The most delicious part of Hanukkah is latkes — potato pancakes fried in sizzling oil. They are easy to make and are most typically served with sour cream and apple sauce. But there are other variations as well. We’ll start with a basic recipe and then learn about some tasty twists on the tradition.
Basic Latkes
Ingredients:
- 2 cups white potatoes, shredded (about 4 potatoes)
- 1 tablespoon grated onion
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 to 2 teaspoons salt
- Corn, canola, or vegetable oil for frying
Directions:
- Squeeze excess liquid from potatoes by putting in strainer and pushing down with a towel. You can also wring in cheesecloth.
- Combine all the ingredients except for the oil.
- Heat oil in frying pan into very hot.
- Spoon mixture into frying pan into pancakes about 1/2 inch thick.
- Brown on one side, then flip and brown the second side.
- Drain on paper towels and serve hot with apple sauce and sour cream.
Variations
This is the traditional approach to latkes, but you can use your own taste to create new recipes. Somehow they never turn out bad. Some ideas to get the creative juices flowing:
- Use sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, and add raisins.
- Add avocado.
- Add jalapeno.
- Really in a rush? Use instant mashed potatoes instead of grated potatoes.
- Get those veggies in. Shred broccoli stems, zucchini or carrots and add to the mixture.
- Get creative with toppings. Try mango salsa, pesto or honey. Those in the know say you can put anything on a latke. Some people even dip in ketchup.
