat made from rendered chicken or goose.

Chances are that pancakes during the Maccabean era were a fried bread made of flour, even perhaps bulgur or barley, or were made from the bitter wild greens and onions often growing along the roadside with some dried bread pounded into crumbs.

They were fried in the locally produced olive oil. These pancakes, probably everyday food anyway, served as a reminder on this holiday of the food hurriedly prepared for the Maccabees as they went to battle before their military victory.

In the Middle Ages, the fried pancakes became fried sweets, coming from the Greek tradition of fried dough or loukomades dipped in honey, which are still eaten today.

Cheese pancakes are even older. Served in many communities at Hanukkah, they signify the cakes the widow Judith supposedly served the Assyrian general Holofernes before she cut off his head, thus delivering her people from the Assyrians.

The cheesecakes in this folk story symbolize the victory of her chastity and humility over the lust and pride of Holofernes, who would have had the Jews slaughtered had Judith not fed him so well and given him so much wine that he fell asleep.

Chef Allen's Caribbean Boniato Latkes

Makes 8 pancakes

1/2 large boniato or yam, peeled, about 3/4 pound (available in Latin American stores)

1/2 medium Spanish onion

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

1/8 teaspoon crushed dried hot peppers

2 teaspoons matzo meal

peanut or vegetable oil for frying

1/2 cup sour cream

3 to 4 green onions, chopped

Grate together boniato and onion on large holes of grater into bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add orange zest, cumin, salt, pepper to taste, ginger, cilantro, hot peppers and matzo meal and stir to mix.

In large heavy skillet, heat about 1/2 inch oil over medium to high heat. Drop heaping tablespoons of boniato mixture into oil. Press batter down in center with wooden spoon. Do not crowd skillet. Fry pancakes until golden brown on 1 side, about 4 minutes. Turn and brown other side, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels and keep warm.

Mix sour cream and green onions in small glass bowl. Serve with hot latkes.

- Adapted from "Jewish Cooking in America," by Joan Nathan (Knopf; 1998)

Israeli Vegetable Fritters

Makes about 20 patties

1 pound zucchini, grated

1 pound potatoes, peeled and grated

1 onion, grated

2 pounds fresh spinach or arugula, washed, dried thoroughly and finely chopped

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1 cup matzo meal or flour

1 tablespoon salt or to taste

2 teaspoons ground white pepper

vegetable or olive oil for frying

Combine zucchini, potatoes and onion in large mixing bowl. (Alternating onion will help keep potatoes from discoloring as you work.) Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. This is very important.

Add spinach, eggs, parsley, dill, matzo meal, salt and white pepper and mix thoroughly.

Heat about 1/2 inch oil in skillet until hot. For each plump patty, use about 2 tablespoons batter. Without crowding, fry patties 3 to 4 minutes on each side until golden. Drain on paper towels and serve.

Hungarian Cheese Latkes

Makes about 10 latkes

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

8 ounces cream cheese

6 tablespoons large-curd cottage cheese

3/4 to 1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

oil for frying

whipped cream, jam or cinnamon sugar

Mix eggs and sugar in bowl of food processor. Add cheeses, 3/4 cup flour and salt and process until smooth.

Heat nonstick skillet and pour in film of oil. To test thickness of batter, drop about 1/4 cup into pan and fry few minutes on each side. Do not worry if some batter spills out of pancakes. Just scrape off excess.

If batter seems too liquidy, add more flour. When consistency is correct, continue frying all pancakes, several at once, without crowding skillet.

Drain on paper towels. Serve with dollops of whipped cream, jam sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.

- Adapted from "Jewish Cooking in America," by Joan Nathan (Knopf; 1998)

Pub Date: 12/09/98