Hanukkah 2021 Latke-palooza Cookbook

Avivit Erlichman’s Traditional Hanukkah Potato Latkes:

Ingredients:

• ½ onion
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 3 tsp. kosher salt (divided)
• 1½ lb. Yukon Gold potatoes
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup flour
• Oil for frying

Instructions:

1. Dice the onion and sauté it in 2 tbsp. oil and 1 tsp. salt until golden.
2. Grate the potatoes by hand or in a food processor. Immediately transfer the grated potatoes to a bowl of cold water.
3. Place the eggs, flour, fried onion, and 2 tsp. salt in a separate bowl. Drain the grated potato well, add it to the rest of the ingredients, and mix immediately.
4. Heat 2-4 tbsp. of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Test the oil by dropping a tiny bit of the mixture into the pan. When the oil sizzles upon contact, it is ready.
5. For uniform latkes, use a 1/4 or 1/8 cup measuring cup. Scoop the batter and gently drop it into the oil. Press down gently with the back of the measuring cup to flatten. Fry 2-3 minutes until golden, then flip the latkes and fry 1-2 minutes on the second side. Repeat until all the mixture has been fried. (You will need to add more oil to the pan every couple of batches.)

 

 

Avivit Erlichman’s Gluten-Free Crispy Potato Latkes:

Ingredients:

• 3 large russet potatoes
• 1 large yellow onion
• ½ cup superfine brown rice flour
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 1½ tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 32 oz. safflower (or other high-heat vegetable oil)

Toppings:

Applesauce
Sour cream or non-dairy sour cream

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 170° F or your preferred keep-warm setting. Line a baking sheet with layers of paper towels.
2. Peel the potatoes, cut to fit a food processor chute, and place in cold water to keep them from turning brown. Cut the onion in half. Using a grater attachment, grate all the potatoes and onion together. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Using the cutting blade, finely grind half of the mixture. Return to the bowl with the remaining grated potato and onion, and mix to combine. (If grating by hand, coarsely grate half of the mixture and finely grate the other half, then combine the two mixtures in a large bowl.)
3. Line a colander with a clean dish towel. Place the colander in a large bowl. Place the potato mixture in the lined colander. Squeeze the life out of the mixture to get the liquid out. It will be messy, but keep going until it is pretty dry, because too much liquid in the latke mixture spells greasy, icky, heavy, messy pancakes!
4. Empty the liquid from the large bowl. Place the potato mixture in the bowl and add the flour, eggs, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
5. Fill a cast-iron skillet with ¼ inch of oil. Heat the oil until a tiny bit of the mixture sizzles when dropped in. Maintain an oil level that is ¼ inch deep with a temperature of 325° to 350° F at all times.
6. Scoop ¼ cup of batter for each pancake, flatten to 4 inches in diameter, and fry over medium heat until nicely browned, 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook for 3-4 minutes more. If the oil is not hot enough, the potatoes will absorb the oil and just be greasy; if the oil is too hot, the potatoes will be black on the outside and the inside will be raw—325° F is the right temperature.
7. Place the finished latkes on the paper towel-lined baking sheet. Place the sheet in the oven to keep warm while finishing up the other latkes.
   Serve the latkes warm, topped with applesauce and/or sour cream.

 

Elisheva Rennert’s Scrumptious Latkes and Brisket:

Ingredients:

• 3 large potatoes
• 1 small onion
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs

Instructions:

1. Peel potatoes and put in water.  
2. Using your food processor shredder blade, shred onions. Transfer to bowl.
3. Shred one potato at a time for a minute. Drain all liquid and transfer to a bowl with onions.
4. Add remaining ingredients and mix with fork.
5. Put 1/2 inch of oil in frying pan. Heat on high. (Special trick: Add carrot to pan to reduce blackening of the oil!)
6. Put 1 large tbsp. of mix in at a time. Turn over when brown with metal spatula and fork.
7. Transfer to rack to cool.

For dairy meals, serve with sour cream and applesauce. Or make it a special Shabbat appetizer and top with pulled brisket!

 

BONUS: Pulled Brisket Recipe!

1. Put 2 lb. brisket in crockpot
2. Add 18 oz. bottle BBQ Sauce (I like KC Masterpiece!)
3. Optional: thinly-sliced onion
4. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours
5. Remove from oven and cool slightly
6. Using 2 forks shred the brisket

 

 

Aaron Bernstein’s Famous Latkes:

Ingredients:

• 3 large baking potatoes (washed and peeled)
• 1 gold potato (washed and peeled)
• 1 medium onion
• 1 large egg
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• Canola oil (or any good frying oil)

Optional Additions:

• ⅛ tsp. garlic powder
• ⅛ tsp. turmeric
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

Instructions:

1. Put colander into large mixing bowl. Cut potatoes in large chunks and grate in food processor or by hand into the colander. Grate onion on top of potatoes. You can also finely mince them.
2. Take colander out and let drip in sink. Pour out liquid from bowl. Dry bowl and put a clean cloth or several layers of cheese cloth into the bowl. Pour grated potatoes and onion into the towel lined bowl. Close and squeeze towel tightly to get as much water out as you can. Empty bowl and dry. Beat egg well in bowl. Add salt and pepper. Mix in potatoes and onions. Add flour. Mix well by hand. If mixture is too wet, add a pinch of flour.
3. Cover cooling rack with paper towels (not a plate) next to stove. Heat large heavy pan to medium and add enough oil to be ¼ to ½ inch deep. Bring oil to medium heat. Test oil with a small amount of mixture. If it barely sizzles, it’s not hot enough. If it splatters, then too hot. It should bubble.
4. Make a ball of mixture (about 2 tbsp.) in your hand and flatten a bit. Adjust amount to make bigger or smaller. Gently put in oil and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until edges are golden and lightly crispy. Flatten with spatula if you like thinner latkes.
5. Remove to cooling rack over a sheet pan with paper towels. If making in advance, preheat oven to 375 and reheat for 10 minutes.
6. Serve with chive sour cream (1 cup sour cream and 2 tbsp. fresh chives).

 

 

Nancy Ludin’s Tried-and-True Latkes:

Ingredients:

• 6 Yukon gold potatoes (peeled and grated)
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1 to 1½ tsp. white pepper
• 4 tbsp. finely chopped chives, or more to taste (divided use)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp. pastry flour (or substitute 1 tbsp. AP flour + 1 tbsp. cake flour)
• 3 cups panko breadcrumbs (extra crispy)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup canola oil

Instructions:

1. Wash, peel and grate Yukon gold potatoes. Squeeze and drain excess potato liquid once grated.
2. Add salt, white pepper, and 3 tbsp. of finely chopped chives. In a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs till frothy.
3. Add eggs to potato mixture. Add in flour and mix thoroughly. Form into patties as noted below and cover with the panko breadcrumbs so you no longer see the potato.
4. Before you begin the frying process, mix the sour cream together with another tablespoon of the finely chopped chives and refrigerate.
5. Using a large skillet, heat oil which should cover the bottom of skillet and 1/2 way up the sides of the patties. Latkes should be about 3 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Once you’ve cooked the potato pancakes, serve hot immediately along with the cold sour cream and chive mixture.