Chef and cookbook author Jake Cohen joined "Good Morning America" with two festive Hanukkah bites to make during the Festival of Lights.
Check out his full recipes to recreate at home, below.
"It's not a party without potato pancakes. I don't make the rules, but I will enforce this one. Instead of the whole applesauce or sour cream conversation, which only serves to divide us, we're just going to pick a vibe for the night and go hard with the toppings. Don't get it twisted, there's nothing wrong with a platter of freshly fried latkes alongside some fancy applesauce or full-fat sour cream and caviar. But tonight, we're setting a mood with some towering latke tartines to pass around at your next soiree, whether it's Hanukkah or not. Latkes can and should be a year-round food!"
"The only question is, do you want to go savory or sweet at this very moment? (You're allowed to switch teams as many times as you'd like.) For savory, my go-to move is to channel the best bagel and lox by layering beet horseradish-stained sour cream with pastrami lox and herbs. For sweet, I've always been obsessed with how often Polish Jews would sprinkle sugar on their latkes, so we're going to toss them with cinnamon sugar and top them with honeycomb and an ingredient called gjetost. Made from caramelized goat milk, this is the wildest Norwegian cheese product. It tastes like butterscotch-flavored Velveeta in a kind of magical way. I'm down with the onion still in the latkes, but you can always sub with peeled Honeycrisp apple instead! These are but two paths you can venture down on your journey of dressing up your latkes. I can't wait to see the combinations you and your family fall in love with!"
Makes about 16 latkes
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
For the latkes:
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
1/2 medium yellow onion
1/2 cup matzo meal
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 large eggs
Vegetable oil, for frying
For topping:
Sour cream
Beet horseradish
Pastrami lox
Fresh dill fronds
Lemon zest
Directions
Using a box grater or a food processor fitted with the shredding disc, coarsely grate the potatoes and onion. Transfer to a medium bowl lined with cheesecloth or a thin dish towel and wring the cloth to squeeze out any liquid into the bowl. Set the bowl of liquid aside to sit for 5 minutes. Put the squeezed potatoes and onion in another medium bowl, add the matzo meal, salt and eggs, and mix until well incorporated.
Pour off and discard the reserved liquid from the first bowl, revealing a thin layer of white potato starch stuck to the bottom. Stir the potato starch into the potato mixture.
In a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet, heat 1/4 inch of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Line a sheet pan with paper towels.
Working in batches, scoop 4 packed (1/4-cup) balls of the potato mixture into the skillet, spacing them 2 inches apart. Using a spatula, smash each ball to flatten. Cook the latkes, flipping once, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to the paper towel-lined pan to drain. Repeat with the remaining potato mixture, adding more oil to the skillet between batches and adjusting the heat as needed.
Transfer the latkes to a platter. In a small bowl, combine sour cream with a spoon or two of the horseradish to make a bright pink sauce. Dollop on the latkes, then top with the lox, dill, and lemon zest, then serve.
Serves 8 to 10
Prep time: 40 minutes, plus 3 to 4 hours of proofing time
Cook time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
For the dough:
1 cup water, heated to 115 F
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4 cup vegetable, olive, sunflower or avocado oil, plus more for greasing
1/4 cup honey
3 large eggs
5 1/2 to 6 cups (745 grams to 810 grams) bread flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
For frying and serving:
Vegetable oil
Powdered sugar
Jam
Nutella
Directions
Make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the warm water and 2 tablespoons of the sugar to dissolve, then sprinkle the yeast over the top. Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar, the oil, honey, and eggs, then whisk on medium speed until incorporated.
Switch to the dough hook. Add 5 1/2 cups (745 grams) of the flour and the salt to the mixture in the bowl and, beginning on low speed and gradually increasing to medium, knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms, 3 to 4 minutes. (Your dough will be tacky but shouldn't be sticky. If it's sticky, mix in flour, a few tablespoons at a time, until tacky.) Transfer to a lightly floured work surface, and with floured hands, continue to knead by hand, dusting with flour as needed, until a very smooth ball forms, another 3 to 5 minutes. (Alternatively, if you make this dough entirely by hand, it will require about 10 minutes of kneading on a clean work surface after incorporating the flour.)
Grease a medium bowl and your hands with oil and add the dough ball, turning gently to coat.
Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and roll out to 1/2 inch thick. Cut the dough into 2-inch squares, like beignets, and place on 2 parchment-lined sheet pans. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place until puffed, about 30 minutes.
In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 inches of oil to 375 F. Line a sheet pan with paper towels. Working in batches, fry the doughnuts, flipping once, until golden brown and puffed, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the paper towel-lined sheet pan to drain. Repeat until all the doughnuts are fried. Dust with powdered sugar, then serve while warm alongside a bowl of warm jam or Nutella for dipping.
Recipes reprinted from "I COULD NOSH" by Jake Cohen. Copyright © 2023 by Jake Cohen. Reprinted by permission of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
