By Guest Blogger, Rebecca Raznick Plaisance, Macaroni Kid South Charlotte
Each December my children count down for Hanukkah. They make lists; they practice spinning the dreidel and make piles of gelt (chocolate coins) to get ready for the first night of Hanukkah. Hanukkah is the holiday that celebrates the miracle of lights. You can learn more about Hanukkah here.
Like many Jewish holidays, the foods we serve hold great significance and correlation to the holiday we are celebrating.
The oil that lasted for 8 days now gives me 8 days to eat the fried foods I would otherwise avoid. Food cooked in oil helps us to recall the great miracle that happened so many years ago. Latkes are the star of the dinner table.
Every family has their own traditions and special secret recipe for latkes. In my family, my husband makes the latkes. He makes them from scratch with a combination of shredded and processed potatoes. We make enough to last the week and reheat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some of us eat latkes with applesauce, others with sour cream, I eat mine with both.
Here is our latke recipe
8 baking potatoes
6 eggs
4 tbs matzoh meal (or corn meal but matzoh meal is best)
1 onion
salt and pepper to taste
makes 16 servings
• Peel the potatoes and shred 5 of them into shoestring like strips
• Put 3 into the food processor and puree them (they should look like mashed potatoes)
• Combine both types of potatoes into a bowl and add the following: 6 eggs beaten, 4 tbs matzoh meal and 1 onion diced
• Combine all of the ingredients (using your hands works best) and form into patties the size of dollar pancakes.
• Fry the patties in hot olive oil until crisp and brown on both sides
• Serve with applesauce and sour cream
Latke tips: some people like them very crisp others softer, experiment and see which your family likes the best, make a large batch and layer them with paper towels and refrigerate. To reheat latkes just put them in a hot pan and crisp them up. No need to add additional oil, the oil from the first cooking will reheat these.
No they are not low fat, yes you can bake them but the true traditional latkes are greasy and yummy. Splurge and enjoy!
