There are also foods that go along with Chanukah and one is the LATKE, delicious potato pancakes. For me, no-one made them like my mom but there are so many recipes out there.
Four keys to successful pancakes:
- Speed Things Up
- Dry It Out
- Mix Your Fats
- Keep the Crunch
This is the classic latke, made with little more than grated potatoes and onions, with egg and matzomeal for binding.
- 1 medium onion, peeled
- 4 large russet or Idaho potatoes (about 3 1/2 pounds), peeled
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons matzomeal
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Applesauce and/or sour cream, for serving
Preheat oven to 200°F. Place 2 nonstick baking sheets in oven.
Using box grater or food processor fitted with grating disc, coarsely grate onion and place in colander set in sink. Coarsely grate potatoes, add to colander, and set aside to drain.
In large mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs, then stir in matzomeal.
Press potatoes and onion to extract as much liquid as possible, then add to egg/matzomeal mixture.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Using wooden spoon or hands, mix well, but do not overwork.
In heavy-bottomed, 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter until hot but not smoking. Drop 4 scant 1/4-cup portions of potato mixture into pan and flatten with spatula to form four 3-inch pancakes.
Fry until bottoms are golden-brown, 4 to 5 minutes, then turn over and fry until golden-brown and crisp, an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain; season immediately with salt and pepper. Keep warm on baking sheets in oven while making remaining pancakes.
Using paper towels, carefully wipe out pan. Add 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter and fry 4 more pancakes. Repeat with remaining batter, wiping out pan and adding 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter before each batch.
Serve pancakes hot with applesauce and/or sour cream.
This is the more authentic recipe.
YUMMY!!
This is another recipe that I got from Mario Batali, chef extraordinaire - just a little different.
MARIO'S HANUKKAH LATKES
2 large russet potatoes
2 medium Yukon gold potatoes
3 tablespoons milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons matzoh meal
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Wash the potatoes but do not peel them. Grate the 2 russet potatoes on the large holes of a grater and grat the yukon gold on the medium holes. Add the milk, egg, baking powder, and matzoh meal. Season with salt and pepper and stir to blend well and toss into a colander for about one minute to drain just a bit of the juices. Replace in the mixing bowl.
Heat a scant 1/2 inch of oil in a large skillet until it is very hot but not smoking. Drop the potato mixture by large spoonfuls, then flatten slightly with a spatula to create a lacey edge. Turn them once.
When they are golden brown on the bottom side, cook them several minutes longer and drain them on paper towels (the latkes will have crisp edges).
Serve hot with marscarpone and /or applesauce
Makes 3 to 4 servings.
My memories of my mom's latkas are very sweet especially that we were lucky if most of them even made it to the table!! What fun!
