There were at least five different posting for Latke recipes (potato pancakes) on the Internet this week, so I thought, "why not!" I have never made Latkes before so I thought it would be fun. And you can't have Latkes without applesauce, so I made some of that for the first time too!
Applesauce
4lbs of apples( 8 to 12 apples depending on size). If possible mix up sweet and tart. I used Honeycrisp and Gala because they were on sale
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of sugar
pinch of salt
Core the apples and cut into chunks about 1 to 11/2 inches. Leave the peels on.
Put apple chunks in a large dutch oven
Add water, sugar and salt
Cover and heat over medium low heat about 20 minutes, until apples begin to fall apart. Be sure to stir occasionally during cooking.
When apples are cooked transfer to a food mill and churn them until they are all milled. Remember to scrape the bottom of the mill. Discard the scraps.
Add water and sugar for taste and consistency if needed. Sauce can be eaten hot, at room temperature, or chilled.
Latkes - Potato Pancakes
5 potatoes. I used Russets
2 yellow onions
salt
Pepper
Oil
Optional ingredients
1 or 2 eggs
1 or 2 tablespoons of flour
butter
Peel the potatoes and place in a bowl of water so they don't oxidize
Peel the onions and grate on the largest side of a box grater. It is easiest to grate into a colander set inside a large bowl
Grate the potatoes on top of the onions.
Add a large pinch of salt and a pinch of black pepper and stir.
The salt will draw out moisture. With your hands or the back of a wooden spoon squeeze the potato/onion mixture eliminating as much excess liquid as possible. If you want to add the egg and flour for binding purposes transfer the mixture to another bowl, add egg and flour and stir.
Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a skillet. vegetable, olive or peanut oil is recommended. For flavor add tablespoon of butter to the hot oil.
When oil is heated form small patties (about 1/4 cup) out of the potato/onion mix and drop into the pan. As the bottoms crisp flatten the pancake down with a spatula.
When the bottom is golden brown turn the latke and cook on the other side. When the latkes are golden on both side remove from pan and drain on a paper towel. Serve immediately with applesauce or sour cream.
If you need to make multiple batches pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees and place a sheet tray inside. When the latkes are finished place them on the tray in the oven and make more. This will keep the latkes crisp and warm while the others cook.
Enjoy and Happy Hanukkah!
