Our Gift to You: A Hanukkah Recipe: Potato Latkes

I don’t like to brag, but I did win first place for this recipe at a Hanukkah party held by the Chicagoland Messianic community. This recipe skips the most laborious step: peeling—so it’s easier to make never-ending batches!

Yield: 5–6 servings

Time: 1 hour (including draining time)

Ingredients:

4 large potatoes, scrubbed and left unpeeled
2 medium onions
3 small eggs or ¾ cup of liquid egg substitute
⅓ cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
vegetable oil, for frying
applesauce or sour cream (or even ketchup!)

Supplies Needed:

Large mixing bowl
Food processor
Colander
Large skillet
Paper towels for draining

Method:

Grate potatoes with the onion either by hand (if you have the energy and the knuckles!) or in a food processor using the steel blade.

You should have a mixture with the consistency of coarsely chopped apples for applesauce.

Place potatoes and onions in a colander and drain over the sink for at least 30 minutes.

When drained, put the mixture in a large bowl and mix in eggs and flour. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour vegetable oil to ¼-inch depth in a heavy skillet. Heat until very hot but not smoking.

Spoon batter into skillet, flattening pancakes into 3-inch ovals. Fry until deep golden-brown and crisp on both sides. Repeat with all the mixture.

Lay several newspapers on kitchen counter, cover with several paper towels, and place cooked pancakes on the paper towels to drain.

Serve immediately or, if you have to, keep warm in a 200°F oven (they will lose some of their crispness but will taste just as good).

Makes 24 latkes. Serve with applesauce or sour cream (or ketchup).