grandma lee’s potato latkes

Every family has their own twist on potato latkes. It all depends upon what region your ancestors came from. Some are thick, some are thin (the latkes, not the ancestors), all are good. Grandma Lee's latkes were thin and lacy, crispy on the outside, especially at the edges, and tender on the inside.

Some people like to serve potato latkes with sour cream. In my opinion, sour cream is for blintzes. Latkes come with applesauce. But I give you permission to go either way.

A Christian neighbor who wanted to celebrate Jewish holidays once asked me for my latkes recipe and I happily shared it with her. A few days later she came over and thanked me profusely. She said she served them with ketchup and they were wonderful. I smiled. I didn’t let her see that I was cringing. If you serve them with ketchup I will hunt you down… (just kidding!)

One year, my Uncle Manny (my mother’s brother) and Aunt Edna were in town during Chanukah. I invited them to dinner and made latkes. I stood at the stove, frying the latkes. Uncle Manny kept eating. I kept frying. And Uncle Manny kept eating. At one point he looked up and said, “They’re just like my mother’s!” I said, “Of course they’re just like your mother’s. Who do you think taught me to make them!?” I cut him off after I’d gone through 5 pounds of potatoes.

You may notice that this recipe is different from others you'll find on the internet, in that it doesn't tell you to squeeze out the excess liquid from the potatoes. Grandma never did that. The batter is somewhat loose and when a scoop of batter hits the hot oil it will spatter, forming a lacy pattern on the edges of the latke.  

Grandma grated her potatoes on the medium/small holes of a box grater. You'll get the same consistency with the kugel blade that comes with the Braun food processor. If you have another brand of processor (I bought a Braun just for this accessory), you can approximate the same effect with this method: First, grate your potatoes using the grating disc. If you have more than one grating disc, use the one with the smaller holes. Then, dump out the shreds of potato, replace the disc with the "S" blade, and return the shreds to the work bowl. Pulse until the strands are chopped small. Be careful not to purée your potatoes.

Grandma never measured. One year, my cousin and I stood at her elbow, measuring things as she went along, so that we could record the recipe. These are the proportions we came up with.

Ingredients:

Can be doubled, quadrupled, or multiplied by any number you like. One recipe serves 3-4 people. Or two hungry Jews at Chanukah. Or one Uncle Manny.

• 2 cups grated potatoes

• a small onion

• 1 egg

• 1 tablespoon flour

• ½ teaspoon baking powder (she didn’t use it in the early years, but added it in later on)

• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

• ¼—½ teaspoon black pepper

• neutral oil, such as avocado or sunflower, for frying (you’ll need plenty)

Method:

• In a bowl big enough to contain everything, beat the egg with a fork until the white and yellow are well combined.

• Using the “S” blade of a food processor, chop the onion. You want it to be very finely chopped, but be sure to stop before it becomes puréed. Turn the chopped onion out into the bowl with the egg and stir to combine.

• Grate the potatoes using the method described above and immediately add it to the bowl with the egg and onion, mixing well. This will help to keep your potatoes from turning brown. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper.

• In a large skillet, heat a generous amount of oil. When the oil is hot (registers 350° on a candy thermometer, or small bubbles collect around a submerged chopstick), drop in ¼ cup of the batter. It should be fairly thin, like in the picture. Make sure the oil is hot, or your latke may stick.

• When the edges are browned and the latke is becoming golden on the bottom, carefully turn it over with a thin spatula. Don’t try to move it before it’s golden, or it will stick. Then fry it on the other side until it’s golden brown. Remove it from the pan, let it cool a bit on paper towels, and taste it. If it tastes flat, add more salt to the batter.

• Keep frying latkes, removing them to drain on paper towels, until you’ve used up all the batter.

  Tips for success

• You will probably need to add more oil between batches. Too little oil, and they will, once again, stick.

• Do make sure the oil comes back to temperature each time.

• Stir the batter between batches because the liquid will settle out.

• Don’t let the batter sit around after you make it. Fry them up right away, or it will turn brown.

• The latkes can be made in advance and reheated in a 350° oven. Undercook them slightly and lay them out flat on a baking sheet, in one layer. They will retain enough oil to crisp back up and brown further while reheating. They should be sizzling when you take them out.

• The finished latkes can be frozen. Lay them out flat on a baking sheet, in one layer, and slide the pan into the freezer. Once they’re frozen you can remove them from the pan and store them in a freezer safe zip bag.

Did you make it? Was it fabulous?