This morning on the way to school, my son remarked that the latkes I’d made for our Hanukkah party last night were amazing and that he wished I would make them more often…like every day. I responded by telling him that if I made latkes all year round, they wouldn’t taste as good. Not only because we’d eventually get sick of them, but because part of the reason they taste so good is because we’re eating them as part our Hanukkah celebrations; when we eat latkes, we’re not just enjoying a warm potato treat, we’re also enjoying the taste of family and tradition.
It is for that reason that I am not sharing a latke recipe that’s a new twist on an old favorite. What I’m sharing with you is the latke recipe that my mom made for me, that I make for my children, and the one that one day, they will make for theirs. It’s not at all healthy and it’s a giant pain in the butt (and knuckles) to make, but it’s delicious and it tastes like Hanukkah should taste.
Latkes
This is a very basic latke recipe. Even if you follow it to a T, it won’t taste the same as mine; it’ll taste better. Because just like chicken soup and chocolate chip cookies, everyone thinks their mom’s tastes the best because…it’s their moms.
Ingredients:
10 medium potatoes (I like Yukon Golds)
½ cup flour
4 eggs
Approx. 4 tbsp each olive oil and grape seed oil (you can substitute vegetable or canola oil for the grape seed; personally, I just like grape seed because it is flavorless and has a high smoking temperature)
1 large sweet onion, grated (like Vidalia)
Salt & pepper to taste
Juice of ½ a lemon
Directions.
1. Grate the potatoes by hand into a very large bowl filled with ice water-skin and all. I always grate by hand (hence the pain in the knuckles) because you get a certain texture that you just can’t get by using a food processor)
2. Drain and squeeze out all of the water. Every. Last. Drop. Toss in the lemon juice to prevent browning.
3. Mix in the onions, eggs, flour, and about 2 tsp of salt. Mix well.
4. Heat 2 tbsp of each of the oils in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, drop in a heaping spoonful of the batter and flatten it out ’till its about 1 cm thick. Flip when the edges begin to brown, about two minutes. If your latkes are browning too quickly, turn down the heat.
5. When both sides are golden brown, remove and place on a paper-towel lined cookie sheet.
6. Eat that first latke. No, really-this isn’t a joke. You need to make sure it is properly seasoned before making the whole batch.
7. Make the rest of ’em, adding more oil as necessary. Depending on the size of your frying pan, you should be able to cook 3-6 latkes at a time.
8. Serve warm with sour cream, applesauce, or brown sugar.
Tip: I like to make my latkes earlier in the day and then re-heat them in the oven just before serving.
Lisa, for sure freeze them cooked. I like to brown them on each side but leave the middle a bit undercooked before freezing them. THen, reheat in a 375 oven until warmed through & a bit crispy.
if i wanted to freeze these, do you think it better to freeze raw or coked?
Yum! Looks like a great recipe (good tip about the oil – I’ll have to try that myself next time). I remember my mom making these once in a while, only not being Jewish we grew up calling them potato pancakes. One of my very favourite special treats (but so labour-intensive!). Made them for my own daughters for the first time just last week and they were a huge hit.
Made them tonight! Kids were thrilled!!! House now smells…..
A good recipe. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! My kids love having latkes when we’re out at our friends or in deli. Never made them before so maybe this weekend!