Marcy Goldman's World Famous Potato Pancakes Latkes

Submitted by blucoat

"This latke recipe is from Marcy Goldman's new cookbook, "The 10th Anniversary Edition of A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking". It uses an unusual method - parboiling the potatoes first. These will be the lightest, crispiest and fastest potato pancakes you ever made! For kids or onion haters, use 1 teaspoon onion powder instead of the grated onion. Make these bite-size for a tender centre and crisp outside and use tongs for both putting the batter in the oil and taking the latkes out."

 

• Ready In: 55mins
• Ingredients: 7
• Yields: 40 small latkes

ingredients

• 5 -6 medium or large red potatoes, un-peeled (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds)
• 1 small to medium onion, finely grated
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper (to taste)
• vegetable oil, for frying

directions

1. The best way to fry these are in tiny dollops, dropped from a spoon (or I use metal kitchen tongs and pick up small clumps of batter) and use a deep wok. the cooking method is so important so follow the directions exactly for perfect results.
2. Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and just cover with cold water. Turn heat to high and allow to come to boil. As soon as potatoes are boiling, put a kitchen timer on for 10 minutes. When timer rings, remove potatoes from stove and cover with cold water. Drain immediately, then cover again with cold water. Let sit five minutes. Remove potatoes and pat dry.
3. Using a hand shredder (best) or food processor fitted with a medium disc, shred potatoes (with skins on). The potatoes should be slightly softened, but still firm enough to produce shreds. If the peel separates from the potato, discard it. If the peel gets grated in with the potatoes, it's fine and just incorporate it into the mixture. I like the hand grater best. When I use the processor, I use two thirds shredded then pulverized potatoes and one third shredded for a mixture than is bulky but still has shreds. Worth the trouble.
4. In a large bowl, blend shredded potatoes, grated onion, eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Place newspaper on work surface (near frying area) and cover with a few paper towels. In a large deep skillet (I like to use a wok), pour in enough vegetable oil to fill about two thirds. If using an electric fry pan, set the temperature to 350°F or 375°F (depending on how fast you want the pancakes to cook). Drop potato batter by teaspoons (for small ones) or soup spoonfuls in small dollops, flattening slightly with a metal spatula if desired. I use large metal tongs for dropping and turning. Brown one side, turn once, and complete cooking on other side. These cook quickly. You're looking for a puffy centre while retaining some crisp shreds of potato on edges.
5. Serve immediately or freeze. To reheat, place latkes on a large wire cake rack on a cookie sheet. Warm at 250°F until crisp. For freezing purposes, fry them a little underdone to allow for browning in the re-heating stage.

Reviews

[Peter G.]

Had to up the flour and egg a bit to keep things together (possibly my potatoes were too big? Could be!), but once I did worked out great. Shredding process was much easier than last time I did them without the parboiling.