The Latkes Debate: Blender or Shredded
Foodie Friday
We’ve all got cherished family recipes, don’t we?
Chanukah, a Jewish holiday celebrated with food fried in oil, begins on December 20th this year. The oil reminds us of a miracle in which an eternal light burned for 8 days even though it only had enough oil for one day.
Everyone likes a good ancient miracle, but in my opinion the real miracle is how incredibly delicious fried potato pancakes taste on the one occasion per year that I make them.
“Omigosh!”, I say to myself. “I forgot how good these are!” It’s the same way I feel about M&Ms.
I’ll share the family recipe for potato latkes below, but in typical familial fashion, my mother and I have something of a disagreement about how to prepare them.
She feels the potatoes should be blended into a lumpy batter and I feel, equally strongly, that they should be shredded and left to their own shape. The debate is now as much a tradition as the food!
Try them both ways and weigh in on the discussion at www.HungryChickenHomestead.com!
Potato Latkes
Ingredients:
1 lb potatoes
1/2 cup onion
1 large egg
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c olive oil or chicken fat
Grate the potatoes and onion. Press as much liquid as you can out of the mixture. Mix together. Add the egg and salt. (If you are trying the blended recipe, put the mixture into the blender or food processor and process until it’s lumpy, like mashed potatoes and then add a tablespoon of flour to thicken.)
Heat the oil in a 12 inch skillet until hot, but not smoking. Flatten 2 tablespoons of batter and fry on each side until brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot, with applesauce or sour cream.
Graphic credit: The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes .. sounds like a great Hanukkah gift!
About the Author
Bonnie Simon Has Written 35 Articles For Us!
I am an urban homesteader in Colorado Springs, CO where I raise chickens, make my own yogurt and am learning to grow some food, all within sight of downtown in a 1950s era neighborhood. I am starting a small business designed to fill the gap between local farms and local dinner tables.
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I’m fortunate that my husband is the latke maker in our household. He insists on grating the potatoes and onions by hand. The only debate we have is the thickness – he likes potato pancakes thin & cripy, while I prefer them a bit thicker. Either way, they’re still delicious!
Happy Hanukkah!
By hand! That’s madness! I used to grate them by hand, but we never had enough latkes. Then I hit on the idea to assign guests to grating as they arrived. The next year, we didn’t have enough guests. Your husband must be a very strong man.
Happy Hanukah to you too! 🙂