Tom Douglas

Latkes/ by Shelley Lance, Blog Editor

This is the time of year I skim through newspaper dining sections and cooking magazines ostensibly looking for new Hanukkah ideas.  Today’s New York Times has a recipe for Red Flannel Potato Latkes with beets and celery root.  Sounds kinda good…. but not for Hanukkah.  Bon Appetit’s December issue has a recipe for Latkes with Ancho Chiles Salt and Watercress Guacamole… no way!  That’s going too far.

Who am I kidding? This Hanukkah, like every Hanukkah, I will try to reproduce those ethereal crispy-edged delights of childhood memory- Grandma Pearl’s Potato Latkes.  Grandma Pearl was always a good cook, but a few of her dishes were magnificent, and potato latkes were chief among the triumphs.  Crispy disks with lacy edges and a padded center of potatoey goodness with a whisper of grated onion.  My latkes are pretty good.  Grandma Pearl’s were better; she was a genius with a cast iron pan of bubbling oil.  Of course, childhood memory may be clouded with nostalgia, but Grandma Pearl hand grated the potatoes, which gives them the best texture.  I use the grating attachment of the food processor because I’m too lazy to do it by hand.  Also Grandma Pearl stood at the stove frying until all the latkes were cooked and served- so every delicate pancake came to your plate freshly fried and hot out of the pan.

My cousin Jonathan makes latkes for his Hanukkah parties.  I think they’re pretty good, though not quite up to my personal gold standard.  One thing he does exactly right, in pure bubby-style (bubby is Yiddish for grandmother): he stands in the kitchen wearing a flower-print apron, cooking latkes in his garage-sale electric fry pan, and doesn’t sit down until every pancake is fried.  At first, people stand around and eat the latkes right out of the pan.  Finally we sit at the dining table and wait for platters of latkes to be run out to us from the kitchen as soon as they’re cooked.

When I cook latkes in my own house, I get them fried a little ahead and put them in a warm oven.  Then we light the menorah and sit down to eat.  I know I’m losing the immediacy of freshly fried latkes this way, but, selfishly, I like to sit down with my family and friends.

Jonathan’s latkes are a little sturdier and a little thicker than what I grew up with- though I’m sure they’re exact replicas of his childhood pancakes and therefore perfect for him.  Also his latke-batter contains a goodly amount of grated carrot, and that’s where I have to draw the line.    Maybe it’s because Jonathan grew up in California, where people can’t resist throwing extra healthy veggies into everything.  But for me, real Hanukkah latkes- and I’m not talking fancy potato pancakes-  contain potatoes and a bit of raw grated onion, no other vegetables, that’s it.

Usually, for latkes,  I use a Joan Nathan recipe that I cut from an old Saveur some time ago.  It’s good; with a few adjustments it’s pretty close to Grandma Pearl’s.  But I omit the chives because there’s no green in my latkes.  Also, like Joan Nathan,  I prefer yukon golds (buy the large ones so they’re easier to peel), even though I’m pretty sure my grandma used russets.

Here it is, the best recipe for real potato latkes. (If you’re like me, omit the chives and maybe just a bit less raw onion.) Serve them with both sour cream and applesauce on the side.  I like sour cream.

December 9th, 2009