Crispy Potato Latkes

Filed in archive Holidays , Recipes , Traditions on December 7, 2007

When Chanukah began at sundown this last Tuesday, many families sat down at their holiday tables to enjoy platefuls of traditional potato latkes.

Every year I make a big batch of latkes for my husband, but they are a few days late this year due to friends visiting from America and a bout of bronchitis coursing through my lungs. When I expressed dismay at being late with the latkes, he just chuckled and said that he's happy to eat them any time. How true! I would happily eat these crispy, salty, little potato pancakes every week of the year!

I am feeling much better now, so tonight will be our latke night.




The recipe I use isn't a cherished family one as I didn't grow up with Chanukah or a Bubbie. The recipe comes from The New York Cookbook, submitted by David (The Latke King) firestone.

Latkes (In His Own Words)
Makes about 16 latkes, which is all you should eat the first night. By the end of Chanukah, you should be able to eat twice that many.

2 1/2 pounds Idaho baking potatoes, unpeeled
1 large yellow onion, quartered
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup matzoh meal
4 to 5 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 cups olive oil
1 large jar (16 ounces) unsweetened applesauce

1. Pick up the potatoes and admire their heft, their pure starchiness. Then scrub them with a brush.

2. Place the onion in a food processor. Pulse the blade a few times until the onion is diced into crunchy bits. Remove the blade and scrape the onion bits into a small bowl. Return the food processor bowl to the machine. No need to wash it yet.

3. Cut the potatoes lengthwise to fit in the food processor feed tube. Find the medium-coarse food processor shredding disk, which you've never used. Put it into the machine and turn it on. Begin feeding the potato slices into the machine.

4. When the potatoes are shredded put them in a colander over a large bowl. Dump in the onion bits and mix everything around with your hands, squeezing the potato moisture out as you work. Let the mixture drip for a few minutes while you put on a recording of Kitty Carlisle singing "Beat Out That Rhythm On A Drum."

5. Pour out the potato liquid from the bowl, but leave the starch that clings to the bowl. This is good for you. Dump in the shredded potato and onion mix. Add the eggs, the matzoh meal, the parsley, the salt and the pepper. Stir the mixture eagerly. Then let it sit for about 10 minutes.

6. In a large cast-iron skillet, pour in 1/4 inch of the oil. Over high heat, get the oil very hot, but don't set off the smoke detector. Using the 1/4 cup measure or a long-handled serving spoon, start spooning the batter into the skillet. Flatten each with a metal spatula to a diameter of 4 to 5 inches. Do not try to make the latkes uniformly round. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the latkes until golden brown on one side. Then turn over and fry them some more. When crispy on the outside and most inside, about 5 minutes per side, remove and place on several thicknesses of paper towels. Keep doing this until you run out of batter.

7. Remove from the room anyone who prefers latkes with sour cream. Serve the latkes immediately. With applesauce.

(My husband prefers his with sour cream but I let him have some anyway)