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You are here: Home / American / Potato Latkes (Potato Pancakes)

Potato Latkes (Potato Pancakes)

December 16, 2014 By Whitney Love 1 Comment

latke

Yesterday we spoke about Hanukkah and a bit about the Jewish community in Norway. Today, I’d like to share with you another Hanukkah recipe, this one popular all over the world, but especially in my home country of the U.S. Potato latkes are potato pancakes pan-fried in shallow oil keeping with the theme of Hanukkah.

The secret to a “crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside” potato pancake is getting as much water out of the potatoes as possible before you fry them while retaining as much starch in the potatoes as possible. The tricky part isn’t just getting the water out of the grated potatoes; you need the starchy bits to help keep the latkes from falling apart when you cook them. Potatoes are full of water and starch, and as water and oil don’t mix, having overly watery potatoes in your mix means the temperature of the oil drops once you place the mix in the pan to fry. This leads to greasy, soggy latkes – and nobody likes that.

A well-known tip for getting water out of the potato mix, but keeping in just enough starch is to squeeze your potatoes out over a separate bowl, using a kitchen towel. Allow the starchy water to settle, pour off the excess water, then dump the starch back into the potato mix. This ensures that your latkes will come out crispy around the edges and wonderfully silky in the middle.

 

latke

Potato Latkes (Potato Pancakes)
 
Print
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
25 mins
Total time
40 mins
 
Author: Whitney Love
Cuisine: Jewish
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 1 kilo (about 2 lbs.) starchy potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed, then grated
  • I medium onion, grated
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
  1. Mix potatoes, onion, and 1 tablespoon salt in bowl. Place half of potato mixture in center of a kitchen towel. Draw up the ends of the kitchen towel and squeeze the starchy liquid out over a separate glass bowl. Do this two or three times, or until the potatoes won’t yield any more liquid. Place the squeezed potatoes into the mixing bowl you plan to use for the recipe, and continue this draining process with the second half of the potatoes.
  2. Allow the starchy liquid to settle for 30 minutes, noticing the clay like sediment at the bottom. This clay like substance is potato starch, and you’ll want to pour off as much of the water sitting on top of it as possible before you add it back to the potato mix.
  3. Add the eggs, flour and black pepper, then stir until evenly mixed.
  4. Heat oil in a shallow skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Place a medium sized mound of potato mixture into oil and press lightly with a metal spatula. Add another latke to the skillet and cook, adjusting heat so bubbles form around the latke’s edges, approx. 3 -4 minutes. Turn latke over and continue cooking until golden brown on second side, another 3-4 minutes. Drain on paper towels, then season slightly with more with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Serve immediately topped with sour cream and applesauce.
Notes
These potato pancakes can be made ahead and served at room temperature. They also freeze well and last up to 2 months in the freezer.
3.2.2885

 

 

latke

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Filed Under: American, Budget, Ethnic, Recipe, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: eggs, onion, potato

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Comments

  1. Lani Cantor Vatland says

    August 13, 2015 at 9:27 PM

    Thanks for posting this Whitney, glad to have you at the chanukkah parties!

    Reply

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Hei! I’m Whitney, an American living in Norway. Finding ways to cook real food, every day, and without going broke is a challenge here in Norway – a challenge that I enjoy taking on at every meal. Read More…

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