Cheese Latkes with Fresh Persimmon Sauce

Crisp potato latkes are the taste of Hanukkah for most Ashkenazi Jews. But the first latkes, according to many food historians, were probably made of cheese. Today, latkes based on sweet curd cheeses— farmer, pot, and cottage—are still popular for Hanukkah and Passover as well, for they are usually thickened with a touch of matzoh meal, not flour.

Delicate and dairy-clean tasting, this version begs for a fresh complement of bright-tasting fruit. Instead of the tradi