Potato Latkes
Latkes are one of the foods eaten to celebrate Hannukah – the Jewish celebration of the Miracle of Oil, when oil for one night kept the lanterns burning for 8 nights. You can fry these delicious potato pancakes in just a skim of oil, but that defeats the purpose, so we use lots of oil to get a beautiful, tasty golden color! It may add a few more calories, but the end product is worth it!
3-4 ea Large Idaho Potatoes (or other starchy potato)
1-2 ea Large Yellow Onions
2 ea Eggs, lightly beaten
¼ C Flour (you may need a little more)
1 Tbsp Salt
Oil for frying (peanut, canola, avocado – olive oil can’t take the heat!)
Apple Sauce and/or Sour Cream for dipping
Using a food processor with the grater blade, grate up potatoes and onions. (You can peel or just scrub the potatoes, whichever you prefer.)
Transfer the potatoes and onions to a sieve over a large bowl, and drain out as much of the liquid as possible. (You can squeeze it out or use the back of a wooden spoon to press.)
Place the drained potatoes and onions into a large bowl and add the lightly beaten eggs, flour and salt, and mix well.
Fill a large heavy duty frying pan with about ¼” of oil and heat to about 360-375F.
Scoop about 2 tablespoons of batter into the oil for each latke. Flatten slightly* with the back of a wooden spoon, and fry for about 2 minutes on each side. (Don’t crowd the pan!)
Drain on paper towels. If you are making a lot, they can be kept hot in a 200° F oven. They can also be frozen and reheated.
Serve warm with applesauce and/or sour cream.
*If you light them thin and crispy, flatten more, if you like them more pillowy, flatten them less.
