Latke Recipes for Chanukah

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25 Nov 2010
Chanukah

Consider the latke (Chanukah’s version of fast food). It is, in my opinion, the absolute best-est, most perfect, delicious use for the potatoes, better even, in some circumstances, than the French fry, potato chip or potato kugel. The latke has a dark golden crispy crunchy outside and soft tasty middle.

I suggest that you use starchy potatoes for latkes. Russets and Yukon Gold are my favorite choices. Squeeze as much moisture out of the shredded potatoes as you can. Too much liquid makes for a thin pancake. Try not to make them too large or too thick the outside will cook up just fine but the inside will be raw. Take care not to over cook and they are best served IMMEDIATELY with sour cream, apple sauce or all by themselves. Last but not least, the question of peeling the potato. You don’t have to peel them if you wash them thoroughly. Peeling will give the latke a lighter color but that’s about it.

When it comes to latkes there is a great big old debate as to what exactly is the “best” recipe. There are hundreds; nay thousands of recipes, all purported to be the ultimate one. I’ve been sent quite a few recipes over the years and found the following ones to be stupendous. Not all the recipes are the traditional potato/egg mixture but I promise you, all of them will have you standing in line waiting for the next batch to finish cooking.

Note: where possible I’ve attributed the author of the following recipes, some, however, have been in my folder for years and don’t have any reference as to where they came from.