Classic latke recipes from Jayne Cohen
Adapted from "Jewish Holiday Cooking: A Food Lover's Treasury of Classics and Improvisations" by Jayne Cohen, published by Wiley, and now available on ckbk.com, home to the world's great cookbooks online. Don't miss Jayne Cohen discuss the culinary history of latkes on "CBS Sunday Morning" December 22!
Jayne Cohen writes: "The food processor ended the Grater Reign of Terror that marked the Festival of Latkes. But the four-sided hand grater offered one advantage (aside from the bits of torn knuckles so many grandmothers swore made their latkes that much more delicious): Part of the potatoes could be shredded on the coarse side, to make a crispy crust, and the rest grated rather fine, to ensure a little creamy layer within. All coarse would mean all crunch – texture without an intense potato taste – while completely fine made latkes with too much mush beneath their thin crisp coat, causing them to absorb huge amounts of oil.
"The solution is simple: grate the potatoes, using the coarse shredding disk, then process about one-third of them to a coarse puree. Result: crisp, crunchy, and creamy, all at once.
"If you don't have a food processor and will be grating the potatoes by hand on a box grater, do as my grandmother did: grate about 2/3 of the potatoes over the large holes, and grate the remaining third over the smallest holes. That will give you the right combination of crunch and creamy potato taste."
Classic Potato Latkes
Yield: About 4 servings
Ingredients:
About 1½ pounds Russet (baking) or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
½ pound onions, peeled
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon matzoh meal or unbleached all-purpose flour
About 1 teaspoon salt
About ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon baking powder
Olive oil, for frying
Accompaniments: apple or other fruit sauce (heavenly when freshly made) and/or sour cream, labne or creme fraiche.
Directions:
Coarsely shred the potatoes and the onions, using the shredding disk in a food processor. (Don't wash out the food processor after – you'll be using it again right away.) Transfer the mixture to a colander or strainer and use your hands or a wooden spoon to press out as much moisture as possible.
Remove the shredding disk from the processor and replace with the steel blade. Return about one-third of the shredded potatoes and onions to the work bowl, and process, using the pulse motion, until roughly puréed. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the remaining potatoes and onions from the colander, and the egg, matzoh meal or flour, salt, pepper, and baking powder. Mix until thoroughly combined.
In a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet (cast-iron is ideal), heat about ¼ inch of oil over high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Drop ¼ cup of the batter into the pan, and flatten with a spatula. Repeat with more batter, cooking no more than 4 or 5 latkes at a time; crowding the pan will give you soggy latkes.
Regulate the heat carefully, reducing it to medium as the latkes fry until golden and crisp on the bottom, about 4 minutes. To prevent oil from splattering, use two spatulas (or a spatula and a large spoon) to turn the latkes carefully. Fry until crisp and golden on the other side.
It's best to flip the latkes only once, so that they don't absorb too much oil. So, before turning, lift the latkes slightly with the spatula to make sure the underside is crisp and brown.
As the latkes are done, transfer them to paper towels or untreated brown paper bags to drain.
Continue making latkes in the same manner until all the batter is used. If necessary, add more oil to the pan, but always allow the oil to get hot before frying a new batch.
Serve straightaway, accompanied by applesauce or sour cream. If it is necessary to keep the latkes warm, place them in a single layer on a rack set on a baking sheet in a slow oven (200 degrees F) until they are all ready to be brought to the table.
Garlic-Rosemary Potato Latkes
Jayne Cohen writes: "These exceptionally fragrant potato pancakes require no topping or sauce as adornment. They are perfect as-is, with just a light sprinkle of sea salt perhaps, ready to accompany any roasted or grilled chicken or meat."
Yield: About 4 servings
Ingredients:
About 1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold or 3 large Russet (baking) potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon matzoh meal or unbleached all-purpose flour
About 3/4 teaspoon salt
About 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Olive oil, for frying
Sea salt (optional)
Directions:
Shred the potatoes, using the shredding disk in a food processor. (Don't wash out the food processor – you'll be using it again right away.) Transfer the potatoes to a colander or strainer and use your hands or a wooden spoon to press out as much moisture as possible.
Remove the shredding disk from the processor and replace with the steel blade. Return about one-third of the shredded potatoes to the food processor. Add the garlic and rosemary and process, using the pulse motion, until roughly puréed. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the remaining potatoes, the egg, matzoh meal or flour, salt and pepper to taste, and the baking powder to the bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined. Let stand for 10 minutes to mingle the flavors.
In a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet (cast-iron is ideal), heat about 1/4 inch of oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Drop 1/4 cup of the potato latke batter into the pan and flatten with a spatula. Repeat with more batter, cooking no more than 4 or 5 latkes at a time; crowding the pan will give you soggy latkes.
Regulate the heat carefully, reducing it to medium as the latkes fry until golden and crisp on the bottom, about 4 minutes. To prevent oil from splattering, use two spatulas (or a spatula and a large spoon) to turn the latkes carefully. Fry until crisp and golden on the other side.
It's best to flip the latkes only once, so that they don't absorb too much oil. So, before turning, lift the latkes slightly with the spatula to make sure the underside is crisp and brown.
As the latkes are done, transfer them to paper towels or untreated brown paper bags to drain.
Continue making latkes in the same manner until all the batter is used. If necessary, add more oil to the pan, but always allow the oil to get hot before frying a new batch.
Serve straightaway, sprinkled with a little sea salt, if you'd like. Or if necessary, keep the latkes warm in a 200 degree F oven (arrange them in a single layer on a rack placed over an oven-proof platter or baking sheet) and serve when they are all ready to be brought to the table.
Latke Lessons
Latke batter should be room temperature; cold batter will lower the oil temperature, causing the latkes to absorb too much oil. (Exceptions: cheese latkes, which may fall apart if not very cold).
A very wet batter will produce steam. The result? Soggy, greasy latkes. If the batter has thrown off a lot of liquid, drop a measureful of batter into your hand, so you can gently squeeze out the excess moisture before slipping it into the hot oil.
If your pan cannot be heated over high heat, heat it over the highest setting recommended by the manufacturer.
I prefer the flavor of a fragrant, everyday olive oil and I use it whenever possible. But because olive oil has a lower smoke point than highest-heat oils, it requires greater vigilance in regulating the heat. For batters that are naturally wetter or more fragile, I choose an oil with a very high smoke point, like avocado or grapeseed.
If you need to test the oil temperature: Stand an untreated wooden chopstick in the oil. If little bubbles form around it, the oil is ready. Or flick a pinch of flour into the oil; if it sizzles, start frying.
Very important: Between batches, scoop out any burned fragments from the pan. Every two batches or so, it may be necessary to wipe out the pan to remove burnt oil or bits and add fresh oil.
Preparing ahead: You can keep latkes for a few hours at room temperature, in a single layer on a rack, loosely covered with a kitchen towel.
Refrigerating leaves latkes sodden and lifeless. But you can freeze them for longer storage. Arrange drained, cooled latkes on a cookie sheet and slide into the freezer until solidly frozen. Store in a strong, resealable plastic bag or airtight container. To serve, reheat the latkes on a rack set on a baking sheet in a preheated 400 degrees F oven until hot and crisp.