Latkes
Who doesn’t love a latke! Crispy edges make that first bite, with a soft potato centre - this contrast is what makes these latkes utterly irresistible! You can eat them straight from the hot pan or reheat as and when needed! They are delightful as they are but dipping them into sour cream or apple sauce is another contrast to be reckoned with!
Ingredients
- 6 potatoes, grated on the large hole (baking potatoes)
- 1 onion, grated on the large hole
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 100 g potato flour
- 400-450 g oil (I use olive oil light and mild)
- sea salt
- white pepper
Serving suggestion
- sour cream n chives or sour cream & apple sauce, they are equally delicious served with salt beef
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl place, a clean tea towel or muslin inside the bowl with corners of the tea towel draped over the sides. Then add the grated potato into the bowl, pick up the corners of the tea towel or muslin and gather around the grated potato, twist and squeeze out as much starchy water from the potatoes through the towel. Repeat once or twice for best results. Discard the water and then place the squeezed potato into a large clean mixing bowl.
- Beat the eggs in a medium mixing bowl and season with sea salt and white pepper.
- Add the grated onion to the potato, and then season generously with sea salt and touch of white pepper (see Lisa’s tip for seasoning the mixture). Stir the mixture until all the seasoning is distributed amongst the potato and the onions. Pour in the beaten egg, mix until thoroughly combined and then fold in the potato flour, again ensure that the mixture is thoroughly mixed.
- In a sauté frying pan (shallow pan with straight sides) add 400ml of the light and mild olive oil or your choice of oil and heat over a medium/high heat. Using a large, slotted spoon carefully scoop up the mixture, neaten the edges, with a spoon and carefully place into the oil, I tend to do 4 latkes at a time, and fry each latke for 6-8 minutes, I like to keep turning them over after 2 minutes to get even crisp on all sides, I use a slotted spoon and a spatula to help turn them over. Once the latkes are golden and crispy on the edges remove from the pan and place on kitchen towel to drain off the excess oil. Then place on a cooling rack to keep crisp, to prevent going soggy.
- Use the slotted spoon to take out any escaped pieces of potato in the oil, before adding the next batch. When you come to adding the third batch pour off the excess water from the bottom of the potato mixture and discard. By this time the mixture will be slightly watery. Then continue the frying process. As mentioned above, I do 3 batches of 4 latkes at a time, the mixture should make 12, but you can go smaller if you wish. You may find before adding your last batch you might need a drop more oil around 50ml. If using the extra oil, wait a bit for it to heat up before adding the last batch.
- I personally like to make my latkes in advance before serving to my guests. If you do this process, line a baking tray with parchment paper, and after they have been resting on the kitchen paper towel, I transfer them to the tray and reheat when needed. This is the best option if you have little ones in the kitchen, as you need to constantly keep an eye on the frying process! Although I do have some fussy members in my family who love them straight out the pan, so I tend to make the first eight latkes in my own time, then transfer to the tray and keep warm in the oven, and let the fussy ones, have the last 4 straight from the pan, to be honest I can’t blame them!
- You can serve these as they are or dipped in sour cream with chives, or sour cream and apple sauce and equally delicious - dipped in ketchup!
- Enjoy!
- If you make this recipe, I’d LOVE to see how you get on so please either send me a photo to lisa@myrelationshipwithfood.com or post a picture to Instagram using the #myrelationshipwithfood and tag@myrelationshipwithfood
Notes
LISA’S TIP – Seasoning latkes takes some practice, and if you're new to making latkes, one tip that I can share is season well, and then fry one latke first, let it cool and check for seasonings. If by some chance you’ve over seasoned, just add an extra potato and a sprinkling of sugar (but this is only in an emergency)! I always season with white pepper, so you don’t see specks of pepper, but it’s entirely up to you. Don’t skip the process of squeezing out the moisture of the potatoes, as this prevents soggy latkes. Another top tip is to avoid overcrowding the pan. You don’t want one giant potato latke, so best to fry in batches as mentioned above.
If for some reason you happen to have leftovers, they are delicious reheated in the oven topped with either fried or poached eggs. If you want to get ahead of the game, you can peel and grate the raw potatoes for the latkes up to 3 days in advance. Store them in the refrigerator, completely submerged in water, with a squeeze of lemon. The potatoes might discolour, but when cooked they will be fine. Drain the grated potatoes and dry them thoroughly before cooking, and don’t forget to squeeze out the moisture. The cooked latkes also freeze well.
