Potato Latkes

A recipe for potato pancakes.

This is one of the most famous of Jewish foods and a specialty of Hanukkah. The latkes are served as an appetizer, as a side dish, and even for tea with a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar. They can be marvelous if properly prepared, just before eating.

Looking for more Hanukkah recipes, including lots of latkes? Find them here!

And for everything Jewish food related, check out The Nosher, our Jewish food partner site.

Ingredients

salt

2 large eggs

2 lbs (1 kg) potatoes

oil for frying

Directions

Peel and finely grate the potatoes. Put them straight into cold water, then drain and squeeze them as dry as you can by pressing them with your hands in a colander. This is to remove the starchy liquid, which could make the latkes soggy.

Beat the eggs lightly with salt, add to the potatoes, and stir well. Film the bottom of a frying pan with oil and heat. Take serving-spoonfuls, or as much as 1/4 cup (50 ml), of the mixture and drop into the hot oil. Flatten a little, and lower the heat so that the fritters cook through evenly. When one side is brown, turn over and brown the other.

Lift out and serve very hot.

Reprinted with permission from The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York (Knopf).

Discover More

Sufganiyot

A recipe for Hanukkah jelly doughnuts.

Recipes for Hanukkah

The ever-popular potato latke heads the list of traditional, oily Hanukkah treats.

Loaded Baked Potato Latkes

Scallions, cheese, sour cream and more!