I was so happy to get connected with a new blogging friend recently; Tori from The Shiksa in the Kitchen. Tori is a convert to Judaism and I loved reading her story; especially how her journey of faith is so intertwined with a love of the history and culture of Jewish cuisine.
By taking a journey into the heart of Jewish cuisine, I uncovered something hidden deep inside of me. I now understand that I’ve always had a Jewish spirit. I am drawn to many of the traditional aspects of Judaism — the holidays, the observance of Shabbat, the empowerment of prayer. It’s extremely comforting to know that I’ve joined a larger family and community. By becoming Jewish, I’ve acknowledged my responsibility to others, and I’ve dedicated myself to learning and growing within the faith. -Tori Avey
Although our religions may have some major doctrinal differences, at the core, I think all people of faith are much more alike than we are different. We are all bound together by a love of and faith in our Creator. I feel a commonality to those of any faith who seek Him, and I respect the commitment others have to God in whatever way they choose to worship. I think it’s especially wonderful when the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays overlap and we all celebrate the beauty of our faiths at the same time. It’s an amazing thing when you think about it! So to all of our Jewish friends out in the blogosphere, we wish you a very happy Hanukkah!
I asked Tori I’ve always wanted to make latkes, so I was thrilled when she sent me this recipe. These are basic latkes, made with few ingredients and they’re little bites of heaven. (These don’t require any flour or matzo, so they’re gluten free too!) Latkes are basically just potato pancakes, so although we’re making these in honor of Hanukkah, they would be fantastic for breakfast (think hash browns!) or an appetizer. I think what makes a good latke (you know, since I’m such an expert now) are the little tricks and tips, so pay attention to those. You’ll love these!
Ingredients and Equipment Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Yukon gold potatoes –
- Onions – Yellow or white, medium.
- Eggs
- Salt
- White pepper
- Peanut oil – For frying. Any neutral oil with a high smoke point will work.
- Fine hole cheese grater or food processor – It’s important to use a fine hole cheese grater, or the fine hole attachment on your food processor to get nice thin shreds that can cook quickly. One thing I love about these is how the onion is also so fine that you’re not biting into chunks of it, the flavors just melt into each other.
- Tea towel – Or a few layers of cheese cloth. You will use this to drain the excess moisture out of your potatoes.
- Candy thermometer – Keeping the oil at the right temperature is another important step. If it’s too hot, the outsides will cook up and get overdone while the insides aren’t cooked. And if it’s not hot enough, the latkes will just absorb the oil and come out heavy and greasy. You need it right around 365℉ so they cook up nice and crispy and golden brown on the outside and cooked and creamy on the inside. A candy thermometer will tell you where you are temperature wise!
How to Make Crispy Yukon Gold Latkes
- Shred your potatoes and transfer them to a bowl of cold water, then shred your onions. I grated my potatoes by hand and found that it wasn’t quite strong enough for my onion and was just basically juicing it, so I just pulsed it in my food processor instead. I knew I needed it super fine for the quick fry so I went ahead and processed it really well.
- Drain your potato shreds and place both the potatoes and onions in a tea towel or onto a few layers of cheese cloth. Squeeze out all of the excess liquid.
- Place that mixture back in your bowl and and add a couple of beaten eggs and salt and pepper.
- These are bite-size latkes so you just need a rounded tablespoon of potato mixture. To get nice even amounts, I just used my cookie scoop.
- You’ll want to grab each little ball and squeeze it again in your hand to let any extra moisture drip off again. Then just shape into a little disk and place in a pan of hot oil. You only need about 1/8 inch of oil, so this isn’t a huge deep frying adventure.
- After cooking for a few minutes on each side, place them on a cooling rack with some paper towels underneath. You can add extra salt at this point. I sprinkled mine with coarse kosher salt and they were perfect!
Storing and Other Tips
- Latkes are best served immediately. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 2-3 days for best results. I recommend reheating in the air fryer to restore crispiness.
- Serve them the traditional way for Hanukkah with apple sauce and/or sour cream or if you don’t celebrate Hanukkah, you could treat them more like a hash brown and pair them with scrambled eggs and dipped in ketchup or salsa.
Frequently Asked Questions
Any neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point will work. Canola oil, vegetable oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, or safflower oil are all good options.
These ones are! Some recipes use flour as a binder but this one does not.
These are best served fresh, but you can make them a few hours in advance and reheat in the oven if needed.
One reader reports freezing finished latkes between sheets of parchment and reheating in a 375℉ oven.
Crispy Yukon Gold Latkes {Potato Pancakes}
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes peeled
- 2 medium onions
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- peanut oil for frying
Instructions
- Peel and shred potatoes using the fine-hole side of a hand grater or food processor. Place in a bowl of cold water and set aside. Meanwhile, shred onion using same fine hole grater, or pulse in food processor until very finely chopped.
- Drain potato shreds and rinse and dry the bowl that was used and set aside. Place potato shreds and grated onion in the center of a tea towel or several layers of cheese cloth. Twist loose material to secure the bundle, and squeeze firmly to remove excess liquid from the shreds.
- Pour peanut oil into skillet to a depth of 1/8 inch. Heat slowly over medium to about 365℉. While oil is heating, use the fork to stir the beaten egg, salt, and pepper into the potato shreds. Take care to make sure the egg and seasonings are fully mixed throughout the potato shreds. Scoop up a rounded tablespoon of potato batter and squeeze it firmly in your palm over an empty dish to remove excess liquid. Shape batter into a rough disk. Place it gently into the hot oil. Use a metal spatula to gently press down on the latke to flatten it.
- The oil should sizzle but not pop when the batter hits it. If the oil jumps wildly or smokes; it’s too hot. If it only bubbles weakly, the oil is not hot enough. Continue shaping the latkes, using only a rounded tablespoon for each one. Fry in batches of 5 or 6 at a time for 2-3 minutes per side until brown and crispy. Remove latkes from pan using metal spatula and place on a wire cooling rack to drain.
- Latkes are best when served immediately. If you need to make them ahead, fry them 4 hours or less before serving. After letting them drain on the cooling rack, place them on an ungreased, unlined cookie sheet. Leave at room temp till ready to reheat. Place in a 375℉ oven for about 10 minutes, until heated through, just prior to serving.
Questions & Reviews
We love latkes at our house, but they are seriously a lot of work. What about using shredded frozen hashbrowns?? Would that work? Last time I shredded the potatoes myself, and I was so over it by the time they were done that I just couldn’t enjoy them 🙁
My mum makes these all the time, except we call them ‘mock fish’ as they are usually served on Good Friday.
They are really great with a bit of lemon zest before you cook them or if you forget, a slight drizzle of lemon juice after they are cooked… Gives them a lovely flavour. Also, thyme in them is delicious 🙂
Oh! And they are great served with aioli!
As a Jewish woman with a ton of Mormon friends, I agree WHOLEHEARTEDLY with your comment that people of faith are much more alike than we are different. I utterly adore my Mormon friends because they share the same solid values I do with regards to family, hard work, compassion for others, caring about the world around them, maintaining a sense of humor and having a true reverence for child raising. I’m so blessed to have them in my life.
Love it that you included a recipe for latkes on your blog. Came to you via the NYT article. 🙂
SO excited to try these. Would canola oil be okay for frying instead of peanut oil? (Allergies…)
Yep! Canola and peanut oil are both good oils for frying because they have very high smoke points. Peanut is generally preferred because sometimes, canola oil can make food taste fishy when it reaches very high temperatures, but you should be fine on this recipe. 🙂
I totally LOVE this post! And not just because of the latkes….which look fabulous, btw.
I don’t usually comment, but I had to this time! I randomly clicked on your blog yesterday because I was in a dinner funk. This recipe made our night! I didn’t have yukon potatoes and just used regular Idaho ones, but it still was amazing. The boys loved squeezing the extra liquid out and loved eating them even more. We served them with scrambled eggs and called it a night. My 4 yr old has already requested them again! And who am I to say no??
So I came on here to look for some ideas for dinner for this weekend, and came across this. We actually made latkes last night in a small celebration for Hanukah. My 5 year old son has been really interested in the whole celebration after learning about it at school, so we learned about it more last night as a family, which included some of the yummy food. We are LDS, so it was fun to learn about something new, but also a great teaching moment to talk more about Christ and why we celebrate Christmas. Your latkes look way better than mine! But you are right, how can you go wrong with fried potatoes? My kids actually loved eating them with apple sauce and sour cream. We will try your cooking tips next time we make these.
My love of latkes reaches all the way back to elementary school when Dan Laudabaum’s mom would come in the week before Hannukah and make latkes for the class. They were so good! As an adult, to the bewilderment of my hubby, I began experimenting with different recipes using leftover mashed potatoes. Not many turned out very well; overdone or undercooked, you name it, it happened to my latkes. I’m anxious to try your recipe and to find, at long last, success!!