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Today is the first day/second night of Hanukkah, the festival of lights (or as we like to call it, Jewish Christmas). In addition to lighting the menorah/hanukkiah, playing dreidel and getting presents, Hanukkah is about oil. And while there are all types of oil, our preference is for the hot bubbly kind in the pan. We cooked up two kinds of latkes last night. The first kind we made was from Fine Cooking magazine, a great resource for both novice and advanced home chefs. These guys were delicious, but not as delicious as Chicagoist's secret family recipe, which we'll share here. These latkes were so good, in fact, that we ate them all, and then realized we'd forgotten to take a photo. So instead, enjoy this Mel Gibson menorah instead.
Extra Delicious Latkes
2.5 lbs potatoes
1 medium zucchini (this is the secret ingredient, shhhhh)
1 medium yellow onion
1 egg
3 Tbs flour
1 Tbs salt
fresh pepper
a shit-ton of corn oil
Peel the potatoes and then grate them, or, if you have one on hand, send them through the Cuisinart on the grating function. Mix the potatoes with a couple teaspoons of salt and then set in a colander and let it sit for 10 minutes (the goal is to get as much water out of the potatoes as possible). Grate the zucchini. Dice the onion. Mix all the remaining ingredients (besides the oil) together. Heat 1/8 of an inch of oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Put about a third of a cup of mixture in the pan (you may want to squeeze out extra "juice"). Flip the latke when it is golden brown on one side. Add more oil when the level gets low; you want the oil to be bubbling up around the sides of the latke, but not covering it. Keep them warm in the oven until ready to eat. Serve with apple sauce and sour cream.
* It's from this awesome song.
Fantastic Mel Menorah from mjkmjk.
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Is a shit-ton more or less than an ass-ton?
When I make potato pancakes and keep them warm in the oven, they tend to get a bit sogged out. Any tips on keeping them crispy until served? Or is that just not possible?
your latkes will be about a hundred times better if you first wash the grated potatoes in cold water to get all the loose starch out. You'd be amazed how much starch is in there. once the starch is out, they won't turn grey and the resulting latkes will be lighter and more golden-brown delicious.
whoops on the double post...
also, peanut oil is the tastiest, although, not quite as good for you....
it should also be served with cinnamon sugar too
For the record, Hanukkah isn't the Jewish Christmas. It's nothing of the sort, in fact. For one, Christmas is a fairly important holiday for those who celebrate it. Hanukkah is fairly low in the Jewish hierarchy of holidays.
And the whole gift-giving/getting part of Hanukkah is a modern invention that developed from Hanukkah's proximity to Christmas on the (Christian) calendar. It has almost nothing to do with the holiday itself.
I'm not trying to be Mr. Militant Jewish Guy here (and by the way, the latkes sound really good). I just want you guys to get your facts straight. A lot of Jewish people would be offended by the notion that Hanukkah is the Jewish Christmas, and I'm guessing you didn't want to do that.
For the record, Hanukkah isn't the Jewish Christmas. It's nothing of the sort, in fact. For one, Christmas is a fairly important holiday for those who celebrate it. Hanukkah is fairly low in the Jewish hierarchy of holidays.
And the whole gift-giving/getting part of Hanukkah is a modern invention that developed from Hanukkah's proximity to Christmas on the (Christian) calendar. It has almost nothing to do with the holiday itself.
I'm not trying to be Mr. Militant Jewish Guy here (and by the way, the latkes sound really good). I just want you guys to get your facts straight. A lot of Jewish people would be offended by the notion that Hanukkah is the Jewish Christmas, and I'm guessing you didn't want to do that.
Hi billymax - that was my feeble attempt at humor. I know that Hanukkah isn't really important, and that it's generally celebrated just so Jewish people have an excuse to give/get presents. At least that's why we celebrated it in my family while we seemed to ignore the major holidays (rosh hashonah, etc). I think calling it Jewish Christmas is just sort of funny, but I appreciate you setting the record straight.
When I have made latkes or mucver, and I am making a bunch of them, I undercook them a little and then stick in the oven at 350 or 400 and they should get brown and crispy.
It also helps to drain them on paper towels so the oil doesn't make them soggy.
Hi billymax - that was my feeble attempt at humor. I know that Hanukkah isn't really important, and that it's generally celebrated just so Jewish people have an excuse to give/get presents. At least that's why we celebrated it in my family while we seemed to ignore the major holidays (rosh hashonah, etc). I think calling it Jewish Christmas is just sort of funny, but I appreciate you setting the record straight.
It's cool, Laura. I know you didn't mean it offensively. I just know a lot of people who have fairly strong feelings about the idea of a "Jewish Christmas". And even I get sick of people asking me, "Were you ever sad that you didn't have a Christmas tree when all your friends did?"
In my family, we celebrate Hanukkah with kind of a mix of the old and new. We definitely light candles, say blessings and play dreidel. But we also exchange gifts, though the greatest gift in my mind is when my grandfather makes latkes.
-- Bill