Goodbye Latkes, Hello Tortitas De Acelga For Hanukkah!
Image by Hélène Jawhara—Piñer
This Hanukkah, let’s put aside latkes and make tortitas de acelga, otherwise known as Swiss chard patties, a beloved fried dish from Southern Spain. When I was young, I used to help my grandmother by preparing the holiday menu for Hanukkah. Latkes have never been a part of our culinary customs, but there was always some tortitas de acelga on the table.
Ever since 14th century Jews settled on the Strait of Gibraltar, there’s been an important Jewish community nestled on the Rock, including my own grandmother. There, Swiss chard patties are the perfect Hanukkah and Shabbat delight, as they don’t require any warming or cooling.
The dish serves as a visual symbol of the beautiful, sun-dappled coast of Spain, with the yellow tortitas symbolizing the spark of the candle, or the shamash, which is used to light the Hanukah candles.
Easy, cheap and delicious, the Swiss chard patties only use seasonal vegetables and the green part of the Swiss chard (allowing you to use the white part for another dish). These tortitas de acelga are high protein, gluten free, vegetarian and dairy free — evidence that the Sephardic Jewish diet has always been ahead of its time.
Image by Hélène Jawhara—Piñer
Yield: about 25 patties
Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
1 bunch of Swiss chard
1 garlic clove
1 tsp of baking soda
1 egg
1 string’s worth of saffron
2 ¾ cups (250g) of chickpeas flour
10,7 oz (300g) of water
Salt
Directions:
1.Wash the chards and cut the leaves.
2.Boil salted water and immerse the leaves for 4 minutes.
3.Drain and squeeze them to bring out all the water.
4.Let it cool, and then cut the leaves with a knife.
5.In a salad bowl, add the chopped garlic, yeast, egg, saffron and salt. Beat the mixture.
6.Add the chard leaves and then the water and finally the chickpea flour, little by little. The preparation must be a little fluid.
7.Take an heavy pan and heat the neutral oil about 350-360F.
8.Fry the oil in an heavy pan 2 minutes on each side.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
