I’m not even a tiny bit Jewish but for some reason, I grew up eating my Nana’s potato latkes. I don’t know where she got the recipe or why she was compelled to make them, all I know is they were delicious.
I rarely make latkes because I have a thing about frying in the house. I’m extremely sensitive to smells and despite enjoying the taste and texture of fried foods, the smell usually puts me off. But this New Year’s Eve, they found their way on to our dinner menu so I decided to bite the bullet, turn on the ceiling vent, open the kitchen door and fry up some latkes.
I searched the internet for recipes and since most latke recipes are pretty similar, I decided to improvise and luckily, it worked. The latkes were so delicious, we made them two nights in a row. Unheard of around here.
Potato Latkes, Two Ways
Serves 4
4-5 medium Russet potatoes
1 onion
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Either
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
OR
a couple of sprigs of finely minced rosemary
(Yes I know, none of these ingredients are strictly traditional but neither am I so there.)
With a box grater or food processor with a grater attachment, grate your scrubbed clean potatoes. There’s no need to peel but if it makes you happy and you don’t want the extra fiber…
Grate your onion as well. Toss both into a large bowl lined with a kitchen towel or double layer cheese cloth and squeeze the heck out of it.
Keep squeezing, you’re going to get a lot of liquid. Discard the liquid that you’ve squeezed out and dump the potatoes and onions back into the bowl. In another bowl, lightly whisk your eggs, salt and pepper and pour over the potatoes and onions. Sprinkle the flour over that and use your hands to mix everything in.
In a frying pan, heat enough oil to come 1/2″ deep. The oil should be hot and you should use an oil appropriate to frying at high temperatures. Peanut oil is ideal but I didn’t have any so I settled for canola.
Scoop up the potato mixture about a 1/4 cup at a time and shape into a patty. I like to set my patty onto my metal spatula and lower it into the oil. Mostly because I am a wuss. I slide my spatula out and use it to press down and flatten my latke. Cook the latkes (You already know not to crowd them in the pan, right? No more than 4 at a time, right?) until the bottom is golden brown all over and flip. Cook until that side is golden brown as well. Remove latkes from the oil, sprinkle with salt and eat immediately. Or, place the latkes on a paper towel lined cookie sheet into a 250 degree oven until all of the latkes are done.
Some people like to get all fancy and top their latkes with sour cream or even worse, sour cream and caviar. Some people like to eat their latkes with applesauce. Me, I like my fried potato patties as they are, starchy, salty and crunchy.
Makes dealing with the nauseating smell of hot oil almost worth it.
I love latkes, but they’re so much effort I don’t make them very often.
If you leave out the parsley and scallions, and add some grated nutmeg, you’ve got my German family’s traditional potato pancakes. Sometimes even, when I’m feeling frisky, I add a bit of baking powder so they puff up *just* a little.
So delicious. I don’t make them often enough. Thank you for inspiring Sunday dinner this week!
I had my first “latke” on NYE at New World Bistro with my tuna. To be honest, I had never really heard them called this…they’re hash brown patties where I grew up. đ
Again, that Midwestern background of mine makes frying food a regular occurrence in my household…fried chicken is definitely a specialty. But I do know what you mean about the smell. I make sure I’m in my sweats before cooking and I can’t have something like a coat draped over a chair in my dining room or it will smell awful the next day (I made chicken fingers the other night and realized I made this very mistake when I went out in my coat yesterday…I hate smelling like I work at Burger King).
I think latkes are different than hash brown patties. Hash brown patties are usually just shredded potatoes and maybe onions, right? Latkes have eggs and flour and a lighter texture on the inside.
You’re right, my eyes glazed right over the eggs and flour in your recipe (this is why I’m not good at baking). Either way, fried potatoes = good. đ