At sundown on Tuesday, Jews around the world begin celebrating the eight-day festival of light known as Chanukah (also spelled Hanukkah).
Chanukah marks the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century B.C. by the Maccabees, who revolted against the Seleucid Greek empire. The Jews found only enough pure oil to light the temple’s Menorah (candelabra) for one day, yet miraculously it burned for eight days. To commemorate this miracle Jews eat many different types of dishes prepared with oil including latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (jelly filled donuts).
One of the most recognizable symbols of Chanukah is the dreidel, a four-sided top marked with Hebrew letters that stand for “a great miracle happened here.”
Try your hand at these recipes for traditional Chanukah dishes and treats:
- Slow braised beef brisket with dried fruit and red wine
- Roasted chicken with lemon and herbs
- Oven-baked latkes
- Two-potato latkes
- Wild mushroom fritters
- Traditional challah bread
- Rugalach (aka walnut cookies)
- Apricot rugalach with cream cheese
- Hanukkah sufganiot jelly doughnuts
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