Continue the Holiday Feasting With Hanukkah’s Potato Latkes – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
From turkey and lingonberry sauce straight to potato pancakes in one weekend. Not bad!
Hanukkah begins on Sunday evening, November 28th this year, so those celebrating can move right into the holidays while still pondering the remnants of Thanksgiving.
Potato pancakes, or latkes, are the food most traditionally associated with Hanukkah. History has it that over 2,000 years ago, after the Second Temple of Jerusalem was looted by intruders, there was only enough oil to keep the temple menora operating for a day and night. Inexplicably, the oil burned for eight days and eight nights, which earned the holiday the name “Festival of Lights”.
Food cooked in oil such as donuts and latkes are symbols of this Hanukkah miracle.
Over the past few decades, many home cooks and chefs have played around with the ingredients in latkes, used vegetables such as beets, zucchini, and butternut squash, and added fresh herbs or various spices. Toppings are another way to put a modern stamp on latkes – for example swapping tzatziki for sour cream.
My family would welcome updates as an additional option, but not a replacement for the old school non-negotiable potato pancake with traditional toppings.
By the way, you don’t have to be Jewish or celebrate Hanukkah to think of latkes, of course. Small crispy potato pancakes are a wonderful starter, a great side dish – simply a big old treat all year round.
So which cooking oil should you use?
My way is a little indulgent and turning to the untraditional, but I like to cook latkes mostly in olive oil with a little butter for flavor. Keep an eye on the heat of the pan; You want it high enough to make crispy pancakes but not so high that it will smoke and turn brown.
Don’t turn down the fancy bottle of extra virgin olive oil; A cheaper bottle of pure olive oil that is widely available at grocery stores works well for frying. You can also use vegetable or canola oil.
Serve latkes with sour cream and applesauce for people to choose or mix together. If you’re in the mood for a little craving, you can serve this with some budget-friendly caviar or smoked salmon or gravlax and maybe swap the sour cream for crème fraiche. (Skip the butter and sour cream if you are serving meat with the latkes and keeping the food kosher.)
Finally, the leftover cranberry sauce makes a great addition to latkes. I will be testing this concept in the last week of November, and if you do give it a try, let me know!
Other items on a traditional Hanukkah menu could include pasta balls, beef brisket with wild mushrooms, Jewish brisket, chicken marbella, or chicken thighs with onions and green olives.
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POTATO PANCAKES
Served 6 through 8
2 ½ pounds of baked potatoes, peeled
2 large eggs
½ cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon of matzo flour or flour (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Olive oil for cooking (approx. ½ cup)
3 tablespoons of butter for cooking (optional but recommended)
Sour cream and / or applesauce for serving
Using the grater blade of a food processor or a hand grater, rub the potatoes on the blade with large holes or on the side. Place the grated potatoes in a large bowl and let sit while they release their liquid.
In the meantime, mix the eggs and chopped onion in another large bowl. Grab a handful of the grated potato with your hands and squeeze it over the bowl of all of the potatoes, squeezing as much liquid back into the bowl as you can. Put the squeezed potatoes in portions into the bowl with the eggs.
Dip your finger into the liquid that is left in the other bowl. You will feel a solid layer of potato starch at the bottom. Carefully pour the liquid off from the top, then scrape off all of the valuable starch from the bottom of the bowl and mix well with the egg and potato mixture (hands are best for this). This natural starch helps bind the potatoes together. If you only have a tablespoon or two of the starch, you’ll want to mix in the optional matzo flour or flour as well. Season generously with salt and pepper.
In a large pan (or two if you want to speed things up), heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and about a teaspoon of butter until the butter is melted and the fat is hot. Swirl the pan, then add spoons of the potato mixture – as big or small as you like – and gently press into round, flat shapes in the pan. Bake until golden brown and crispy, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. You need to keep a close eye on the heat; too low and they won’t brown properly, too high and the oil will start smoking.
Drain the potato pancakes briefly on kitchen paper and place on a serving plate. Repeat until all of the potato mixture is used up, adding more oil and butter as needed (periodically you may want to dump the pan, wipe it briefly, and start over if you find that the oil is getting somehow dark and there are too many charred potato and onion pieces floating around). The potatoes continue to release liquid while they sit; When you reach the bottom of the bowl, give the potato mixture a quick squeeze before adding it to the hot pan to avoid splashing. And the potatoes may start to brown, but if you cook them it won’t be very noticeable.
Serve the warm potato pancakes with sour cream and / or apple sauce.
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