Latkehs: Traditional Potato Pancakes

Chanukah is coming up – we light the first candle on the 21st of this month. Already I’m frying and freezing latkehs ahead of time for the little party we have each year.  Family, a few old friends, and plenty of kids. They all eat latkehs!

Here’s my recipe for traditional potato pancakes.  With a big, leafy salad, they’re  all I serve at the Chanukah party. Topped with applesauce (here’s my applesauce recipe) and sour cream, of course.  They’re so delicious and satisfying that no one wants anything else.

Over the years I’ve found that it’s easier to cook up a few batches ahead of time. Drain the latkehs and allow them to cool, then freeze them. To serve, pop them straight into a hot oven for 10 minutes. They will taste as fresh and crisp as if you’d been standing there frying in the kitchen all along (while everyone else is stuffing themselves at the table).

Latkehs

Yield: 25-30 latkehs  – 6 generous servings (can easily be halved)

These instructions assume you’re using a food processor.

Ingredients:

6 large potatoes: 1.600 kg.

3 large onions

1 more large onion, chopped and set aside. This is is optional but worth the extra few minutes of work for the extra taste.

6 eggs

1 cup flour and 1 Tblsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt for separate onion

1 1/2 tsp. salt for potato batter

1 tsp. white pepper

Oil for shallow frying: olive, canola, or corn oil

Method:

1. Cut the potatoes into chunks that will work with your food processor. You don’t have to peel the potatoes, just scrub them well and go over them with a knife to remove anything undesirable.

2. In food processor: grate the potatoes with the fine-grating disk.

3. Dump the grated mass into a colander and rinse briefly to avoid discoloration. Allow to drain while everything else is being prepared.

4. Rinse the food processor; fit the knife in.

5. Peel and quarter the 3  onions; puree them in the food processor.

6. Add the eggs to the pureed onions; blend them for a few seconds.

7. Add the 1 1/2 tsp. salt, the pepper, flour, and baking powder to the contents of the FP. Whirl till all is smooth.

8. Optional Heat 1 Tblsp.  oil in the frying pan.  Saute the chopped onion until it’s golden, and remove it to a small bowl.

9. Put the grated potatoes in a big bowl and mix the batter into that. Add the sauteed chopped onion, if using; mix well.

10. Pour another tablespoon of oil into the pan and heat it. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, turn out little hills of raw  batter into the hot oil. This works better than using cooking spoons. Flatten out the tops a little. Fry till the first side is brown; gently flip over with a spatula and fry till the other side is brown too. Taste the first one or two to determine what color the latkehs have to be when they’re done. The oil in the pan will need to be renewed once in a while.

Drain on paper towels.

Serve hot, topped with applesauce and sour cream.