Potato latkes are shredded potato pancakes often associated with Hanukkah. It’s tradition to eat fried food because of the significance of oil at during the holiday. As history states, around 2,000 years ago, the Jews were able to reclaim the Jewish temple from a tyrant king who was forcing them to worship Greek gods. To rededicate the temple, they needed oil to burn the menorah. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously it burned for 8 days. The 8-day celebration was declared to honor the miracle of the oil.
Potato latkes are a fairly simple to prepare and leave room open for variations in the form of zucchini or carrot latkes. Try the recipe, which was prepared on a Jenn-Air induction cooktop, below.
Ingredients
- 5 large potatoes, peeled
- 1 large onion
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 tsp. Salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- ¾ cup oil for frying - I used avocado oil for the frying, which is a nice healthy oil for frying.
Directions
- Grate potatoes and onion on the fine side of a grater, or in a food processor; or put in a blender with a little water. To save time in the making process, use a food processor with the fine grater attachment. Use this to grate the potatoes and onions rather than using a cheese grater. NOTE: To keep potatoes from browning in the grating process you can grate the potatoes into water, but remember to strain as much liquid as possible before adding the eggs and flower.
- Strain grated potatoes and onion through a colander, pressing out excess water. Add eggs, flour, and seasoning. Mix well.
- Heat ½ cup oil in skillet. Lower flame and place 1 large tablespoon batter at a time into hot sizzling oil and fry on one side for approximately 5 minutes until golden brown. Turnover and fry on other side 2 to 3 minutes. Frying on an induction cooktop is nice because of the ability to control the temperature throughout the frying process without having to adjust. It was really easy to fit five latke in the pan cooking for 2-3 min per side to attain golden brown latke.
- Remove from pan and place on paper towels to drain excess oil and to allow air to flow. This will give you a crispier end result. Continue with remaining batter until used up, adding more oil when necessary.
- Serve with applesauce on the side.
- Variation: Zucchini or Carrot Latkes: Substitute 5 medium zucchini or 5 medium carrots for potatoes.
Traditionally, potato latke has an partner in crime: apple sauce. I made some with granny smith apples and the latke adventure was complete.
