Mexican-Puerto Rican-Jewish latkes

What country are you from has to have been the most memorable question I have received about my heritage.  I think my response was Pennsylvania, which depending on who you’re asking could very well be considered a separate country (there are fainting goats living in my back yard).  I always love the smiles, when I tell people my mom has blond hair and blue eyes and I’m half German.  Even the realization that I’m Puerto Rican does not entirely satisfy most people’s questioning.

“Oh I thought you were Italian.”

I was never quite sure how to respond to that answer, because it was almost as if they would have been happier if I had said, “Oh yeah, just kidding, I’m Italian.”

For the record, I am half Puerto Rican, which I am possibly a little more Spaniard than Native Puerto Rican considering my very olive complexion; and I am half German, Austrian, and possibly English.  My dad likes to throw a wrench into the confusion my mom and he created in my brother, sister, and I and our mutt-like genealogy, by suggesting somewhere down the line we were also Jewish.  See there’s this street in Spain, my dad will tell the story, and it’s named Juertas after a Jewish family that fled there.  And we are related to anyone with the last name of Juertas (it was my grandmother’s maiden name).  I am not sure who it was that told my dad this story, but he remembers it.

If there is any ounce of me that is Jewish, I am sure it is a tiny bit and questionably so.  But one thing I do know for sure, I inherited my dad’s love of culture and every yummy bit that goes along with it.  And ever since the blogs and sites and newspapers have been posting latke recipes, I have been dreaming about their fried potato goodness.  After a busy day of work, I knew it was time for a taste of Hanukkah.

Of course I hardly ever follow tradition when it comes to cooking.  And my good friend’s traditional latke recipe called for grating onions.  I can hardly cut an onion without crying.  Can you imagine how awful it would be if you grated an onion?  So I julienned two onions and fried them in a little oil until close to caramelized.  I then mixed them with about 2 cups of frozen shredded potatoes – I already had them and didn’t want to grate potatoes.  I added 3 eggs maybe an 1/8 of a cup of flour and adobo.  I heated a pan with oil and began frying.  The first batch were eh ok, but once I got going I was getting perfect little potato latkes.  I drained them and lined them on a sheet pan.

I didn’t exactly have time to make dinner tonight, so I knew I had to make the latkes a little more hearty.  I drained a can of black beans and dropped 6 or 7 beans on each latke.  Then I topped them with a Mexican blend of shredded cheese.  I threw them under the broiler until the cheese was melted.

The wonderful thing about being multicultural is that I have a lot of palettes to create new traditions with.  And basing it off of the 5 latkes my roommate tucked away.  I’d say my latkes were a wonderful success.  Just please don’t ask what country they are from.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily