Fluffy feta cheese latkes – a rediscovered Chanukah treat

Light and fluffy, this cheese latkes recipe uses ricotta and feta to create deliciously savoury, crispy cheese pancakes. Perfect for Chanukah or as a tasty brunch treat at any time!

Do you associate dairy foods with Chanukah? No, me neither. Or at least, not until recently. Turns out that delicious cheesy treats pre-date potato latkes and doughnuts by quite some time.

Oil and cheese

It’s easy to see where the Chanukah fried-food obsession comes from – miracle of the oil and all that.

But the dairy food tradition is from a less well known source. Read on to find out more! Cheese latkes conveniently are both fried, and dairy, thus filling both traditional food roles in one delicious morsel. 

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Dairy origins

So where does the Chanukah dairy connection come from? Yehudit was a fierce Jewish heroine who played a critical role in the defeat of the armies attacking Temple-era Judea, and cheese is pivotal to her story.

I think it is incumbent upon all of us to put her back front and centre, especially since it provides an excuse to eat delicious cheese latkes! Judah Maccabee has had his time in the spotlight, it’s Yehudit’s time to shine!

The story of Yehudit

Yehudit was a cunning and beautiful widow from the town of Bethulia, which had been besieged by an invading army led by General Holofernes. As the besieged townsfolk began to starve, Yehudit concocted a cunning plan.

She charmed Holofernes and plied him with some delicious salty cheese. Naturally this made him thirsty, so she seductively encouraged him to quench his thirst with strong wine. When he fell into a drunken stupor, she cut off his head and slipped away. 

I imagine the scene looked nothing like this drawing by Maerten van Heemskerck from 1560.

Ahem. Next morning, upon discovering their leader’s headless body, the attacking troops fled in panic and the town was SAVED! 

Just focus on the cheese

I can’t condone chopping people’s heads off, but let’s just concentrate on the part about delicious cheese, right?

According to Gil Marks’ Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, cheesy Chanukah treats like ricotta pancakes were first brought to Italy by Sicilians fleeing expulsion in 1492, and then spread across Europe and the wider Jewish world.

Time passed, and while cheese pancakes remained popular in Southern Europe, Jewish residents of the North found that soft cheeses were hard to come by in the winter. Furthermore, the main fat they had available for frying was schmaltz – chicken fat – which meant that cheese pancakes were a non-starter for Northern-Europe-dwelling kosher-keeping Chanukah celebrants.

The recipe for cheese latkes was adapted to use non-dairy ingredients, and other pancakes, made from rye or buckwheat batter, became acceptable substitutes.

Spuddy good

And then, enter the humble potato – the perfect dairy-free crispy pancake ingredient.

By the late 18th century Chanukah cheese pancakes were on their way out altogether, and by the mid-19th century they had been all but replaced by the more familiar potato latke. Delicious, but a totally different beast to a light, fluffy cloud of crispy cheese latke deliciousness.

Cheese latkes recipe – let’s rediscover this traditional treat!

While the traditional cheese latkes used only ricotta or a similar soft cheese, I decided to pay homage to Yehudit’s thirst-inducing morsels, and enhance the salty cheesiness by also adding some crumbled feta to the pancake mixture. This cheese latkes recipe uses both ricotta and feta and the results are outstanding!

The cheese pancakes were light, soft and deliciously savoury. I served them with some (entirely non-traditional) sweet chilli dipping sauce which created a wonderful salty-sweet-spicy sensation. If you’re not into chilli then something sweet would still be wonderful. Maybe a drizzle of maple syrup or honey, or a few fresh berries?

Ingredients in fluffy cheese latkes

These delicious, golden, fluffy-centred cheese pancakes are surprisingly easy to make, and use just a few ingredients. To make them, you will need:

• Ricotta cheese
• Feta cheese
• Eggs
• Plain flour (also called all-purpose flour)
• Oil for frying

And that’s it! Simple!

Cheese latkes/ cheese pancakes

These wonderful cheese latkes would make a terrific brunch dish at any time of year. Just be sure to make plenty of them. I thought I’d eat one, or maybe two, and then accidentally noshed five of them… They are certainly moreish!

We’ll be enjoying these as a delicious Chanukah supper, and maybe even raising a toast to feisty Jewish heroine Yehudit as we do. Chanukah sameach to one and all! 

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And check out my Ultimate Guide to Chanukah Food Traditions here!

📖 Recipe

More delicious Chanukah recipes

More delicious pancakes for your Chanukah celebrations? Why not! How about…

• Classic potato latkes – like Grandma used to make!
• Oven-fried potato latkes – easy, big batch, and no splattery stove to clean
• Romanian noodle latkes – like crispy mouthfuls of the best lokshen kugel ever
• Bubble and squeak latkes – the classic latke’s British cousin!

Feeling (feta) cheesy? Try this quick and easy feta cheese dip.

Or if it’s brunch ideas you want, check out the Full Jewish Breakfast, easy kedgeree, or yummy flower toast.