1,000 Jewish Recipes (120 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
4.
Remove from oven and run a small sturdy rubber spatula around edges of latkes to release them. You can then leave them in pan 15 to 30 minutes to keep hot. Serve latkes hot, accompanied by applesauce, if using.
Herman Saks, my Uncle Herman, who was born in Russia, was the family's latke-maker when I was growing up, and every year he patiently and expertly fried numerous latkes at the family's big Hanukkah parties. His secret technique? He made his batter in a blender. This method is convenient, especially when making large quantities of latkes; you can quickly whip up batches of batter as you need them. Uncle Herman gave me his recipe just a few weeks before he passed away at the age of 91.
2 large eggs
1
1
â
2
teaspoons salt
About
1
â
3
cup matzo meal, more if needed
1
â
2
teaspoon baking powder
8 large potatoes
1 onion, cut into chunks
3
â
4
cup canola oil (for frying)
1.
Preheat oven to 250°F. Line a tray with paper towels for draining the latkes and have a baking sheet ready for keeping latkes warm.
2.
Put eggs, salt, matzo meal, and baking powder in a blender. Peel and cut potatoes into small chunks. Add potato and onion chunks a few at a time and process until potatoes and onions are chopped small and batter is blended well. Scrape batter down occasionally.
3.
Pour batter into a bowl. If it is very thin, stir in another tablespoon or two of matzo meal.
4.
Heat
1
â
2
cup oil in a deep, large, heavy skillet. For each latke, drop 2 to 3 tablespoons of potato mixture into pan. Do not crowd them in pan. Fry over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until crisp and golden brown. Turn carefully with 2 slotted spatulas so oil doesn't splatter. Transfer to paper towels. Stir batter before frying each new batch. Add more oil to the pan as necessary, and heat it before adding more latkes. After frying about half the batter, put latkes on baking sheet and keep warm in oven.
5.
Pat tops of latkes with paper towels before serving. Serve hot or warm.
If you have a fear of frying, you'll overcome it if you try potato beignets. They're easy and forgiving even if you're not sure of the temperature of the oil. And they're delicious! Creamy on the inside and delicately crisp on the outside, they're one of the favorite potato dishes of France, where they are served at elegant dinners. I find they're perfect for Hanukkah.
1
1
â
2
pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 or 3 pieces
1
â
3
cup milk
1
â
4
cup (
1
â
2
stick) plus 2 tablespoons butter
Salt and white pepper, to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
1
â
2
cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1
â
2
cup water
2 large eggs
Vegetable oil for deep-frying (at least 6 cups)
1.
Put potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover them and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over medium heat 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are very tender. Drain well.
2.
Puree potatoes in a food mill or mash with a potato masher. Return them to saucepan. Add milk, 2 tablespoons of the butter, and salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Stir over low heat until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; let cool.
3.
Sift flour onto a piece of wax paper. Heat water,
1
â
4
teaspoon salt, and
1
â
4
cup butter in a medium saucepan until butter melts. Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add flour immediately and stir quickly with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth. Set pan over low heat and beat mixture for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat; cool for a few minutes. Add 1 egg and beat it into mixture. Beat in second egg. Stir in potato puree.
4.
Preheat oven to 300°F. Line baking sheets with paper towels. Pour oil into a deep fryer or deep, heavy saucepan. Do not fill pan more than halfway with oil. Heat oil to about 370°F on a frying thermometer. If thermometer is not available, test by putting a drop of potato mixture into oil; when oil is hot enough, it should bubble energetically.
5.
Take a rounded teaspoonful of batter. With a second teaspoon, slide it gently into oil, forming a rounded fritter. Do not crowd pan; fritters need room to puff. Fry them, turning them occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes or until they are golden brown on all sides. Don't let them brown too fast, as batter needs time to cook through. Transfer to paper towels. Keep in oven while frying remaining mixture. Serve as soon as possible.
Safety Tips For Deep Frying
⢠Fill the pan no more than half full of oil.
⢠When adding foods to the oil, hold the food near the oil's surface and add it gently. Do not drop food from high above the oil because it will splash the hot oil.
⢠Be careful not to crowd the pan, as the oil might bubble up and over the top.
⢠Regulate the heat as necessary to keep the oil at the right temperature.
⢠Never leave the pan unattended while frying. Give frying your full attention.
⢠Let the pan of oil cool before moving it.
I started making these delectable potato crepes during the years that I celebrated the Festival of Lights in the City of Lights. Pureed baked potatoes paired with cooked leeks give the crepes wonderful flavor. French cooks developed potato crepes to use up leftover baked potatoes, but they became very popular in fine restaurants as side dishes. Although they're called crepes in France, they are thicker than traditional ones (but not as thick as American pancakes). Serve them topped with crème fraîche, sour cream, or
Savory Mushroom Sauté
.
1
1
â
4
pounds baking potatoes (2 large), scrubbed
1 pound large leeks
2 tablespoons butter
1
â
2
cup plus 1 or 2 tablespoons milk
1
1
â
2
teaspoons salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1
â
3
cup vegetable oil
1.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Pierce potatoes with a fork. Bake on a rack in oven about 1 hour or until tender.
2.
Use white and light green parts of leeks only; save dark green parts for soups and stocks. Halve leeks lengthwise, rinse well and cut into
1
â
4
-inch slices. Put sliced leeks in a bowl of cold water and separate the pieces. Soak them 5 minutes to remove any sand. Lift leeks into colander, rinse, and drain well.
3.
Melt butter in medium, heavy skillet. Add leeks. Cook over medium heat, stirring very often, about 10 minutes or until leeks are soft but not brown. If any liquid remains in pan, cook leek mixture over medium-high heat, stirring, until it evaporates. Transfer leek mixture to a bowl; let cool.
4.
Halve hot potatoes and scoop out pulp. Puree in a food mill or mash with a potato masher until very fine. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in
1
â
2
cup milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
5.
Let cool. Stir in leeks. Add more salt, pepper, and nutmeg if needed. Stir in eggs one by one, stirring well after each addition. Stir in flour.
6.
Preheat oven to 250°F. Heat
1
â
4
cup oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Using a large tablespoon, add a spoonful of batter to oil and flatten slightly to make a small pancake of 2- to 2
1
â
2
-inch diameter. Mixture should spread but pancake does not need to be very thin. If mixture is too thick to spread at all, add a little milk to batter. If pancakes do not hold together, add 1 tablespoon more flour to batter.
7.
Make more pancakes of same size and fry about 5 minutes or until they are golden brown on both sides; turn them carefully with 2 slotted spatulas. Transfer to paper towels on an ovenproof tray. Keep warm in oven while frying rest of pancakes. Stir batter occasionally; add more oil to skillet as needed.
8.
The pancakes are best if served right away, but they can be kept warm about 30 minutes. You can also make them 1 day ahead and refrigerate them; heat in 1 layer on a baking sheet in a 250°F oven.
VEGETABLE LATKES
Veggie BurgersâThe New Latkes
There has been a mushrooming of vegetable burgers at the supermarket recently. They are found at various places at the storeâin the deli department, in the natural foods section, and next to the frozen vegetables. They have even invaded the meat shelf, and are displayed between the bacon and the beef.
Many are creatively spiced and contain a variety of ingredients, from mushrooms to water chestnuts to black beans. Their new popularity and prominence is undoubtedly due to people's desire to incorporate more vegetables into their diet. Their advantage over meat burgers is that many contain little or no saturated fat or cholesterol.
Whether they're called meatless burgers, veggie patties, or pancakes, they seemed familiar to me when I sampled them. After I tasted a few, I realized whyâmy mother has been making them for years, especially around Hanukkah. But she calls them latkes!
Latkes made of grated potatoes are the best known to many of us. But latke in Yiddish simply means a sautéed cake or patty. Latkes are in fact made of many different foods, from fish to noodles to apples. Modern cooks often make them of vegetables, singly or as mixtures. They use either grated raw vegetables, such as carrots, onions, or sweet potatoes, or with mashed, pureed, or chopped cooked ones.
I've never met a vegetable that doesn't like becoming a latke. From asparagus to zucchini, I've made latkes with just about every vegetable. A woman I met shopping told me that her husband, a rabbi, makes latkes by simply cooking and mincing whatever frozen vegetables they happen to have.
My mother, the expert latke maker in our family, pointed out that you can make latkes out of any food, as long as you add egg or egg white to moisten it, plus flour, bread crumbs, or matzo meal to hold it together, and salt and pepper to flavor it.
To turn latkes into protein-rich entrees like some of the prepared meatless patties, you can add canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), red beans, or other legumes. Other options are soy granules (sometimes labeled "TVP" for textured vegetable protein), soy ground meat substitute, or cooked whole grains.