Traditional Chanukah Potato Latkes
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Traditional Chanukah Potato Latkes I recently realized that while I've shared my recipes for corn latkes, butternut sguash sweet gotato latkes, vegetabl e latkes and beet latkes stuffed with goat cheese, I've never shared my traditional potato recipe. ! You'll need onion, oil, salt, potatoes, eggs, flour and oil. While the recipe works with any type of potato, using Yukon Gold will be much more aesthetically pleasing because they discolor much more slowly than other potatoes and will keep your mixture looking bright and fresh for longer. They also have a buttery taste which will take your latkes to the next level ! Most latke recipes call for raw onion, but I like to fry them off first to give the latkes more flavor. Dice the onion and saute it in 2 tbsp. oil and 1 tsp. salt until golden. Peel and grate the potatoes (by hand or with a food processor) and immediately put the potato shreds into a bowl of cold water. Continue shredding until all the potatoes are grated. Place the eggs, flour, fried onion and 2 tsp. salt in a separate bowl. Drain the grated potato well, add it to the rest of the ingredients and mix immediately. Heat 2-4 tbsp. of oil in a frying pan, over medium heat. Test the oil by dropping a tiny bit of the mixture into the pan. When the oil sizzles upon contact, it is ready. TIP: Add a small piece of carrot to the oil you're fry ing in. When the carrot starts to looks shriveled and brown, replace it with a fresh piece. The carrot helps absorb the burnt taste from the oil, and you can keep frying for longer without changing the oil. ! For uniform latkes, use a 1/4 or 1/8 cup measuring cup. Scoop the batter and gently drop it into the oil. Press down gently with the back of the measuring cup to flatten. Fry 2-3 minutes until golden, then flip the latkes and fry 1-2 minutes on the second side. Repeat until all the mixture has been fried. (You will need to add more oil to the pan every couple of batches.) ! Latkes taste best fresh, but if you need to make them in advance, I recommend reheating them in a frying pan with a tiny bit of oil to help them crisp up again. ! Looking for a gluten free potato latke recipe? Try this one. Ingredients: • Yi an onion • 2 tbsp. oil • 3 tsp. kosher salt, divided • 1.5 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes • 2 eggs • % cup flour • Oil for frying Directions: 1. Dice the onion and saute it in 2 tbsp. oil and 1 tsp. salt until golden. 2. Grate the potatoes (by hand or in a food processor). Immediately transfer the grated potato to a bowl of cold water. 3. Place the eggs, flour, fried onion and 2 tsp. salt in a separate bowl. Drain the grated potato well, add it to the rest of the ingredients and mix immediately. 4. Heat 2-4 tbsp. of oil in a frying pan, over medium heat. Test the oil by dropping a tiny bit of the mixture into the pan. When the oil sizzles upon contact, it is ready. 5. For uniform latkes, use a 1/4 or 1/8 cup measuring cup. Scoop the batter and gently drop it into the oil. ! ! Press down gently with the back of the measuring cup to flatten. Fry 2-3 minutes until golden, then flip the latkes and fry 1-2 minutes on the second side. Repeat until all the mixture has been fried. (You will need to add more oil to the pan every couple of batches.) Yields: 16 latkes ! I know some people are staunch apple sauce and sour cream latke-eaters, but I've never really been able to wrap my mind (or taste-buds) around either of those. I prefer my latkes straight up. What's your latke condiment of choice? ! ! Bubby's Potato Kugel ! Serves 10-12 • % cup olive oil • 2 onions • 1O large potatoes, peeled • 7 eggs • 2 tsp. salt • 1 tsp. pepper Method Oven: Preheat the oven to 375°F I 190°C. Pour the oil into a 9x13-inch pan and place the pan in the oven to preheat. In a food processor, puree the onions. Change to the grating blade and grate the potatoes into the onions. Empty this into a large bowl, without draining off the liquid. Add the eggs, salt, and pepper to the bowl and mix well with the potatoes and onions. Remove the pan from the oven and slowly pour in the kugel batter. Be careful because the oil can splatter. Bake for 1% hours, loosely covering the kugel with foil if it starts to get too brown on top. Stovetop: Either use two large frying pans or only make half of the recipe at a time. The batter will not fit into one frying pan. Prepare the kugel batter as instructed in the oven method. Omit preheating the oil. Then heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high flame. Pour the batter into the frying pan, reduce the flame to medium, and cook it about % hour until it is nicely browned on the bottom. Turn the kugel over and cook it on the second side for another 20 minutes, or until it is done. NOTE: Potato kugels cut best after they have been refrigerated several hours or overnight. Kugel freezes well -just make sure to wrap it airtight. After defrosting, reheat the kugel again for another 20 minutes so it will taste fresh ! Homemade Gefilte Fish Some would say gefilte fish is the quintessential Jewish food. So, why not learn how to make it from scratch? This recipe is relatively simple, and kosher for Passover, of course. The recipe I'm sharing yields 60 gefilte fish balls, which sounds like a lot. Okay, it is a lot. But they freeze well, and the recipe also divides in half easily, so you can make a small batch. First you'll need to put up a stock of water, onion, carrot, salt and sugar. While that comes to a boil, mix the fish ball ingredients together. You'll need ground pike and whitefish, ground onion, eggs, water, sugar and salt. The batter w ill not be very firm, but it will still roll into balls. " Note: Many people do not wet their matzah on Passover. That is why there is no matzah meal in this recipe. If you are making this fish during the year, or if this is not your custom, you can add some matzah meal to the baAer to stiffen it up. Iwould esBmate about half a cup, adding slowly as you go. Bring the stock to a rolling boil. Keep it at a boil while you roll the balls drop them in gently, a few at a time. Tip: Wet your hands between every few fish balls to help with the rolling. When you've made all the fish balls and they 're all in the pot, turn it down to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour, then remove from the fire. Take the fish balls and carrots out of the stock and let them cool. Discard the stock. Refrigerate the fish and carrots for up to 3 days. Or freeze for later use. Gefilte fish is traditionally served cold, with a piece of carrot on top and some chrein (beet & horseradish dip) on the side. But there's no wrong way to eat it Fish Ingredients • 5 lbs. ground fish (mixture of pike and whitefish) • 2 medium onions, peeled and ground • 2 tbsp. kosher salt • 5 eggs • 3 tbsp. water • 1% cups sugar Stock Ingredients: • 16 cups water • 4 tsp. kosher salt • % cup sugar • 2 onions, peeled and cut into chunks • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks Directions 1. Put the stock ingredients into a strong pot and bring to a boil. 2. Mix the fish ingredients together. Roll into balls. 3. When the stock comes to a rolling boil, drop the balls into it gently. 4. When all the balls are in the pot, turn down to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour. 5. Remove the fish balls and the carrots from the liquid. Refrigerate, or freeze for later use. Discard the liquid . Fish lasts about 3 days in the fridge. Yield: 60 fish balls. Reci e can easily be divided in half for a smaller yield. Have you ever made gefilte fish before? Are you a fan? Tell us about your first gefilte fish experience . And if you have an exceptional gefilte fish recipe, share that with us too! Roast Turkey " Roast turkey is a popular dish when entertaining a large group for a special dinner. Roasting time is 25 minutes per pound for a stuffed turkey, or 20 minutes per pound for an unstuffed turkey. • 1 12-pound turkey • 3 cloves garlic, minced, or 1-1% teaspoons garlic powder • salt, to taste • % teaspoon pepper • 1 teaspoon paprika • % teaspoon cinnamon • oil, for brushing turkey • 2 cups water Glaze, optional • % cup orange marmalade • 4 tablespoons lemon juice • 1 tablespoon tamari sauce Garnish • orange slices • grapes or kumquats Combine seasonings and rub on inside and outside of turkey. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight for seasonings to penetrate. Tie turkey leg together and fasten wings to sides. Brush turkey with oil. Roast turkey, breast side up, uncovered in a preheated 325° oven for 1Yi hours. Combine ingredients for glaze and brush over turkey. Add 2 cups of water to pan (with part orange juice , if desired).