Hanukkah/New Year’s Eve Nibbles Board with Ravioli and Charred Eggplant Dip

Photo courtesy of the author.

Ravioli photo courtesy of the author.

Photo courtesy of the author.

With Hanukkah beginning Christmas Day and lasting through New Year’s, I’m looking to serve lots of holiday appetizers from a variety of traditions to my family and friends throughout the festive season.

This unusual confluence (it last occurred in 2009 and won’t happen again until 2035), has inspired this holiday party board. It features latkes, falafel and fried raviolis, with lots of dips and sauces, many reflecting Hanukkah’s symbolic take on fried and dairy foods.

(I also like to serve special Hanukkah cocktails. Find the drink recipes here.

Many of these dishes I have taught or served to members of my Oakland Ruach Hadassah chapter and have featured them at our holiday get togethers.

For dippers, choose from fresh vegetables. Try cutting thin slices of peeled jicama (using Hanukkah-themed cookie cutters to cut into holiday shapes). Or use pita chips or purchased or homemade falafel.

For a falafel recipe, visit this link; for fried ravioli (see recipe below) and homemade or purchased latkes. If you need a latke recipe, here’s mine.

Offer an assortment of dips and toppings such as the classic applesauce and sour cream and a few of the following: cranberry sauce, caramelized onions, chopped red onions, salmon roe, ranch or blue cheese dressing, pizza sauce (great with the fried ravioli), charred eggplant dip (see recipe below), hummus, tahini sauce and z’hug (Yemeni hot sauce) and /or harissa (North African hot sauce), mango or other chutney and amba (an Iraqi-Israeli fermented mango sauce).

You can find the z’hug, harissa, chutney and amba in specialty, international and online markets. (For a parve or vegan nibbles board, substitute plant-based ingredients as needed.)

Display your choices on one big or several smaller cheese boards, cutting boards or platters. Add spoons to the bowls of sauces and provide small plates or sturdy napkins and you are ready to party.

Below are recipes for the Hanukkah-Fried Ravioli and, from my 52 Shabbats: Friday Night Dinners Inspired by a Global Jewish Kitchen cookbook, Charred Eggplant Dip, both with make-ahead directions.

To reheat previously cooked latkes or falafel, follow package directions or bring to room temperature and warm in 250°F oven on parchment-lined baking sheet until heated through.

Hanukkah – Fried Ravioli
Serves 4-6 as part of an appetizer course

10 ounces cheese or other fresh or thawed frozen ravioli, room temperature
3 large eggs, beaten
½ plus 1 tsp. salt
½ plus 1 tsp. ground black pepper
¼ tsp. chili flakes or to taste, optional
½ tsp. za’atar or crumbled dried oregano leaves
2 cups matzah meal or plain breadcrumbs
Vegetable, sunflower, safflower or other oil for frying
Grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Line a second one with paper towels.

Mix ½ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. black pepper with eggs in bowl. Mix remaining salt and pepper, chili flakes and oregano with matzah meal in a second bowl. Dip a ravioli in egg to coat, shaking off excess and then coat in seasoned matzah meal. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat.

Heat about 2” oil in a deep pan or pot (enough to deep fry — amount depends on the size of your ravioli). Heat to 350°F on a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Add ravioli in batches without crowding and fry 2-4 minutes until raviolis are puffed, toasty and golden brown (timing varies), turning with slotted spoon or tongs halfway through. Adjust heat as necessary to keep temperature steady.

Use tongs or slotted spoon to transfer to paper towel-covered sheet. Bring oil back up to temperature. Repeat with next batch.

Serve warm or room temperature as is or sprinkled with grated

Parmesan cheese. Can be made a day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature. Reheat on parchment-lined baking sheet in 250°F oven until raviolis have crisped and heated through.

Charred Eggplant Dip
Adapted from 52 Shabbats
Makes about 2 cups

2 lbs. of eggplant (2 to 3 medium)
2 tsps. minced garlic, plus more if desired
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsps. fresh lemon juice, plus more if desired
1/4 cup tahini
2 Tbsps. chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using a fork, lightly prick holes in several spots all around the eggplants and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Roast 20 minutes. Turn eggplants. Continue to roast until eggplant is soft and collapsed into itself, and skins are wrinkled and charred in spots, another 20 to 30 minutes (timing varies). Let cool 20 minutes on the baking sheet.

Transfer eggplants to cutting board and cut in half, lengthwise. Using a fork, scrape out the flesh down to the skins, discarding skins. Chop or mash flesh until it’s roughly puréed and transfer to a medium serving bowl along with any liquid. Stir in garlic, salt, lemon juice and tahini. Taste and add more garlic, salt, lemon juice and or tahini if desired. Garnish with cilantro. Can be stored airtight in refrigerator (garlic flavor may intensify). Mix before serving.

Faith is a member of the Hadassah Writers’ Circle, a dynamic and diverse writing group for leaders and members to express their thoughts and feelings about all the things Hadassah does to make the world a better place, to celebrate their personal Hadassah journeys and to share their Jewish values, family traditions and interpretations of Jewish texts.  Since 2019, the Hadassah Writers’ Circle has published nearly 450 columns in the Times of Israel Blog and other Jewish media outlets. Interested? Please contact hwc@hadassah.org.