Jessie and Lennie Ware’s Latkes
Traditionally served during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, latkes are a kind of shallow-fried potato pancake. This recipe from Jessie and Lennie Ware is especially moreish.
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Introduction
Latkes are basically Jewish hash browns. Traditionally served around Hanukkah (our Festival of Lights), these shallow-fried potato pancakes can be dressed up or served simply as a perfect comfort food. At Russ & Daughters, probably my favourite New York Jewish deli, they serve them with sour cream and apple sauce. That’s the usual way. However, we’ve also had them with smoked salmon and caviar. They are definitely not slimming, but the deliciousness is absolutely worth it. To get them really tasty, do them last minute and get ready to stink the house out, as well as drowning out any chance of kitchen conversation.
Ingredients
| 6 | medium–large potatoes, about 1.5kg (Maris Piper work well), peeled |
| 1 | white onion, grated |
| 2 | medium eggs, beaten |
| About 150ml | rapeseed or sunflower oil, for frying |
| salt and pepper |
Method
Coarsely grate the potatoes, using a box grater or the grating attachment on a food processor, then place in a sieve or a clean tea towel/piece of muslin and squeeze or wring out as much moisture as possible.
Tip the potato into a large mixing bowl and add the grated onion and eggs. Using your hands, mix everything together and season with plenty of pepper and at least 1 teaspoon of salt.
Heat 3–4 tablespoons of oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over a medium–high heat. Take heaped tablespoonfuls of the mixture (about 60g each) and add to the hot oil, cooking 4 latkes at a time. Turn the heat down to medium, gently press the latkes down with a spatula and fry for 4–5 minutes on each side until golden. Drain on kitchen paper while you cook the rest of the latkes, adding more oil for each batch. You can keep the latkes warm in a low oven while you finish cooking.
Serve immediately.
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