Today is a chilly day, the rain dripping from the eaves. My mother is coming over tonight and I am serving potato pancakes. The following recipe comes from my grandmother's family which is of German descent.
Jewish people call Potato Pancakes "Latkes" and traditionally make them with matzo meal on Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. Our family makes them with regular flour, instead of the matzo meal, but the taste is very similar. Potato pancakes are a favorite of my family, however we do not eat them very often because of the oil content. They certainly are a comfort food!
Here is the recipe:
8-10 large potatoes (I like Yukon Gold)
1/2-1 cup flour
3-4 eggs
2 TBLS. finely chopped onion or a bit of onion powder
1 TBLS. fresh minced parsley (optional)
Peel and shred the potatoes. My family uses a hand grater. My grandmother used a crank grater. If you have a food processor, you can use it as well. We prefer to grate them on a coarser hole rather than the finer grate so they have a lot of texture.
In a large mixing bowl, add potatoes, eggs, flour, salt, onion and parsley. The mixture should be very moist but not soupy. If there is a large amount of water in the bottom of the bowl, drain some out and add a bit more flour.
Fill the bottom of a large skillet or electric frying pan with cooking oil. On medium heat, heat oil, being careful not to burn. Using a slotted spoon to drain any liquid from the bottom of the bowl, add large spoonfuls of potato mixture to the oil. When pancake is browned on one side, turn over with a fork. When browned on both sides, drain on papertowels and salt to taste. Keep warm on a cookie sheet covered with foil on your lowest oven setting while you prepare the remaining pancakes.
Potato pancakes must be watched carefully. They burn easily and then the oil must be discarded and the cooking process begun again.
We serve our potato pancakes with applesauce and sour cream. This recipe makes a couple dozen pancakes.
