Potato-Carrot-Curry Latkes

Potato latkes for Hanukkah? Of course!

But I make other kinds of latkes too.

This year it’s going to be these potato-carrot latkes. They have just enough curry powder to add an intriguing but not too spicy seasoning. I’ve made them several times already and they’ve been getting rave reviews. I’ll also serve some for my new year’s hors d’oeuvres fest.

The sauce is a bit tangy and very refreshing, sort of like tzadiki (cacik). It’s a soft, rich, smooth and tasty counterpoint for the crispy fried latkes.

Potato-Carrot-Curry Latkes with Yogurt Sauce

• 3 medium Russet type potatoes, peeled

• 4 medium carrots, peeled

• 1 large onion, cut into chunks

• 2 large eggs

• 1/4 cup potato starch, matzo meal or bread crumbs

• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste

• freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 2 teaspoons curry powder

• vegetable oil for frying

Yogurt Sauce

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt

• 2-3 scallions, chopped

• 1/4 cup grated cucumber

• 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice

Shred the potatoes, carrots and onion in a food processor. Squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible (I put portions of the shreds in a kitchen towel and squeeze until they are practically dry). Place the shreds in a bowl. Immediately mix the eggs in (this helps keep the potatoes from browning). Add the potato starch, salt, pepper and curry powder. Heat about 1/4” vegetable oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Shape latkes by hand, squeezing liquid out if there is any, and place them in the hot oil, leaving space between each one so that they brown well and become crispy (if they are too close they will “steam” and become soggy). Press down on the latkes to keep them evenly shaped. Fry for about 3 minutes per side or until the pancakes are golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels. Serve with the Yogurt Sauce.

To make the sauce, mix the yogurt, scallions, cucumber and lemon juice together until well mixed. Place in a serving bowl.

Makes 12-15

Vegetable Croquettes (Passover)

I was once in a pub in the west of England and ordered a dish called Bubble & Squeak. It’s simple, unfancy food, tasty and nourishing, consisting of mashed potatoes and cabbage fried to a crispy brown and topped with an egg.

It was magical.

So I made it many times at home, and, me being me, and this recipe being the kind that allows for endless variation, I added this and that to the potatoes, depending on what leftover vegetables I had. I used Brussels sprouts instead of cabbage (as do many restaurants in England); I’ve added corn, peas, carrots, spinach, broccoli and such. Once or twice I included cheese (feta, Parmesan) but I prefer the all-vegetable version best.

I don’t call it Bubble & Squeak (so named for the sounds it supposedly makes while being cooked), so I’ll just say: Vegetable Croquettes. We’ve eaten them as a side dish with meat but most of the time they are dinner, topped with a fried egg.

This is my Passover version. At other times of the year you can add beans/peas and coat the patties with bread crumbs.

Vegetable Croquettes

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil, approximately

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

•  1 cup chopped cooked cabbage

•  2 chopped, cooked carrots

• 10 ounce package frozen spinach, thawed

• 3 cups mashed potatoes

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1/2 cup matzo meal, approximately

Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Spoon the onions into a bowl. Add the cabbage, carrots, spinach, mashed potatoes and some salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and shape the mixture into 1/2-inch patties. Place the matzo meal on a plate. Press both sides of each patty into the crumbs. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Heat 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil in the sauté pan over medium heat. Fry the patties a few at a time (leave plenty of space between each) for 3-4 minutes per side or until crispy and golden brown, adding more vegetable oil to the pan as needed.

Makes 8-10

Potato Latkes

We’ve all played the old party game where someone asks “what one food would you pick if you were stranded on a desert island?” 

ONE dish. Do you pick your favorite? Something nourishing that will keep you healthy until the next cruise ship comes along? Something plain or fancy? Hot or cold?

I made the rounds recently. 

Some of the answers I got were predictable. It didn’t surprise me, for example, that a friend’s husband, one of those shoot-first-aim-later type, had an immediate answer. Of course. (He wanted Memphis Dry Rubbed Ribs). And another man I know, who always second-guesses his decisions, decided on a Meatball Hero, but only after agonizing about it.

Then there was the long-married couple who do everything together and have even begun to look alike. Neither could pick just one dish. She asked for Sushi plus Bagels with Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon. He assumed that the “ONE” food meant an entire meal (Minestrone Soup, grilled steak, baked potato, salad and apple pie).

Lots of people asked questions before they could answer.

Questions about time: “How long am I on this island?” from Robbie, a personal trainer who knows all about nutrition so he chose meatball pizza (“it has protein, carbs, fat and vegetables”).

About health (“does cholesterol count?”) from a friend who said he could be happy with old fashioned chopped liver (made with schmaltz) on rye. 

About practical matters such as “do I have to cook?” from a friend who wanted Chinese Chicken with Cashews and Hoisin Sauce if it could be served to her as if by magic but picked peanut butter and jelly if she had to prepare the meals herself.

My very practical friend Jack said: “I’ll catch fish and have sushi.” His wife, my friend Val, who is always on one kind of diet or another, said she’d have grilled fish and salad because she’d probably still be on a diet.

For some reason that I can’t explain, everyone assumes that the island will be some tropical paradise. Someone wanted ice cream but said it would melt in the hot sun, so she picked French bread with cheese because that’s even better when it’s warm and runny.

I guess I could tell them the desert is Deception Bay in Antarctica, but why stress them out?

Most people also think they will be all alone, like Tom Hanks in Castaway, except for the few who think they’ll be someplace like Gilligan’s Island and wonder if they can share everyone else’s food.

One thing I find fascinating is that no one ever asks me what my choice would be.

Well, now that you ask ….. I’ve spent so many years posing this question to others that I am at a loss to answer it myself. Hmm. Is it hot there? (a whole grain salad). Or cold? (Bean Soup). Is there an oven? (baked potato). Can I switch on my birthday? (fried chicken). Do I get dessert with it? (Fried chicken and apple pie). Is it a whole meal? (Add corn fritters to that fried chicken and apple pie). Is Ed there and if so, can we share? (Chinese egg rolls and fried rice).

I can’t decide right now. But I’m leaning towards potato latkes because it combines two of my most favorite food things: fried (anything) plus potato. 

If I can have more than one item I’d like some smoked salmon to drape over those latkes and also a dollop of real, full-fat dairy sour cream because I’m not worried about the cholesterol on this island. If money’s no object I’d like a blob of caviar on top too. Maybe a scattering of chopped chives. Sprinkle of lemon juice.

Perfect.

Mmmmm. Nice for brunch, don’t you think? Hanukkah. Whenever. Why wait to be stranded on a desert island!?

Potato Latkes

• 4 large peeled baking (Idaho, russet) potatoes
• 1 large onion
• 3 tablespoons matzo meal, breadcrumbs or potato starch
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• vegetable oil for frying

Grate the potatoes and onion into a bowl or, if using a food processor, shred the potatoes and onion together, then replace the shredding disk with the S-blade and process the vegetables to a fine consistency. Either squeeze the vegetables in a kitchen towel over a bowl or place the mixture in a rigid strainer set over a bowl and press out as much liquid as possible. Place the vegetables in a large bowl. Add the matzoh meal or breadcrumbs or use the solid potato starch that remains at the bottom of the bowl containing the squeezed liquid. Stir in the eggs, salt, pepper and baking powder. Heat about 1/4” vegetable oil in a cast iron or other heavy heat retaining skillet over medium-high heat. Drop some of the potato mixture into the pan, using equal amounts to make each pancake. Fry for 2-3 minutes per side or until the pancakes are golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels.

Makes about 12

Reheat: preheated 450 degree oven on a baking sheet (single layer)

An InLinkz Link-up

Potato Latkes

What do you do when you have finished preparing potato latkes for a Hanukkah party and you’re sitting in your family room watching TV and your husband comes in with a handful of the latkes you just made and says “I’m taking a down payment on our Hanukkah party on Saturday night.”

And you’ve cleaned up the kitchen and everything and you thought you were done with latkes and the entire house smells from fried so you had to make a kitchen bouquet (1/4 cloves, 3 broken cinnamon sticks, tablespoon or so cardamom pods, orange peel, water) so that anyone who comes to the house even the next day (like the UPS delivery man or the guy who is coming to repair the oven) isn’t blasted with stale fried smell?

Why, you get up the next day and make more latkes. Otherwise there won’t be enough. Because I know what happens when people see potato latkes. You can’t eat just one.

And so I did.

These:

Potato Latkes

• 4 large peeled baking potatoes

• 1 large onion

• 2 large eggs

• 3 tablespoons potato starch

• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste

• freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• vegetable oil for frying

Shred the potatoes and onion in a food processor. Squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible (I put portions of the shreds in a kitchen towel and squeeze until they are practically dry). Place the shreds in a bowl. Immediately mix the eggs in (this helps keep the potatoes from browning). Add the potato starch, salt, pepper and baking powder. Heat about 1/4” vegetable oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Shape latkes by hand, squeezing liquid out if there is any, and place them in the hot oil, leaving space between each one so that they brown well and become crispy (if they are too close they will “steam” and become soggy). Press down on the latkes to keep them evenly shaped. Fry for 2-3 minutes per side or until the pancakes are golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels. Makes 12-15

Potato Latke Kugels with Mushrooms and Peas

If you like your potato latkes crispy and crunchy and golden brown but you hate the smell and mess of frying in your house (and also want to avoid some of the holiday season fat), I’ve got a solution: 

Potato Latke Kugels

It’s the same stuff as regular potato latkes. Really: mostly potato shreds, onions, eggs and salt.

But instead of frying individual latkes, you stuff the mixture into muffin tins and bake them at a high temperature. Every surface crunches as you bite. And there’s a little bit of a soft interior.

There’s a bonus too. Unlike fried latkes, which get soft and soggy as they cool, these don’t.

You can make a basic version of these. I’ve added peas and mushrooms, just so I can say there’s some veggies in there.

Btw, if all you want is super crunch, and no soft middle at all, bake the potato mixture in a jelly roll pan (see instructions).

Potato Latke Kugels with Mushrooms and Peas 

1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted chicken or goose fat

2 cups sliced mushrooms

3 large russet potatoes

1 medium onion

2 large eggs

1/4 cup matzo meal, breadcrumbs or potato starch

1 cup thawed frozen peas

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Using some of the vegetable oil, lightly grease 12 muffin tins. Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5-6 minutes or until crispy and no liquid remains in the pan. Set aside. Peel the potatoes and shred them by hand or with the fine shredding blade in a food processor. Place in a bowl. Grate the onion into the potato shreds. Stir in the eggs, matzo meal and remaining oil and incorporate them completely. Add the mushrooms and peas and mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place mounds of the potato mixture into the muffin tins. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until browned and crispy. (Can make this in a 9”x13” pan or in a jelly roll pan; bake until golden) Makes 12

Potato Latkes with Lemongrass Yogurt Sauce

Latkes!

Now there’s a good word. 

The word we generally hear around this time of year because Hanukkah (or Chanuka if you prefer) is coming (sundown on December 8th). And on Hanukkah we eat:

Latkes!

Ohmyohmyohmy. They’re another of those really really wonderful things to eat. Crispy. Crunchy. Hot. Fried. 

It really doesn’t get much better. Even if latkes are among those foods that help pack on the 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years.

Try to limit yourself if you can. :) These are quite luscious.

I have made potato latkes more times than I can even imagine. It’s tough to be the one at the stove, sampling and all. If you get my meaning.

I have lots of potato latke recipes. The first step is which kind of potatoes to buy: baking (Russet, Idaho). They’re the driest, so your latkes won’t be as soggy as they might with other varieties.

Second: how to grate the potatoes. I’ve hand grated them; used the food processor shredder; first shredded then chopped the potatoes with the S-blade. They’re all good methods, but my kids like the shredded version the best. 

We also like latkes with sour cream. REAL sour cream, not the fake non-fat stuff. But actually, Chobani 0% plain yogurt is absolutely wonderful too. Nice and tangy and thick.

Okay, a few of us prefer applesauce. But not from my side of the family.

I’m adding a recipe for Lemongrass-Yogurt Sauce too, because there’s always someone (usually me) who wants to try something new. This one’s a goody.

Potato Latkes

4 large peeled baking potatoes

1 large onion

3 tablespoons matzo meal, breadcrumbs or potato starch

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

vegetable oil for frying

Grate the potatoes and onion into a bowl or, if using a food processor, shred the potatoes and onion together. If you prefer latkes softer, after shredding, place the shreds back into the food processor and use the S-blade. Process the potatoes and onions to a fine consistency. Either squeeze the vegetables in a kitchen towel over a bowl or place the mixture in a rigid strainer set over a bowl and press the vegetables. In either case, wring or squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Place the vegetables in a large bowl. Add the matzo meal or breadcrumbs or use the solid potato starch that remains at the bottom of the bowl containing the squeezed liquid. Stir in the eggs, salt, pepper and baking powder. Heat about 1/4” vegetable oil in a cast iron or other heavy heat retaining skillet over moderately high heat. Drop some of the potato mixture into the pan, using equal amounts to make each pancake. Fry for 2-3 minutes per side or until the pancakes are golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels. Serve with dairy sour cream, nonfat plain yogurt, applesauce or Lemongrass-Yogurt Sauce (below) Makes 12-16

Lemongrass-Yogurt Sauce

1 cup plain Greek-style yogurt

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1 scallion, finely chopped

2 teaspoons finely chopped lemongrass

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped chili pepper

1-1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh lime peel

2 tablespoons lime juice

salt

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly to distribute them evenly. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving. Makes about one cup

Latkes are Like the Pied Piper

One year I made 200 potato latkes for my brother and sister-in-law’s annual Hanukkah party. I think the smell of fried food lingered in my hair and nose for the rest of the 8-day holiday. The latkes were absolutely great. Crispy and delicious and the crowd polished them off in less than a half hour.

I don’t know whether i felt thrilled or upset. I mean, everyone loved the latkes and I was happy about that. But 200 latkes was an awful lot of work and then they were gone gone gone so quickly.

The year after that I made challah for their party (and that’s what I will do this year). But Hanukkah and latkes, well, that’s an old story. So the year I began the Hanukkah challah for Eileen and Jeff, I cooked almost 200 potato latkes with the children at the Chabad in Westport, Connecticut.

Each kid had a choice to mix some vegetable or crumbled cheese into the standard potato latke mixture and drop the batter into the pan. After I fried the pancakes to a crisp, each of them collected his or her personal latke, seemed thrilled by their handicraft and gobbled it up.

There were extras of course. Parents came, drawn in as if mesmerized by the Pied Piper, but this time they were following the perfume of latkes rather than the sound of a pipe. 

The choices of mix-ins that I gave the children included olives, corn, sun-dried tomatoes and chopped feta cheese.

But if you want to add a little something to the standard recipe, you can include a whole lot of other things too: chopped scallions, sauteed mushrooms, chopped celery, peas, diced beets, goat cheese, chopped herbs such as rosemary, grated Parmesan cheese. Latkes are like a never ending universe.

So here, once again, is my recipe for Classic Potato Latkes, with some suggestions for ingredients to put into the batter.

Potato Latkes

4 large Russet-type baking potatoes, peeled

1 large yellow onion

3 tablespoons matzo meal, bread crumbs or potato starch

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

vegetable oil for frying

Shred the potatoes and onion using the shredding disk of a food processor. Remove the vegetables to a bowl. Replace the shredding disk with the S-blade and put the vegetables back into the workbowl. Pulse until the potato shreds are much smaller and look “grated.” Using a handful or two at a time, place the mixture into a kitchen towel and squeeze as much liquid out as possible, then place the mixture in a bowl. Repeat with the remaining potato-onion mixture. Add the matzo meal and toss the ingredients. Add the eggs, salt, pepper and baking powder and mix to distribute the ingredients thoroughly. Heat about 1/4-inch vegetable oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough to make a matzo meal crumb sizzle, add some of the potato mixture to the pan, forming small pancakes, anywhere from 1-1/2-inch size to 3-inch size. Be sure to leave ample space between each latke so that they fry properly — if they are too close they will “steam” slightly and the latkes will be soggy. Be sure the vegetable oil remains hot — if the temperature gets too low the latkes may become soggy. Fry the latkes for 2-3 minutes per side or until crispy and browned. Drain on paper towels. Makes 24 small or 12 large pancakes

Variations: add 1/2 cup corn kernels or frozen peas, chopped olives or crumbled feta cheese, one cup shredded mozzarella or Fontina cheese, one chopped jalapeno pepper or 1/3 cup finely chopped sun dried tomatoes, 1 cup sauteed sliced mushrooms or diced cooked beets, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary.

Potato Latkes Kinder on Knuckles and Nails

One year I made 100 potato latkes for my brother and sister-in-law’s annual Hanukkah party. That wasn’t enough according to everyone.

I have to ask here — are there ever enough potato latkes?

So I made 100 more.

Okay, I admit they were small, mini-latkes, about 1-1/2” size. Still, I did make 200 of them.

My hands were red and raw. Forget the manicure! I shouldn’t have bothered with one. And the thing is, these latkes went so fast that they were devoured in less time than it had taken me to even peel all the potatoes.

The year after that I suggested that they buy the latkes and I would bring a giant homemade challah. That’s been the deal since 2008.

Since then I still make potato latkes for my kids and grandkids (maybe a double recipe) and I have figured out a way to prepare the potatoes in a food processor and have them come out like the old fashioned hand grated kind.

In a food processor you really can’t “grate” the potatoes. You can either shred or chop them. Neither is exactly right for old fashioned potato latkes. So, I shred the potatoes first, then put them back inside the workbowl and use the S-blade to chop them finer (but chopping AFTER shredding results in a more grater-like chop). The result is almost grated potatoes.

It is MUCH kinder on hands, knuckles and nails and MUCH quicker too. Here’s the recipe:

Potato Latkes

4 large Russet-type baking potatoes, peeled

1 large yellow onion

3 tablespoons matzo meal, bread crumbs or potato starch

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

vegetable oil for frying

Shred the potatoes and onion using the shredding disk of a food processor. Remove the vegetables to a bowl. Replace the shredding disk with the S-blade and put the vegetables back into the workbowl. Pulse until the potato shreds are much smaller and look “grated.” Using a handful or two at a time, place the mixture into a kitchen towel and squeeze as much liquid out as possible, then place the mixture in a bowl. Repeat with the remaining potato-onion mixture. Add the matzo meal and toss the ingredients. Add the eggs, salt, pepper and baking powder and mix to distribute the ingredients thoroughly. Heat about 1/4-inch vegetable oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough to make a matzo meal crumb sizzle, add some of the potato mixture to the pan, forming small pancakes, anywhere from 1-1/2-inch size to 3-inch size. Be sure to leave ample space between each latke so that they fry properly — if they are too close they will “steam” slightly and the latkes will be soggy. Be sure the vegetable oil remains hot — if the temperature gets too low the latkes may become soggy. Fry the latkes for 2-3 minutes per side or until crispy and browned. Drain on paper towels. Makes 24 small or 12 large pancakes