Shake up your Hanukkah traditions with these macaroni and cheese latkes, guaranteed to make your family smile! Thanks to Cabot Creamery Co-operative for sponsoring this Hanukkah recipe.
Hanukkah is almost here, and like every other holiday in 2020 (except for maybe Groundhog Day), it will look different this year. No Hanukkah parties; no circles of kids playing intense games of dreidel; no standing over a stove flipping endless latkes for a hungry houseful of guests.
But there is still fun to be had: there are gifts to exchange, candles to light and, of course, latkes to flip. I am a huge fan of traditional potato latkes, and I even like the slightly healthier sweet potato version. But did you know that there is nothing magical about potatoes for Hanukkah? Rather, it’s the tradition of cooking foods in oil that is special for Hanukkah.
Potatoes, you will recall, are a New World food, meaning that none of our European or Middle Eastern ancestors were eating potato anything before the 1500’s. As for potato latkes, they became popular among Eastern Europeans Jews in the mid 1800’s when Polish and Ukrainian farmers began planting potatoes – after a series of crop failures – as a inexpensive and easy-to-grow alternative to grains.
Would it blow your mind if I told you that the original latkes were made of cheese? In fact, the tradition of eating fried pancakes for Hanukkah comes from Italy, where the pancakes were originally made from ricotta cheese.
Since the Middle Ages, there has been a custom (or minhag) of eating dairy foods on Hanukkah to honor the Jewish heroine Judith. Judith helped to secure an important military victory by plying the opposing army general with wine and salty cheese. When the general passed out from all the wine, Judith beheaded him! Hence, cheese for Hanukkah, I guess.
This year, I certainly plan to make traditional potato latkes. But I also thought it might be fun to incorpoate the Hanukkah tradition of eating dairy foods into our family celebration. I suppose I could have made traditional Italian-style cheese latkes with ricotta, but where is the fun in that? No, for my family’s version of cheese latkes, I had to go bigger. I had to make…macaroni and cheese latkes.
When it comes to macaroni and cheese, there is only one choice for the cheese: Cabot Creamery. Personally, I think you need a really sharp cheddar for macaroni and cheese because otherwise – and this may be controversial – it can be a bit bland. Whether you prefer the Seriously Sharp or the New York Extra Sharp, no one – and I mean no one – makes a better cheddar than Cabot.
Not only does Cabot Creamery make the best-tasting cheddar in the world, it is a company with a heart. A certified B Corporation, Cabot Creamery is a co-operative owned by farm families throughout New England & New York. That means that all of profits go back to the farmers themselves. And all Cabot cheddars are naturally aged and lactose-free. Thank goodness for that because every Jewish family I know has at least one member who is sensitive to lactose!
If the idea of frying balls of macaroni and cheese in oil sounds, shall we say, unhealthy, please know that the thought occurred to me as well. That’s why I used the air fryer to fry my macaroni and cheese latkes. A few spritzes of oil and just 12 minutes in the air fryer was all it took to make the outside of the latkes golden brown and crispy, while the insides stayed cheesey and ooey-gooey.
Needless to say, these were a huge hit on our house. I served the macaroni cheese latkes with applesauce – which is what you serve with traditional potato latkes – because apples and cheese is such a natural pairing. But my kids also tried them with some mariana sauce, and they liked that combination as well.
The one tip I want to give you for this recipe is to plan ahead. First, you need to make a stovetop macacroni and cheese and then the casserole needs to chill for at least an hour, but preferably longer, before forming it into balls for frying. I suggest making the macaroni and cheese a day in advance to break up the work. The other tip is to pick a slightly smaller pasta shape than you normally might – it makes it easier to form into balls.
What do you think? Would you ever try macaroni and cheese latkes?
Ingredients
- 1 lb. small pasta such as ditalini
- 4 TB butter, plus more for greasing the pan
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 12 oz. Cabot sharp cheddar, such as Seriously Sharp, grated
- Several dashes Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard
- Pinch nutmeg
- Salt and pepper, prefearbly white pepper, to taste
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups dry bread crumbs such as Panko
- Applesauce or tomato sauce for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Butter a 9x13 baking dish.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions, undercooking it slightly. Drain.
- Warm the milk in the microwave or in a small saucepan. (It is easier to incorporate warm milk into the sauce.) Set aside.
- Make a roux. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a few minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.
- Slowly pour the warm milk into the butter-flour mixture while whisking to make a smooth sauce. Continue to simmer over low heat until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the grated cheese a little bit at a time, and stir each addition into the sauce before adding more. (Adding the cheese all at once will make the sauce grainy.) Season with the Worcestershire, mustard, nutmeg, salt and pepper
- Return the drained pasta to the empty saucepan in which you cooked it. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and stir to combine.
- Spread the macaroni and cheese into the prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour and preferably overnight.
- To make the latkes, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. With your hands, form the macaroni and cheese into 2-inch balls. You should be able to get about 36 balls. Place the formed balls onto the baking sheet and chill until firm, at least 15 minutes.
- Beat the eggs with 2 tablespoons of water. Spread the panko bread crumbs on a plate.
- Roll a pasta ball in the egg mixture then dredge the ball in the bread crumbs, pressing to make the crumbs adhere. Place the breaded fritter on a lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining balls.
- Spray the balls with oil and, working in batches, place 6 in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Cook at 400 for 12-14 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until browned and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining balls.
- Serve right away with applesauce or your favorite tomato sauce.
Full disclosure time: Cabot Creamery Co-operative sponsored this post and I received compensation for my work. All opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.
