APT27: Potato Latkes
Fun at Chanukah or any time of year!
I saw this recipe in 2007 and forever adapted how I make latkes.
Julian Medina’s Potato-Jalapeño Latkes With Horseradish Crema
(New York Magazine, 29 November 2007)
I adapted Chef Medina’s recipe on my own, but inside my head. So, to the best of my ability, I’m going to write down how I make latkes. This may not be the way your Bubbe (grandmother) made them, but this is how I do it! I will include some resources at the end so that you can see how other folks make theirs. As long as they come out delicious, it’s all good!
(1) I like to start with what are called Yukon Gold potatoes in North America. Outside of this region, they may have a different name. See What is a Yukon Gold potato for more information. Basically, you want a yellow flesh potato, if possible. I think pretty much any potato will work, but I think the yellow/gold variety of potato works best.
I prefer to grate my potatoes by hand using a box grater. Some folks use a food processor, but if you’re not nicking your knuckles on the sharp box grater — are you really even making latkes?
Wash the potatoes and grate with the skin on. Sure, you could peel the potatoes first but apparently potato skin has lots of nutrients so I just keep them on. If this is your first time making latkes, start with two (2) large potatoes first. Grate them until you only have shredded potato.
(2) Dry those shredded potatoes! Use paper towels or whatever your preference is to eliminate as much of the naturally occurring water in those potatoes. The dryer the potato shreds, the crispier the latke.
(3) Once dried to your satisfaction, add the following to the shredded potatoes in a big bowl.
2 egg yolks*
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 cup of matzo meal**
- Note 1: If you prefer to bake these, as opposed to frying them, save the egg whites you don’t use for an egg wash in a high heat oven.
- Note 2: It’s perfectly ok to substitute flour or cornstarch here. Cornstarch, I believe, will make these Gluten Free for those folks requiring that modification.
Mix well. Make sure everything is coated.
(4) At this point in the latke-making process, I usually put the bowl with the potato mixture into the refrigerator while I get the pan with oil heated up. I prefer olive oil, but use what you have available to you.
- BE CAREFUL — COOKING WITH HOT OIL CAN BE TRICKY!
- WORK QUICKLY! POTATOES WILL BROWN WHEN EXPOSED TO AIR!
I usually test to see if the oil is hot enough by putting just a tiny drop of water into the pan and seeing if it bubbles. Do not set your house on fire, use only the tiniest of drops of water. Or, use another way to make sure the oil is hot.
Heavy-bottomed pan, 1/4 inch of oil. Heat.
(5) Once the oil is hot and you are not going to set your house on fire, shape the potato mixture into little patties with your hands. Try to make them relatively flat with the spatula. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side — but pay close attention if they start to get dark brown and crispy, then turn over or take them out.
(6) Place the latkes on a paper towel to cool and to shed some of the excess oil.
(7) You can enjoy them while they are still hot, or you can let them cool and freeze them. Typically, potato latkes are enjoyed by dipping them into sour cream and/or applesauce. Or, just eating them alone without anything on them. I’ve found that latkes pair nicely with chili, especially my special Jalapeño-Onion Latkes from which I took inspiration from the first link I shared in this post.
That’s it! Latkes can be a little labor-intensive to make, but they are delicious when they are piping hot and your house smells like oil.
If you want to add any extra ingredients, like Jalapeño-Onion, make sure the ingredients are dried off when you add them into the mixture — see step 3. Or, use dried fruits or spices if you want to make an original variation.
If I am making a large batch of latkes, I will put the oven on low and keep the finished latkes in the oven to stay warm and let more excess oil come off.
If you don’t like all this oil, you can bake them but I’ve never done that so I don’t have any advice for that method.
Happy Holidays! Season’s Greetings! Happy and safe cooking!
Links for more information:
New York Times Cooking
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015533-classic-potato-latkes
Joan Nathan’s Traditional Crispy Latkes
https://legacy.npr.org/programs/specials/recipes/crispylatkes.html
How to Make Classic Latkes
https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-latkes-at-home-251997
All Recipes
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/16073/potato-latkes-i/
