Chanuka, Hannukah, Channukah, Hanuka... I've never seen more conflicting spellings for one holiday - and all of them correct, too... But no matter how you spell it, there is one thing everyone can agree on about Hanukah -- it's latke time!
I love these crunchy yet tender potato pancakes. I'm even willing to put up with all the grating and the fact that my house will reek of oil for several days after frying them - they are that good. 
It's time to dust off your pancake making skills and get grating -- the festival of lights begins at sundown on Tuesday, December 4th. Here are the keys to making delicious latkes:
Frying
- Don't skimp on the oil - you want there to be enough to cover half the latke when you put it in the pan.
- Get the oil hot enough to fry the latkes quickly. This is one of the secrets of frying foods properly. If the oil is not hot enough, the food ends up absorbing far too much oil.
- Use a brown paper grocery bag to drain the latkes - the paper bag is both sturdier and more absorbent than paper towels and also less wasteful.
- Use a baking potato (Russets or Idahos are both good) because they have more starch than many of the other varieties.
- Don't throw out the potato starch! Most people do not use the natural starch the potato will leak once it's been grated. Although you do need to dump the water off, you should scoop the left over starch into the squeezed out potato mixture - it will help the pancakes stick together.
- You can substitute another vegetable for up to one quarter of the potatoes. My favorite addition is celery root (a.k.a. celeriac) but you can also add parsnip or carrot or sweet potato.
Makes about 30 3-inch pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs baking potatoes, peeled
- 1 knob of celery root, peeled (optional)
- 1-2 onions (I like to err on the side of more onions)
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 2 to 3 tbsps flour or 1/4 cup matzoh meal
- Peanut oil for frying (the amount will depend on the size of the pan you're using - you want the oil to be between 1/8" and 1/4" inch deep)
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
2. Grate the onions into a separate smaller bowl then wring the moisture out of them by either squeezing individual handfuls or by placing them in a clean dishtowel and wringing them out that way. Throw the dried onions in a large bowl.
3. Wring out the potatoes and celery root in the same fashion, placing the dried potatoe gratings in the large bowl with the onions.
4. Allow the remaining potato mixture to sit for a few minutes. Once it has settled, pour off the liquid on top. A layer of white potato starch should remain at the bottom (it has a great texture - rub your fingers together to feel how it practically squeaks!) Scoop out the starch and add it to the potato, onion and celery root mixture in the large bowl.
5. Add the eggs, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.
6. Add the flour or matzoh meal and mix to combine. Use your own best judgement - you want the mixture to stick together but it should not be dry.
7. Add the oil to the pan and heat on a medium high flame until a shred of potato will sizzle in the oil. It should be very hot but NOT smoking (that would be too hot.)
8. Add the latkes with a small amount of space between them to allow for flipping - I usually just ladle a large spoonful of the mixture into the pan.
9. Fry until they are browned on the bottom and the sides are crispy. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown. This should take roughly 3-5 minutes on each side.
10. Drain the latkes on a paper bag. You can keep the latkes hot while you finish frying by placing them on an ovenproof plate or baking sheet in a warm oven.
11. Serve hot with sour cream (I recommend the organic ones) and applesauce. If you want to make your own applesauce, click here for an easy recipe.
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2 comments:
Any suggestions for an egg replacement? Maybe silken tofu?
Mmmm. Looks so good! Wanna come over for a Latke party? Its snowing here - for Eli's first (aware) night of Hanukkah.
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