Simple Delicious Potato Latkes The basic ingredients for these ‘pancakes’ include potatoes, onions and eggs. There are many recipes available and they add various things to these basic ingredients. These additions may include: carrots, garlic, other vegetables, chopped apples, grated apples, flour, matzo meal, breadcrumbs, crushed crackers, and other seasonings.
We chose to keep it simple and made them as follows:
4 pounds of peeled potatoes
2 onions
2 eggs
¼ c flour, we used white all purpose, but whole grain would be good as well
11/2 tsp baking powder
11/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Per instructions, from my friend, we ground the potatoes and onions in the food processor until they were in small pieces, about ¼ in. Some were finer, but most of the pieces were about that size. Much simpler than grating.
We then drained off the excess liquid through a fresh terry towel.
While that drained, we mixed the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper.
Once the ground potatos and onions were drained, we added the flour mixture to them. We stirred the eggs, and then blended them into the rest of the ingredients.
We cooked the latkes in cast iron fry pans, in vegetable oil, about 1 cm of it or so. Be gentle when adding batter to the pans to prevent spattering the oil and causing burns.
Using a serving spoon, we scooped the batter into the pans, two or three per pan depending on its size. You’ll have to kind of smoosh them down into circular little pancakes.
Start with the heat at high and reduce as you cook, and the oil begins to smoke a little. Brown one side for a couple of minutes, then flip over and brown the other.
Put a dry kitchen towel on a large baking sheet and place the cooked latkes on it as they are done. This will drain away excess oil. Place the pan in a warm, not hot oven and keep it clear of the elements to prevent a fire.
Keep adding latkes until you have cooked all the mixture. You will have to replenish the oil between additions of batter.
This recipe makes lots of latkes, but don’t worry, they will get eaten. IF there are any leftovers, they will be gone tomorrow! There should be enough to serve 8 to 12 people.
You can make these earlier in the day and reheat as you prepare the rest of the meal if you like. You could also freeze some for future use.
Serve with a choice of apple sauce, sour cream or ketchup and watch them disappear.
These are a great menu item ANY day. Don’t wait until Hanukkah to try them!
Enjoy!
RJJ
