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The absolute most perfect use of potatoes, better even than French fries, is to turn them into potato pancakes, which have crunchy mahogany edges, crispy golden midsections, and tender, rich, meaty interiors. They are hash browns on steroids.
When it comes to potato pancakes, the best recipes come from Jewish households, where potato pancakes, called latkes, have been traditionally fried in December for the holiday of Hanukkah for centuries. December is also when potatoes, onions, and olive oil are fresh.
Secrets of the Rabbi's Wife
Latkes for a CrowdHere's how restaurants make lots of latkes at once:
Innovations?Latke competitions are not as widespread as barbecue cookoffs, but they seem to be growing in popularity. Since I am addicted to potato pancakes, I read every latke recipe I see. Here are some of the innovations I have read about that you may wish to try:
Upscale latkes?Latkes, originally peasant food, have been going upscale lately, appearing on the menus of white table cloth restaurants. Chefs now make them with everything from sweet potato (yum), zucchini, carrot, apples, pears, cauliflower, mushrooms, lentils, celery root, rice, cabbage, parsnips, olives, and even beets (yuk). I have even seen these ingredients added to potato latkes. I have also heard of adding fresh herbs such as chives, thyme, parsley, or rosemary, and even parmesan cheese. For garnishes, the shee shee crowd uses crème fraîche and caviar, smoked salmon and whipped cream cheese, sour cream and salmon eggs, Greek yogurt with fresh figs, and watercress sprinkled on everything. If you're not Jewish and you really want to cross the streams, fry them in bacon or duck fat, and put chopped bacon in the blend. If you are Jewish and you even think about this, well the punishment is worse than growing hair on your palms... Oy vay! |
There are thousands of recipes, but this simple version, given to me by a rabbi and modified only slightly, is by far my favorite. You can use the oil more than once, but don't try to make it last eight days.
Leftovers can be frozen and later warmed in a 350°F oven, but they will not be as crispy.
Yield. 6-8 pancakes, 3" x 1/2"
Preparation time. 30 minutes
Cooking time. 40 minutes
Ingredients
1 pound (about three medium size) starchy potatoes
1/2 cup onion or shallots, coarsely chopped
1 whole egg or the whites of two eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
about 1 to 2 cups olive oil
About the potatoes. Go for Burbank Russet, King Edward, or Yukon Golds.
About the salt. If you use table salt, use about 1/2 the amount.
About the oil. You can also use peanut oil, canola oil, corn oil or a blend of oils if you wish, but fresh harvest season olive oil is the tradition.
About the baking soda. The baking soda makes carbon dioxide bubbles and gives lightness to the interior. Leave it out if you want a denser pancake.
Optional. I like to add 1 grated carrot and 2 tablespoons of chives, mainly for color.
About the flour. The flour helps bind things together. To make this recipe gluten free, use 1 tablespoon corn starch.
Optional toppings. In Jewish homes it is common to serve latkes with a dollop of sour cream or apple sauce on top or on the side and perhaps a sprinkle of chives or parsley. Some people have been seen serving them with ketchup, mayonnaise, cinnamon, or sugar on top. Yuk! Me? I eat mine nekked.
Do this
1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Take a sheet pan and put a rack over it for draining and crisping the pancakes and put it in the oven.
2) Crack the egg into a large mixing bowl, and beat it lightly with a fork. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and pepper and stir together with the fork.
3) Peel and wash the potatoes. Put them in a bowl of cold water as you work to keep them from browning. When you are done peeling, pat them dry with a paper towel. Now shred them with the big holes on a box grater or a food processor so they are all uniform in size. Mix in the onions.
4) We are now going to try to get as much moisture as possible out of the potatoes and onions. With your hands, pick up a small amount of the grated potato/onion mix and, over the sink, squeeze out as much water as possible. Repeat. Then spread the grated potato mix out on a double layer of paper towels, cover with another double layer of paper towels, and press hard. Another method is to put the mix into the center of a few layers of cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel, pull together the edges making a pouch, and twist and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
5) Add the potato mix to the bowl with the egg mixture and make patties about 3" across and about 1/2" high. An ice cream scoop is a good measuring device. Leave the edges jagged. Place them on a platter or sheet pan. Do not stack them.
6) Heat the skillet over high. If you are using cast iron, add a few tablespoons of oil and wipe the pan clean with a paper towel. Then add enough oil so that it fills the pan 1/4" deep. If the pancakes are 1/2" then the oil is deep enough to reach more than halfway up the pancake. Heat for 5-7 minutes until, if you drop a shred of potato in, it begins to bubble and fries instantly.
7) Ease the patties into the oil one at a time about a minute apart, being careful not to splash. You should be able to fit four into the pan at a time, and they should not be touching much. The reason to stagger their start time is to keep the oil temperature hot. If you add four at a time, the oil temp will drop and the pancakes can get soggy. When you add the last one, you should notice the edges of the first one are getting golden after 5-7 minutes. Check the bottom of the first patty by lifting it with a slotted spoon or spatula. It should be golden, but there still may be milky parts showing. That's fine. Turn it and cook another 3-4 minutes on the second side until golden. The edges may get brown, so be careful that they do not burn. Remove the patty and gently put it on the rack over the baking pan in the oven to drain and crisp even further. If you are doing a large batch you might want to turn down the oven so they don't overcook.
8) When they are all done, scoop out the bits that are left behind in the oil, drain, cool, and eat them, too. Cook's treat!
9) After they have been in the oven for about 15 minutes the latkes will darken a bit, crisp even more on the outsides, and cook thoroughly through the center. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and serve hot.
What are your latke secrets and how do you serve them?
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Rabbi Shai Held: Lighting Up the Darkness: Hanukkah as a Spiritual Practice
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie: Hanukkah Matters
Brad Hirschfield: Heroes of Hanukkah: God, Maccabees and You
Potato Latkes Recipe at Epicurious.com
Latke Recipes - Allrecipes.com
Latkes Recipes - Hanukkah Potato Pancake Recipe - Collection of ...
shredded potatoes,onions,green peppers and a little shredded extra sharp cheddar in the center. Next time I'll bind it with the egg and it won't have to cook so long. Thanks
Hash browns are a staple in diners across the US and in some fast food restaurants. Cooked on a griddle, often they are odd shaped or served in loose chunks. In fast food restaurants they are molded into patties and deep fried.
Boxty are big in Ireland where the ditty goes "Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan, If you can't bake boxty, Sure you'll never get a man."
Röstis in Switzerland are the diameter of whatever pan they are cooked in and can even be frisbee sized. Cheese, bacon, and apple are often mixed in. The trick is in flipping them.
Reibekuchen or Kartoffel Plätzchen is what they are called in Germany and they are usually served with apple sauce.
Döppekuchen is another German delicacy of grated potatoes, eggs, and ham or sausage, piled deep into a casserole, topped with bacon, and baked.
Placki Ziemniaczane is what they are called in Poland.
Raggmunk are served with bacon and jam in Sweden.
Gamjajeon are the Korean version, often made with hot peppers.
Draniki is what you ask for in Russia.
Aloo tikki are mashed potato patties in India, often with herbs and spices, especially corainder.
And then there are Tater Tots...
I'm dying here! The picture up there alone has me drooling.
'Carp haché' = gefilte fish. They wanted her to bring back bottles of gefilte fish from New York, because (they said) the stull from Paris wasn't as good.
Bretons are great fish eaters, and 'Carp haché' was their favourite food.
She shipped a case of the stuff back, and I was there when these French Catholics had a feast. Lovely with baguette, and home made horseredish.
Olive oil is traditional for Chanukah in the religious sense, but in the historical sense, potato latkes are a post-Columbus Eastern European thing, and olive oil wasn't always easy to come by. Chicken fat, or "schmaltz" in Yiddish, is the more historically-correct cooking fat, and I think it goes better with potatoes.
I really can't emphasize enough how important it is to wring all the moisture out of the potatoes and onions. I like those rags from the hardware store made from T-shirt material for wringing out stuff like this, and I like to wring out the potatoes and onions separately, since you can squeeze the onions a lot tighter than the potatoes without squashing them. I also like the onion grated finer than the potatoes.