Latkes

One set of fond memories growing up revolves around potato latkes.  Being Jewish means being a little outside the mainstream for holidays, but I can live with that -- especially when it comes to the food.  Almost every Jewish holiday revolves around some specific foods or abstaining from foods, and for Chanukah that means fried foods.  Yes, doughnuts are proper eating during Chanukah.  It gets better, we can eat ice cream to celebrate Shavuot.

Anyways, latkes are not always easy to make.  We used pre-made mixes a few times, which were convenient, but they weren't the same as homemade.  We hand-grated potatoes and onions when I was young, and I am glad I have a food processor now because I am lazy.  My latkes this year were made of shredded potatoes, chopped onions, chopped apples, eggs, matzah meal, dried chives, ground pepper, and salt.  I do have a few tips:

• After you've shredded your potatoes, squeeze them a handful at a time over the sink to get rid of excess moisture.
• If you use your food processor to chop your onions, squeeze them out over the sink as well.
• Do not turn the apples you are putting into your latkes into apple paste or apple sauce.

The final ingredient to add should be the salt.  Don't add it until you see that you have no liquid pooling at the bottom of your bowl.  The salt will draw liquid out from your latke mix after you mix it in, which is expected.  Just don't give the liquid at the bottom of your bowl a head start.

If you want to, you can squeeze your shredded potatoes out over a bowl.  I didn't do this step this year, but I have in prior years.  When you're done with squeezing potatoes, pour off the liquid carefully.  If you make baked goods, some recipes call for potato water for bread.  Leaving that aside, under the liquid should be some potato starch.  It can be helpful to add this back into your latke mix.

When frying latkes, use hot oil or fat, somewhere in the medium-high setting on your stove.  It will make them crispier and, paradoxically, they will absorb less oil.  Oh, and be ready to add more oil to your pan between each pan-ful of latkes, as even at high heat they absorb a lot of oil.  Letting finished latkes cool off on wire racks, preferably a rack placed over a half-sheet pan, can help wick away some of the oil.  If you don't have a wire rack, don't panic.  A dinner plate lines with paper towels works nicely too.

Happy new year to all!