Potato Latkes - a holiday treat
A Jewish Eastern European speciality, latkes (a type of potato pancake) is eaten during the December Hanuka holidays. I’m off by two weeks this year, but you don’t need much of an excuse to whip these up. They are delicious eaten on their own with a little sour cream and apple sauce (in Eastern Europe there is a tendency to mix the sweet and salty - in Poland they sprinkle sugar on top!) and really terrific as a side to a rib roast.
Peel and grate coarsely four large Russet potatoes (King Edward or Desiree will do fine too). Put in a mixing bowl with two eggs and 1/3 cup matzoh meal (you can usually find it in the kosher section of the supermarket, otherwise substitute with a mixture of half plain flour and half fine breadcrumbs). Season with some sea salt (about 1 tsp).
Heat up a good glug of rapeseed oil in a pan to medium-high. Using an ice cream scoop (or large spoon) drop the mixture into the pan (don’t crowd them too much). You may need to add some more oil if the pan gets too dry and for the new batches. Continue cooking till they crisp up nicely to a golden brown and then flip over to crisp the other side. It will probably take around 8-10 minutes. Once they achieve an all-over tan then transfer to a baking tray.
When you have finished all the mixture (I tend to use two pans to speed up the process) pop the baking tray in a low to medium oven (150c) to to ensure the latkes are cooked through and to keep them crisp till you are ready to serve. They can keep like this an hour or two if need be.
Serves 6 as a side dish.
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