Cookbook author Shannon Sarna’s recipe for one of the most iconic Jewish dishes hails from her husband’s grandmother, Baba Billie, who made the crispy-edged and creamy-hearted dish. 

Dishes like this one from the Iraqi-Indian Jewish community are a hybrid of traditions. Aloo means potato in Hindi, while makala is an old Iraqi Arabic word for friend, explains Elli Benaiah.

Like all latke recipes, the success of this one lies in getting as much liquid out of the potatoes as possible before frying. Try placing the grated spuds in a clean kitchen towel and ringing it out.

Potato flour adds extra fluff to this challah recipe from Food Network star Molly Yeh. The dough is incredibly versatile. Molly uses it to make sandwich bread, wraps it around hot dogs for pigs in a blanket, and laces it with halva.

This stunning rice with potato tahdig comes from food writer Andrea Strong's family. Be sure to rinse the rice well before you start cooking it to remove any excess starch.

“My mom was the queen of aperitif,” says Joanna Bensimon, owner of The Hamsa Brand, a harissa company. Every Friday evening in their family started with a glass of something festive and finger foods like these crispy pastels.

Airy, fluffy, and crispy on the outside, these latke-like fritters are a staple in Syrian kitchens. Sarina Roffé’s vegetarian version includes potatoes, carrots, celery, and zucchini that are held together with eggs and matzah meal.

Food writer Vered Guttman’s grandmother would make these Iraqi beef filled potato dumplings every Hanukkah, when she hosted the whole family for a party.

Sriracha creme fraiche offers a mix of heat and tang to these sweet potato latkes. If you can't find creme fraiche, sour cream will also work.

Small Yukon gold potatoes are boiled and then smashed with the bottom of a glass before roasting. The result is a crispy exterior and creamy interior with the zip of vinegar and jalapeño. 

Dor Gil’s Romanian grandmother Hedy made this dish every year for the last day of Passover. She started preparations for the meal far in advance, asking her butcher to set aside chicken and goose skin so she could make enough gribenes for everyone in the family.

Growing up in what was then Czechoslovakia, Donna Steinhorn recalls her mother Magdalena making strapačky, a potato based dumpling that’s reminiscent of gnocchi. Donna likes to top them with a dollop of farmers cheese and a mound of onions.

Chef and writer Peter Hoffman’s recipe for potato salad is loaded with fresh herbs like tarragon, parsley, and dill and lashed with bright apple cider vinegar.

Lorenza Pintar grew up in Italy not knowing she was Jewish. But every year, Hanukkah dishes like latkes — topped with cheese — would appear on the table briefly in the winter.

Esther Weyl would sit on her grandmother’s lap as she cooked, but it was only after her grandmother passed away that Esther started to explore her recipes like this one for a hearty potato casserole. 

Loren Abramovitch of Lev, a site-specific culinary project in New York City, grew up in a Galilean village. This recipe, cooked over live fire, reflects the cooking traditions he was raised on.  

This cozy aloo bhaji — tender potatoes infused with warm spices and fresh curry leaves — is pure comfort food for potato lovers. In cookbook author Elana Benjamin’s family, it was part of her aunt and uncle's barbecue spread.

“My grandmother’s rösti is something of a legend in our family. She makes it with almost every meal and for every occasion,” Chaya Rappoport says.

Slices of golden potatoes help form the tahdig, or crunchy crust, on this Persian rice with saffron and tart barberries.

These vegetarian fritters made with potatoes and chickpea flour are a popular street food in Maharashtra, a state in western India. Riki Shai’s family, who now live in Israel, make them for Shabbat and other celebrations.

Ground beef is spiced with nutmeg and saffron and lashed with vinegar in this Moroccan pastela recipe that often graced holiday tables in Kathy Berrie’s childhood home in Morocco.