Latkes are traditionally made on Hanukkah to celebrate the miracle
of the oil in the lamps in the Temple in Jeruselem. Our guest
cook, Dana tells the story in Hanukkah Traditions.
The word for grandmother in Hebrew is Savta but Dana and her
two older brothers call their grandmother Savti. This recipe
has been handed down from Dana's great grandmother Yetta Levin
to her grandmother Florence who's going to teach it to us. Your
family may have a different recipe so ask the elders in your
family to share it with you.
Corn oil is traditional but you can use canola oil as a healthier
alternative.
{Makes 18 latkes}
You'll need:
6 Russet potatoes
2 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons of flour
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 small yellow onion
1 cup of corn oil or canola oil
A LOT of help from grandma or another adult
Equipment:
Measuring spoons
2 large bowls
Potato peeler
A sharp knife
Potato grater or food processor with a shredding blade
Cheesecloth or a small muslin bag
A large skillet
A large spoon
A spatula
Paper towels
Savti begins the recipe by peeling the potatoes and soaking
them in cold water for several hours. You don't have
to do this step but if you want the authentic flavor it's
a must.
When you're ready to start the meal drain the potatoes
and pat them dry.
Next, grate the potatoes very coarsely and squeeze as much
moisture as possible out of them. Savti has a little
cloth sack that her mother, Yetta, and originally held salt.
You can use several layers of cheese cloth or a bag out of
muslin.
Toss out the potato water and put the potato pulp into a
clean bowl.
Add the eggs, flour, baking powder and salt to the grated
potatoes. Mix well.
Grate the small onion and add to the mix. Give the batter
a good stir.
Pour about ½ an inch of oil in the bottom of the skillet
and let it heat.
Put the oven on the lowest setting. You'll keep the latkes
warm in the oven until they're ready to go to the table.
In order for the potato pancakes to cook through, the oil
needs to get really hot. So this is the step that the
adult needs to do. You can watch and take mental notes for
the future. Ask your grandmother to spoon enough batter into
the oil to make a pancake about 3 inches across. Have her press
each pancake down so that they will be thin and crisp. As they
are pressed, the pancakes should get to be about 4 inches across.
After about 3 minutes, Grandma should lift a corner of the
first pancake with the spatula and see if it's browned. If
it is she should flip the pancake over. Repeat for as many
pancakes as you have in the skillet.
While the other side is browning, Grandma should press the
pancake down again. The idea is to get as much contact between
the latke and the pan.
Meanwhile, you can prepare a plate with several layers of
paper towel for the latkes to drain on.
When the latkes are ready, have Grandma lift each one out
of the oil and let it drip for a few seconds then transfer
it to the waiting plate. Put the plate in the oven while the
other latkes are cooking.
Use oven mitts to carry the hot plate of latkes to the table
and put them down on a trivet.
Serve with sour cream, apple sauce or jelly. Just like Great-grandma
Yetta used to make!
