I’m Jewish but grew up in a home with no Jewish observance, so when I began as an adult to embrace the traditions of my religion and culture, I really didn’t have anything to draw on — no comforting (or potentially stifling) convictions that “our family always did it this way, so it must be the right way.”
Haven't made mine yet so here are some stock photo latkes for your visual enjoyment! 
That’s why when I cook traditional Jewish food for my family, I have no choice but to make it up as a I go along. After years of trying different ways of making Hannukah latkes – some of which seemed like little more than glorified hash browns – I finally came up with my own recipe which, if I may say so, is pretty amazing. It’s very loosely adapted from Jayne Cohen’s The Gefilte Variations (a Jewish cookbook all about tinkering with tradition), which suggests using half shredded potatoes and half pureed potatoes to produce latkes with a crispy exterior and a creamy interior. No more hash browns!
Here are my cooking notes:
- I recommend using grape seed oil for its higher smoke point and clean, unobtrusive flavor. It will also help prevent your house from smelling like a Fry-O-Later afterward.
- Don’t worry if the batter discolors before you can fry up all the pancakes. That won’t have the slightest effect on the latkes’ final appearance or deliciousness.
- I do a totally unorthodox thing and saute my onions before putting them into the batter, just because I prefer a less harsh, oniony flavor in the final product. I’ve never heard of anyone doing this and the tradeoff is yet more oil in a very oily dish, but in the end, that’s the whole point, right? :-)
Enjoy, and happy Hannukah next week to all who celebrate!
TLT’s Crispy-Creamy Potato Latkes
- 2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled
- 2 cups onion, finely chopped
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 2 TBS flour or matzoh meal
- salt and pepper to taste
- grape seed oil for frying
- applesauce and/or sour cream for serving (optional)
Saute the onions in a litte oil over medium-high heat until softened. Remove from heat and set aside.
Coarsely grate half the potatoes. I do this using the grater attachment of a food processor and I highly recommend this method over the old box grater if you have a processor available. Rinse the potato shreds in a colander under cool water and then squeeze with paper towels to remove as much water as possible.
Now using the regular (chopping) blade of the food processor, roughly puree the remaining half of the potatoes.
Mix shredded and pureed potatoes in a large bowl along with the cooked onion and remaining ingredients as well as salt and pepper to taste.
Heat about two or three tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet (cast iron works really well here) over medium-high/high heat until the oil is very hot but not smoking. Add the batter in small ladlefuls, maybe 4-5 at a time – but don’t crowd the pan. Gently flatten the pancakes with a spatula and fry for about 4 minutes on each side, until crisp and deep golden brown. Add more oil as needed for the next round of pancakes but be sure it is completely hot before frying the new batch.
Drain the pancakes on paper towels as you fry and serve (immediately if possible) with applesauce and/or sour cream.
The latkes can be kept warm in a 200 degree oven if necessary until serving. If you’d like to freeze them, let them reach room temperature first, then place them in Tupperware or freezer bags with waxed paper between the layers. The frozen latkes do not need to be thawed before reheating in a 375 degree oven. But remember — nothing is as good as a sizzling latke eaten right from the pan!
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
For anyone who does object to the batter starting to darken before all of the latkes are fried, there is a simple solution – just squeeze half a lemon over the batter and stir it up. Doesn’t affect the flavor at all but the potatoes will stay white.
Bettina, try cooking your latkes outside if you have an electric skillet. Keeps the house from smelling for days!
What a great idea! Latkes al fresco!
1.) Although it was not her own family’s recipe, I once knew a woman who said latkes made with UNPEELED potatoes are more delicious than usual! If anyone intends to eat the peels, I recommend all-purpose red potatoes, preferably from the North Dakota/Minnesota Red River Valley.
2.) Does anyone have a recipe for lacto-vegetarian latkes? 1/4-1/3 cup milk or soymilk works as an egg substitute in baking, but may not work for latkes. I also own a box of EnerG egg replacer, but am even more skeptical about this. . .
Lindtfree – not sure about an egg substitute here. If I were going to try it, I’d go for soy milk and see what happens. As long as the thing holds together while frying (and maybe a tad more flour would be needed), that’s all that matters – once it’s fried up, it’s going to be delicious because, you know, it’s a fried potato pancake!
Your recipe sounds so delicious! I’m so glad you weren’t burdened with a traditional family recipe, which couldn’t have been nearly as good.
Love,
Mom
Yummy !!
It reminds me of the bramboraks my grand-father (from Hungary) used to make ^_^
Yummy! That looks pretty much like my family’s latke recipe – 3 potatoes, 1 onion, matzoh meal, salt/pepper. I think I’m going to try some sweet potato latkes tonight.
Happy Hanukkah!
I made our normal latke recipe tonight – one pan in grapeseed oil and one in corn oil. Wow! The grapeseed oil blew the other away. It heated more evenly, fried our latkes a perfect golden-brown, and did not leave a heavy greasy taste like the corn oil. I’m definitely making this my go-to oil from now on. Thanks! Happy Hanukkah.
I love the scientific verification! A respected cook friend told me to use grapeseed oil and I just took it on faith. But one test I did was cast iron vs. regular pan, and cast iron won hands down in terms of browning and crispiness. Happy Hanukkah to you, too!