The Easiest Latkes Recipes

POTATO LATKES I

Steps:

• Place the potatoes in a cheesecloth and wring, extracting as much moisture as possible.
• In a medium bowl stir the potatoes, onion, eggs, flour and salt together.
• In a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until hot. Place large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the hot oil, pressing down on them to form 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick patties. Brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Let drain on paper towels. Serve hot!

LATKES

Steps:

• Shred the potatoes and onion in a food processor or with a grater or mandoline. Place in a strainer that has been lined with cheesecloth or a damp kitchen towel. Toss with 3/4 teaspoon salt and let sit over a bowl to drain for 30 minutes.
• Gather the top of the cheesecloth and use your hands to squeeze out as much excess moisture as you can. Transfer the vegetables to a clean bowl; mix in the eggs, lemon juice, flour and some pepper.
• Heat 1/4 inch canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, fry loosely packed rounded tablespoons of the potato mixture until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Add more oil to the pan and adjust the temperature as needed. Transfer to a paper towel?lined plate, season with salt and set aside.

EASY PANCAKES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in milk, egg and oil. Mix until smooth.
• Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

CLASSIC POTATO LATKES

Steps:

• Using a food processor with a coarse grating disc, grate the potatoes and onion. Transfer the mixture to a clean dishtowel and squeeze and wring out as much of the liquid as possible.
• Working quickly, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the eggs, flour, salt, baking powder and pepper, and mix until the flour is absorbed.
• In a medium heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat, pour in about 1/4 inch of the oil. Once the oil is hot (a drop of batter placed in the pan should sizzle), use a heaping tablespoon to drop the batter into the hot pan, cooking in batches. Use a spatula to flatten and shape the drops into discs. When the edges of the latkes are brown and crispy, about 5 minutes, flip. Cook until the second side is deeply browned, about another 5 minutes. Transfer the latkes to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and sprinkle with salt while still warm. Repeat with the remaining batter.

CLASSIC POTATO LATKES

Steps:

• Coarsley grate the potatoes and onion into a large bowl, or use a food processor with a coarse grating blade. Leave the mixture to rest for about 15 mins so the liquid releases from the onions and potatoes. Carefully drain off the liquid for about 30 mins until the mixture is dry, then put in a cheese cloth and squeeze out the remaining liquid.
• Add the eggs, flour, 1 tsp sea salt and pepper, and mix well. Pour the oil into the pan so that it is 2-3cm deep. Set over a medium heat for a few minutes until it ripples.
• Carefully spoon in the mixture to the size you want - 2 tbsp for large latkes or 1 tbsp for small. Fry them in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, and cook on each side until browned for 2 mins. Remove to a plate lined with kitchen paper, then season with a sprinkling of salt. Serve with the soured cream and smoked salmon, finished with a sprinkling of chives, or just apple sauce - both are traditional.

LATKES (POTATO PANCAKES)

Steps:

• Wash and peel the potatoes.
• Grate the potatoes with a grater or food processor.
• (You can grate them into a bowl of salted water to keep them from discoloring. Otherwise they discolor about as fast as you can grate them, although it doesn't hurt anything if you use them right away). Drain off all liquid, and squeeze the excess liquid out by hand.
• (Do this even if you don't soak them in the salted water.) Beat the eggs and mix with the grated potatoes and other ingredients, except the oil.
• Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a skillet over medium high heat until very hot.
• Drop potato mixture by heaping tablespoons into oil (about 4 at a time).
• Use a pancake turner to flatten them out.
• Fry to golden brown on both sides (about 3 minutes per side).
• Drain on paper towels.
• Serve topped with applesauce or sour cream.

OUR FAVORITE LATKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°F. Set racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Place wire cooling racks in the rimmed baking sheets and place in the oven.
• Using a food processor with a grating insert, grate the potatoes and then the onions, transferring grated vegetables to a large bowl when the bowl of the food processor is filled. Alternately, use a box grater. Working in batches, place the potatoes and onions in a clean dishtowel and thoroughly wring out the excess liquid over the sink, then transfer the potato-onion mixture to a large bowl. The more liquid you remove, the crispier your latkes will be, so take your time and use several dish towels if necessary. Reserve the potato-onion mixture.
• In another large bowl, whisk together the matzo meal, salt, and pepper. Add the eggs and whisk to combine. Add the potato-onion mixture and mix well.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, melt equal parts schmaltz and oil (or oil only if omitting the schmaltz) until a scant 1/4-inch depth of fat is reached. Drop 2 tablespoons of latke mixture into the hot fat, spacing them 2 inches apart. Flatten latkes slightly using a spatula and cook, turning once, until crisp, golden brown, and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• Transfer latkes to wire racks and season with salt; return to the oven to keep warm; season with salt. As you remove latkes from the pan, replace them with fresh spoonfuls of potato mixture to maintain oil temperature. Add additional schmaltz and/or oil around the edge of the pan as needed to maintain a scant 1/4-inch depth of fat.
• Keep latkes warm in oven and serve hot with applesauce or sour cream.