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Home Side Dishes Recipes Potatoes and Yams
Jayne Cohen's Classic Potato Latkes
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By Jayne Cohen
Posted December 6th, 2008
Jewish Holiday Cooking: A Food Lovers Treasury of Classics and Improvisations
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Servings: 4
Author Notes: The food processor ended the grater Reign f terror that marked the Festival of Latkes.  But the four-sided grater offered one advantage (aside from the bits of torn knuckles so amy grandmothers swore made their latkes that much more delicious): part of the potatoes could br shredded on the coarse side, to make a crispy crust, and the rest grated rather fine, to ensure a little creamy layer within.  All coarse would mean all crunch -- texture without an intense potato taste -- while completely fine made latkes with too much mush beneath their thin crisp coat, would cause them to absorb huge amounts of oil.

The solution is simple, grate the potatoes using the coarse shredding disk, then process about one third of them to a coarse puree.  Result: crisp, crunchy, and creamy all at once.
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds russet (baking) or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
1/2 pound onions, peeled
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon matzoh meal or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
canola oil, for frying
Instructions: Coarsely shred the potatoes and the onions, using the shredding disk in a food processor. Transfer the mixture to a colander or strainer and use your hands or a wooden spoon to press out as much moisture as possible. Remove the shredding disk from the processor and replace with the steel blade. Return about one third of the shredded potatoes and onions to the work bowl, and process, using the pulse motion, until roughly pureed.

Transfer to a large bowl. Add the remaining potatoes and onions from the colander, and the egg, matzoh meal, salt, pepper, and baking powder. Mix until thoroughly combined.

In a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet, heat about 1/4 inch of oil over high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Drop 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan, and flatten with a spatula. Repeat with more batter, cooking no more than 4 or 5 latkes at a time; crowding the pan will give you soggy latkes. Regulate the heat carefully, reducing it to medium as the latkes fry until golden and crisp on the bottom, about 4 minutes.

To prevent oil from splattering, use two spatulas (or a spatula and a large spoon) to turn the latkes carefully. fry until crisp and golden on the other side. As the latkes are done, transfer them to paper towels or untreated brown paper bags to drain. Continue making latkes in the same manner until all the batter is used. If necessary, add more oil to the pan, but always allow the oil to get hot before frying a new batch.


 

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