A Latke Lesson for Hanukkah

A question provokes a deep dive into the making of this holiday staple

Dec 16, 2022

My friend Alia reached out earlier this week asking for tips on how to make great potato latkes for Hanukkah. I figured if she had questions, others might too. I won’t say I’m a world expert on latke making, but, as I’ve probably made more than 1,000 of them in the past decade for parties, to give away, or just for noshing, I do have some experience in turning this fairly simple mixture of grated potato, onion, egg and flour into the centerpiece of the Hanukkah dinner table. And we can’t forget that other essential latke ingredient: oil—and plenty of it—to transform this humble mixture into a crispy holiday star!

Of course there is a reason for all that oil that ties in to the meaning of this eight-day holiday, which this year begins at sundown on Sunday, Dec. 18. You can read more about it here and here. Meanwhile, below is my take on latkes and how to make them. Alia has promised to let me know how hers turn out!

Speaking of oil

Though the original oil behind the miracle of Hanukkah 2,000 years ago was almost certainly olive oil, Eastern European Jews likely used goose fat to fry their latkes, says Joan Nathan. Her recipe (from The Jewish Holiday Kitchen) has been my guide for as many years as I’ve been producing potato pancakes.

Nathan suggests that potato latkes probably originated in Ukraine, in the 17th century, adapted from a local specialty called kartoflani platske, which means potato pancake.

I make my latkes in vegetable oil—usually grape seed, sunflower or canola. These are all oils that stand up to high heat, unlike extra virgin olive oil, which has a low smoke point.

Batter up!

Like so many traditional recipes, there are numerous debates surrounding the best way to make latkes. Some people insist on hand-grating them, even now when we have access to processors. If you’re feeding large numbers, peeling and hand-grating dozens of potatoes provides quite an arm workout and the distinct possibility of injured knuckles, not to mention smarting eyes from the onion. (Talk about blood, sweat and tears!) But I think an old-fashioned box grater works just fine for small quantities.

I like my potatoes coarse-grated, not fine, and I usually use russets, which I wash and peel first. Some folks leave the peel on—and Nathan says you can if the skins aren’t too coarse and you scrub the potatoes well—but I don’t like the aesthetic results and am always afraid that some dirt will sneak in. I leave the potatoes soaking in water, chopping them into chunks one by one, then running the pieces through the processor, alternating with onions, which Nathan claims—and I can verify—help keep the potatoes from turning color.

**Grated potato and onion mix in cheesecloth ready for the big squeeze!**

One, two, three, squeeze!

Perhaps the most important pre-frying step is wringing out as much liquid as possible from the potatoes and onions before adding the other ingredients. You can put the mixture into a colander and press hard with a spoon or potato masher. But, with large quantities, I never feel this does an adequate job. I used to employ a clean kitchen towel for this purpose, but in recent years, I’ve discovered the wonders of cheesecloth, which is strong yet porous.

Liquid from the potato-onion batter, squeezed through cheese cloth. After pouring off the liquid, I mix the potato starch at the bottom into the batter. It’s a great binder and perfect if you’re trying to make gluten-free latkes!

I double the cloth, spread it flat, spoon the potato-onion mixture into the middle, pull the sides up to form a ball, then twist hard with my right hand clockwise, while grabbing the ball with my left and squeezing in the opposite direction (if you’re a leftie, the twisting motion is probably reversed. I let the liquid run into a bowl. You’d be surprised how much comes out!

Mostly leftover potato starch after the liquid has been poured off.

Author Joan Nathan says that the following recipe, which I’ve adapted from The Jewish Holiday Kitchen, serves 8 to 10 people. I often double it for a crowd and give away the leftovers. My mother-in-law, Judy Graham, told me that she and partner Mike once discovered a year-old bag of my latkes in the back of their freezer and reheated them in a little oil. She pronounced them “delicious.” I wouldn’t recommend keeping them so long—but what do I know?

Potato Latkes

(Adapted from a recipe in Jewish Holiday Kitchen)

10 medium potatoes (4 to 5 pounds)

2 medium onions

2 large or 3 medium eggs

1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, breadcrumbs, matzo meal or potato starch1

Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil (high smoke-point varieties like grape seed, sunflower and canola)

Wash and peel the potatoes if the skin is coarse. (I always do this, but if you use smooth-skinned potatoes, you can just clean them well.) Keep the potatoes in cold water until you’re ready to make the latkes.
If you’re using a hand grater, start with the onions, alternately grating some of the onions on the large holes and some of the potatoes on the smaller holes. If you’re using a processor, as I do, insert the grating wheel, and process alternate chunks of potato and onion through the feeding tube.
Spoon the mixture onto a clean hand towel or a large square of doubled cheesecloth. Form into a ball and squeeze out as much liquid as possible into a small bowl. Reserve the starchy sediment at he bottom of the bowl to return to the batter.
In a large bowl, stir in the eggs, reserved potato starch, flour (or other choices), salt and pepper into the potato-onion mixture.
Heat about 1 inch of oil in a frying pan with sides that are at least 2 inches high. Then add about a tablespoon of mixture for each latke into the skillet and fry, lifting the latkes a little to check for doneness before flipping. Latkes should be golden and crisp on each side.
Drain on paper towels. Serve with sour cream, yogurt, or applesauce (or even smoked salmon and crème fraîche!)

More notes:

For those who are gluten-free, you can easily substitute gluten-free flour, use the residual potato starch from pressing out the liquid from the grated potatoes as a binder, and/or add more potato starch. I prefer to use as little flour as possible, making the latkes less dense and more “potato-ey.”
Another important step is to make sure the oil is hot enough—but not too hot (no kitchen fires, please!)—when frying latkes. I use a large (12-inch) cast-iron pan and about an inch of oil. Sometimes I have a second 10-inch skillet going as well! To test if the oil is sufficiently heated, I throw in a teaspoon of batter to see if it sizzles before adding more pancakes. The first pancakes cook rather slowly before browning enough to be flipped. Once the process gets going, I’m racing to add more batter as I remove pancakes to a platter covered with paper towels. I keep adding oil as I go.
As for amounts, it really depends on how large you make the pancakes, the size of the potatoes, etc. I make about four to five latkes per medium (6- to 8-ounce) potato. One recent batch yielded 41 from eight potatoes. But my notes in the Nathan book say I made 45 latkes from five pounds on another occasion. I usually just fill a large bowl with batter and start spooning it into the skillet.
Freezing: I learned from Nathan that you really can make latkes ahead of time and freeze them. Just flash freeze them on a cookie sheet or layered on parchment in a smaller pan, remove to a plastic bag and store in the freezer. When ready to serve, place on a cookie sheet in a 450 degree oven for several minutes.
The fumes of frying latkes can be overwhelming, permeating clothes and hair and migrating to every room in the house. It can also set off smoke alarms, even without an actual fire! One suggestion: close all the doors to adjoining rooms and, even if it’s cold, open a few windows and doors to help ventilation. If all else fails, the smell that lingers is quite pleasant, at least a day or two later. Just call it Eau de Latke!

Variations

There are many possible latke variations, including ones that use apples, zucchini or carrots, Nathan points out. This cookbook was written in 1988, long before we could expand our repertoire via a Google search (I just found 97,800 entries under latke variations!).

One intriguing option: Tori Avey’s cheese latkes with ricotta. Cheese dishes are traditional for Hanukkah also, Avey points out, so a creamy noodle kugel and rugelach made with a cream cheese-enriched dough are popular fare on this holiday along with latkes. (You can find my recipe for rugelach here. Stay tuned for a future kugel post.)

As for vegan latkes, I had mixed success with subbing flax eggs for regular ones. The batter simply didn’t hold together, though once it was fried, even having disintegrated, the latkes pieces tasted quite delicious. I’ll be giving vegan latkes another try soon!

For me, one constant accompaniment to latkes is applesauce—and, though I always have a few jars of a commercial variety on hand just in case, I also like to make my own. I find it distinctly superior to store-bought. It’s quite easy to make. Here’s Joan Nathan’s recipe for that:

As I don’t own a food mill, I core and peel the apples before cooking and use a potato masher to create a somewhat chunky sauce. My son told me he once made a delicious applesauce without removing the peels and using an immersion blender to puree the mixture. I sometimes throw in a few cranberries for color and taste and a tablespoon or two of King Arthur’s Boiled Cider. Maple syrup is also an excellent addition.

There’s quite often a debate between those who prefer applesauce with their latkes and those who like sour cream. Which team are you on? I like them both, though usually not mixed.

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