Happy Hannukah - Eat Some Latkes For Me
I feel like a horrible secular Jew and a horrible non-secular vegan. It’s the middle of Hannukah and I haven’t posted a latkes recipes yet. Well, better late than never. These are in Veganomicon and are the most irresistible fried potato concoction there is. Serve with apple sauce, if you’ve got VwaV the roasted applesauce in there is great with these. But any apple sauce will do, really.
Potato Latkes
Makes about 18
2 1/2 pounds starchy white potatoes, peeled (russets, idaho, et al)
1 small yellow onion, peeled
1/4 cup potato or corn starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups matzoh meal
Lots of vegetable oil
If using a food processor:
Use the grating blade to shredd the potatoes and the onion.
If shredding by hand, use a grater to shred all the potatoes. Dice the onion as finely as possible.
Have ready brown paper shopping bags or paper towels for draining the oil from the latkes. You may also want to have the oven on at 200 F to keep the latkes warm until you’re ready to serve. If serving immediately then just have a baking pan covered with tin foil ready to keep the finished ones warm after they’ve been drained.
In a large mixing bowl, using a wooden spoon or your hands (I use my hands, it’s faster) mix the potatoes and onions with the potato starch until the potatoes have released some moisture and the sornstarch is dissolved, about 2 minutes.
Add the salt and pepper to combine. Add the matzoh meal and mix well. Set aside for about 10 minutes. The mixture should get liquid-y but sticky.
In the meantime, preheat a large preferable cast iron but definitely non-stick skillet over medium heat, a little bit on the high side. Add about 1/4 inch layer of vegetable oil to the pan. The oil is hot enough when you throw a bit of batter in and bubbles rapidly form around it. If it immediately smokes then the heat is too high and you should lower it a bit. If the bubbles are really lazy then give it a few more minutes or turn the heat up a bit.
With wet hands (so that the mixture doesn’t stick) roll into small golf ball sized balls. Flatten into thin round patties. I do about 4 to six at a time. Fry on one side for about 4 minutes, until golden brown. Flip over and fry for another 3 minutes.
Transfer to the paper towels and proceed with the remaining latkes. Once latkes have drained on both sides, place in a baking pan to keep warm.
December 10th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
wow, yummy! I’ve never had these, but they look delicious. are they ENTIRELY crispy like a chip or are they soft in the middle? Are these like a hash brown?!?!?!?
December 10th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Soft in the middle, not unlike a hashbrown.
December 10th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
I made these from Vcon the other night, and they were excellent - just the right texture, etc. And they reheated quite well the following day. Next time, I will increase the amount of onion, but that’s just my personal taste.
December 10th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
I like latkes but don’t make them nearly enough. I love them topped with tons of green onions. Vegan ones are superior. :p
December 10th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
that tofu666 guy really should update his blog more often…
December 10th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
these are so awesome. i made them the other night and lit a makeshift chanukkiah made of tea lights with one on top of a cup turned upside down.
December 10th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
No vegans at my Hanukkah party this year, but I am definitely looking forward to experimenting with these in the future! Any other options for binding such as tofu, avocado, etc?
December 11th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Made these from Veganomicon for my Jewish boyfriend the other night (if I didn’t observe Hannukah nothing would have happened in our house.) Pronounced “really awesome” and better than his mom’s and - better than the from-a-packet ones!!! Latkes have now moved well up his list of ways he likes to eat fried potatoes.
December 11th, 2007 at 10:37 am
Hi Isa, what’s matzoh meal? Forgive my ignorance…Hannukah is unheard of in Singapore…and if I don’t have matzoh meal can I somehow make it myself?
December 11th, 2007 at 10:39 am
Rebecca…I have never tried tofu or avocado as a binder, and I think either would be a little bit gross. These are perfect, trust me!
melissa…matzoh is a flatbread. You can use cracker crumbs if you can’t find matzohs.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Thank you so much for (in VCON) legitimizing my family’s pronunciation of the word as “lat-key”. I can’t tell you how many looks I get from people when I say it this way after moving to California. I guess “lat-key” must a Midwestern Jew thing.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
re: other binders. I veganize my latkes using chickpea flour with excellent results.
December 11th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
I made the Autumn Latkes for a hannukah party a few days ago, and they were so good! And beautiful! I ate so many latkes that night that I felt like one big potato (root vegetable!), so I hesitate to make any more latkes this go around. But I want to make these!!!
December 11th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
Thanks Isa! What crackers would you recommend? I’m thinking plain saltines.
December 12th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Do you think panko would be absorbent enough to sub for the meal?
December 12th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
thanks for posting the recipe. every year, i look forward to the night when i make latkes, thereby endangering my household because i cannot fry anything without setting off the smoke alarm.
next year, we’re goin’ baked, baybay. i don’t know how, but i have to figure it out.
December 12th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
ahh, Isa, those latkes look PERFECT - and the roasted-applesauce from VwaV sounds like a much better accompaniment than “regular” applesauce. thanks for the serving idea!
oh and even though last night was, well, the last night of Hanukkah, I still want to wish you a Happy Hanukkah, and a wonderful holiday season!! :0)
December 12th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
melissa..saltines sound like a good bet.
mel…I make daikon latkes and use panko in those so I think panko is a great choice.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Are you anti-food miscegenation in your kitchen?
December 13th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Because the corn muffins were so good the last time, I made them again using whole wheat flour. But I substituted about 2 tbsp of oil with extra applesauce.
My corn muffins turned out too dry…I didn’t bake them too long…I have no idea what went wrong.
Thanks anyway, the recipe makes good muffins I’m sure!
December 14th, 2007 at 4:27 am
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December 19th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
I made these for my Hanukkah party!!! Actually I made mine with cilantro in it. Herbs make latkes sooo much better. Everything I made was vegan actually (and it was almost everything there) I also made the roasted applesauce, the autumn latkes, the sour cilantro cream, chile cornmeal crusted tofu, green pumpkin seed mole sauce, veg chili, and i think that’s it, but i really can’t remember. O wait the jicama salad. Sorry I don’t have pix!! No one else there was even vegetarian, but they all ate everything. Our family friends son who’s 13 said to me before he left, “That chili was really good, even if it didn’t have meat in it”