3 Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Latkes
Latkes with sour cream and applesauce
Hanukkah is almost here, which means it's prime latke season. The crispy potato pancakes are pretty much synonymous with the Jewish holiday and are meaningful to the December celebration.
"Potato latkes are the quintessential holiday food," says chef and TV personality Andrew Zimmern. "Remember, the latke is a fried potato ‘pancake,' deeply and symbolically important. Hanukkah is when we celebrate a miracle, the lamp in the temple filled with only enough oil to last an evening, divinely lasting for eight nights. So anything fried in oil is a tangible, edible way to relate to the holiday itself."
Related: 49 Classic Hanukkah Recipes
One of the wonderful things about latkes is that there are many ways to make them. All potato, potato plus something like grated carrot or beets or sweet potatoes, extra crispy or a combo of crispy on the outside and tender in the middle—and then there are the toppings!
Related: The Easy Way to Turn Latkes Into a Party
"[Some] years, I make them flatter with more threads of potato so they are lacier and crisper," says Zimmern. "Some nights it’s just us, the family, with the sour cream and applesauce (or apple butter, even better) on the counter in the kitchen, eating until stuffed, the condiments still in their tubs. Then, later in the week, they are paired with brisket at the dining room table to sop up all the gravy, and, of course, bedazzled with luxury—crowned with caviar and smoked fish. It’s the progression of the season, the progression of the ways in which we enjoy them, and ultimately a celebration of the struggle, historically, of our people."
To celebrate the season and to help you make your latkes all they can be, we found some great (or should we say grate?) tips from our favorite Jewish food folks.
Related: 8 Classic Hanukkah Treats
The Top 3 Latkes Tips from Cooking Pros
Andrew Zimmern: Add Some Cooked Potatoes
Zimmern made his first latkes with his grandmother when he was four years old, so he's got some deep experience on his side. As he says above, he's made them many different ways, but one great way to get crispy and creamy latkes is to use a combination of shredded potatoes and leftover mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes that have been pushed through a potato ricer (that's the trick to the best mashed potatoes too, btw).
Zimmern is also looking out for your knuckles. In the video, he recommends stopping grating when you have that small nub of potato left. "This is a potato, it's not lobster," he says. "Throw it away."
Ina Garten: Consider Clarified Butter
Queen Ina has a video where she makes latkes for her and Jeffrey for breakfast. (Could those two be any cuter?!?) In this recipe, she skips the recipe and uses clarified butter instead. "It's really helpful. It doesn't burn at a high temperature," she says. The butter infuses the potato with rich flavor. Ina makes her own, but you can buy ghee (clarified butter) in many supermarkets these days, so as Ina says, "storebought is fine."
Her recipe also makes a small batch ("three for him; three for me"), which can be handy if you're having a small celebration. We're also filling away latkes with homemade applesauce for breakfast because how good does that sound?
Related: Ina Garten's Company Pot Roast
Melissa Clark: Skip the Peeling
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Over on The New York Times Cooking's Instagram, food columnist and cookbook author Melissa Clark gives you permission to take some shortcuts. She grates her potatoes and onions in the food processor and doesn't even peel the potatoes! She fries them in a generous amount of oil and presses down on the latkes as they're cooking to give you those crispy, golden brown shards around the edges.
Up next: My Neighbor's Happy Hanukkah Cupcakes Are a Sweet Holiday Memory
