Submitted by Rachael Landau.
The Jewish Festival of Lights, known as Chanukah, celebrates the 25th of Kislev, 165 BC, when brave Maccabees overthrew Antiochus Epiphanes, the Greek king of Syria who tried to force his religion, politics and customs onto Jews. Traditionally, on each night of Chanukah, menorah candles are lit, presents are given out, dreidls are spun, and latkes are eaten. In some families, donuts are eaten, too. The oily foods commemorate the miracle that took place when the Maccabees went to re-sanctify the reclaimed Temple in Jerusalem. They found one jug of purified olive oil that should have lasted for one day, but it lasted for eight. Eastern Europeans took potatoes and turned them into commemorative fried pancakes called Latkes. Some pronounce these “LAT-kahs” others “LAT-keys.”
Every family has a favorite way of making Latkes. Some used mashed potatoes while others use grated potatoes. As far back as my preschool childhood years, I can remember the excitement of being allowed to use my grandmother’s stainless steel box grater to shred up potatoes for a nice batch of latkes. The adults in the kitchen took turns dealing with the onions. Despite now owning a food processor, I prefer using a hand-grater on my ingredients to produce the most authentic results. My hand grater is larger than a rasp, and has three texture options: coarse | slice | fine. Using it slows me down to fully enjoy the tradition of making latkes the way generations before me have done it. I use the ”coarse” holes for the potatoes and apple, and the “fine” option for the onion. As far as serving suggestions go, I have heard of families who serve latkes with raspberry sauce or sprinkled sugar. I’ve seen it suggested in a vegan cookbook that one prepare a horseradish dill sauce. My family tradition is to enjoy these crispy fried pancakes with sour cream and home-made applesauce.
Region: Europe
Country of Origin: Russia
Ingredients
- 6 large potatoes (Russet); approximately 2 ½ lbs.
- 1 large apple, cored and peeled
- 1 onion
- 3 Tablespoons matzoh meal
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. ground pepper
- Oil for frying (olive, canola or high-oleic safflower)
- One paper bag, a cookie sheet or two, aluminum foil, and a roll of paper towels
Preparation
PREP WORK:
Peel the potatoes and place them in a bowl, covered in cold water. In another bowl, grate the onion, then the apple; break in the eggs, pour in matzoh meal and mix together. Grate the potatoes into the mixture, add the seasonings and combine it all evenly.
Prepare your oil blotting tray: cut a paper bag to fit onto a cookie tray, lay the paper down, and then cover that with a layer of paper toweling. As the latkes come out of the oil, drain them on this paper set-up. Afterwards, if you are entertaining, transfer the latkes to yet another cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil, to go into a preheated oven @200 degrees, to keep them warm before serving. In our house, they go immediately from the drainage paper to a plate to be eaten, hot!
COOKING:
Before starting this, don your apron, and shoo away little kids to avoid them being splattered by hot oil.
Heat your skillet; mine is cast iron. Add ½-inch of oil. When the oil is hot, carefully drop in an oval pancake one at a time. When the pancakes are browned on one side, turn them over with a spatula. Brown the other side and remove from the skillet to the paper toweling. Serve with sour cream and apple sauce.
SOME TIPS: If you have a splatter guard, this is the job for it. Don’t overcrowd your pan, or flipping them over will become a splattering challenge. Start with golf ball sized amounts on your spooning device, and figure out what you like best once you establish your rhythm.
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Rachael, thank you for sharing this classic. We’ve tasted them first-hand and they are a yearly treasure.