potato latkes

The recipe says serves 8 and I have to challenge that one… I guess it serves 8 if you do not eat too many and never taste them while cooking.

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds russet (baking) potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed, and patted dry

  • 1 medium onion peeled

  • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (plain) flour [or matzah meal ground fine if it is Passover]

  • 4-5 eggs lightly beaten

  • 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (more if you really like pepper)

  • Vegetable oil for frying

  • Sour Cream & Caviar & Applesauce (homemade) for copious dipping

 Assembly

  • Line 2 large baking sheets with several layers of paper towels. Have a cotton dish towel handy for each tray for better integrity while squeezing out the liquids.

  • Grate the potatoes and onion alternatively. Traditionally this is made done with a grater but the shredding disk in a food processor does a great job as well. Shred in batches until all the potatoes and onions are shredded. Divide equally on the sheets.

  • Wrap in a tea towel and SQUEEZE! You want the potatoes as dry as possible.

  • Put all the squeezed out shredded onion and potatoes in a large bowl and add flour, 4 eggs, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix with a large spoon or large silicon spatula. If it looks dry add the last egg. (I do this 99% of the time.)

  • In a large frying pan heat 1/4 inch of oil over medium high heat until it is shimmering but do not let it smoke.

  • Working in batches, from approximately 1/4 cup of the batter form a patty and drop/place it into the oil. Gently use a frying spider or spatula to gently flat out the latke if you want them thinner. [Use two pans if you have enough hands to cut the cooking time down.]

  • Cook until golden and crispy, about 6-8 minutes (ISH).

  • Continue until all the batter is done. You may need to adjust burner to keep the oil from keeping it from getting too hot. You also may need to add more oil if it gets too low.

  • Transfer done latkes to paper towels on a rack to drain the excess oil.

  • Plate and serve the ones you can keep away from prowlers sampling as you cook!

To Serve

Good luck getting them to the table - but for the ones you that do make it, serve with the apple sauce, caviar, and sour cream. Save any that may be left over. They are amazing toasted up the next day (or a middle of the night fridge run)!