Hanukkah Latkes

Hanukkah is upon those who celebrate it. For those who don't, but are curious as to what it is, I've consulted my good friends, Wikipedia and Religion Facts.

According to Religion Facts, Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, "commemorates a post-biblical event: the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian-Greek rulers of Jerusalem and the subsequent rededication of the Temple in 164 BCE. It also celebrates a miracle that accompanied this event: When the temple was rededicated, God miraculously made the one day's worth of oil burn brightly for eight days."


Photo Credit

I've heard wonderful things about Latkes, but I admit that I haven't tried them - yet. With that in mind, there are two recipes that I will be making.



Photo Credit

The first one comes from Kay Goldstein:

Gluten-Free Potato Latkes
3 large russet potatoes
1 small onion, minced
3 large eggs
1/4 cup gluten-free All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons minced parsley
Vegetable oil for frying (safflower or canola)

Peel potatoes, cut into thirds crosswise and submerge them in a bowl of cold water to prevent discoloring. Peel onion and mince by hand or in a food processor. Coarsely grate potatoes using a food processor grating attachment or grate by hand. Transfer potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Mix together flour and baking soda, salt and pepper and add to potatoes. Beat eggs in separate bowl, add to potato mixture and stir to blend well. Line two cookie sheets with a double thickness of paper towels or a layer of brown paper. I like to cut up and use a paper grocery bag. Turn on oven to its lowest setting -- 150 or 200 degrees.
Pour enough vegetable oil into a skillet to cover bottom to a depth of about 1/4 in. or less and heat to medium high. Drop about 2 tablespoons potato mixture into hot oil. Press gently to flatten and fry for several minutes or until underside is golden. Flip and brown the other side. Drain pancakes on cookie sheets while frying the next batch and place in oven, door ajar to keep latkes warm until ready to eat. If you are using a warming drawer, open the vents to keep the pancakes crispy. When ready to serve, blot with paper towels and transfer to a warm platter. Serve with applesauce and/or sour cream. Makes 18-24 latkes.

Kay Goldstein, MA, is a writer, cook, and meditation teacher. You can read more of her stories and essays in the Huffington Post archives and at www.lessonsforthecook.com

The second recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, one of my most favorite blogs. Her photos are so divine that it makes me want to nibble my computer monitor...

Apple Latkes

Makes 12, 2 to 3-inch latkes

1 pound tart, firm apples such as Granny Smiths (2 large or 3 medium)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
Butter (I used about 2 tablespoons)
Rich plain yogurt, sour cream or crème fraîche for serving

Preheat oven to 200 degrees and place a baking sheet inside. Peel and core apples and then grate them, either on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor, on the shredding blade. (If you use the food processor, lay the apple chunks the long way if you want longer strands.) Transfer to a clean dishtowel or cheesecloth sling and wring out as much juice as you can into a small bowl. Set it aside if you wish to make a dessert sauce with it later.

Transfer grated apple to a medium bowl and toss with lemon juice. In a small dish, whisk flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder and toss with the apples, coating them evenly. Whisk eggs in this small dish until lightly beaten and stir into apple-lemon-flour mixture.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet to medium with one tablespoon butter. Once it has coated the pan, drop tablespoons full of apple batter in little piles, gently pressing them a bit flatter with a spatula. Fry until they are nicely brown underneath, about 3 to 5 minutes, then flip and continue to cook until they are browned and crisp. Drain briefly on paper towels and transfer to preheated oven to keep warm. Add a pat of the remaining butter for each new batch in the pan, and repeat with remaining batter.

You can keep apple latkes in the oven for up to an hour while you tend to more important things, like what you can do with that leftover apple juice, if the thought of it going to waste upsets you.

Makeshift Apple Caramel Sauce

Look, this isn’t the most apple-y apple caramel and it’s not the most refined recipe. I just kinda threw these things together, it made a caramel and I had the satisfaction of not having to throw away my freshly-wrung apple juice. Do apple latkes need caramel sauce? Nope, but don’t let that stop you.

Apple juice wrung from shredded apple (above) (I had 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
Pinch of flaky sea salt

In a small saucepan, simmer the apple juice until it is reduced by half. Add the sugar and continue to cook it until it becomes a golden brown/amber color. Add the butter and once it melts, the heavy cream and salt. Simmer for one minute and serve, with or without apple latkes.

If you have recipes for latkes that you can't live without, please share. We'd love to try them.