Adeena Sussman: Latke frying helps cooks cope with life's complexities

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with cookbook author Adeena Sussman.

In this conversation with the bestselling author of "Sababa" and "Shabbat," Sussman discusses the intersection of cooking, culture, and personal experiences as she continues melding her American Jewish background with her current Israeli life in her recipes.

She reviews aspects of her latest cookbook, "Zariz," which emphasizes quick, easy recipes with shorter lists of ingredients, and how working on it during the war offered a therapeutic outlet during troubling times.

Sussman talks about her various Hanukkah recipes, tips for frying potato pancakes and sufganiyot, and how to streamline the latke-making and doughnut frying processes, if one decides to make their own.

Adeena Sussman's Sheet Pan Latke Board
For the latkes:

1½ - 1¾ lbs skin-on Russet potatoes, scrubbed (depending on your sheet pan size)
1 med-large onion, peeled
2 eggs
2 tsps kosher salt, plus more to taste
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
3-4 tablespoons potato starch, cornstarch or flour
¼ - ⅓ cup olive oil

Toppings ideas:

Gravlax, sour cream, dill, lemon zest, capers
Sour cream + fish eggs + green onion
Avocado + chili crisp
Horseradish sour cream + quail egg
Pear Gorgonzola
Pomme persimmon
Labaneh + jam
Apple butter

Instructions
Arrange a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 450°F.

1. Grate the potatoes and onions on the large holes of a box grater into a large bowl. Using both hands, squeeze out and discard as much of the liquid from the potatoes as possible; transfer them to a second bowl.
2. Add the oil to a quarter-sheet pan (or 9 x 13 inch glass metal baking dish); place in the oven and heat until the oil is very hot but not smoking, 7 to 8 minutes.
3. During the last two minutes of the oil heating, stir the eggs, salt, pepper, and potato starch into the potato-onion mixture.
4. Carefully remove the sheet pan from the oven.
5. Quickly pour and spread the latke batter across the pan; tip and spoon any excess oil over the top.
6. Bake until deep golden brown and crisp, 23 to 25 minutes (or longer as needed). Cut into squares and top with the toppings of your choice.

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Cookbook author Adeena Sussman with her latest, 'Zariz,' in December 2025. (Courtesy)

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