RFCJ RECIPE ARCHIVE
Posted by : Karen Selwyn Latkes: Potato, Mom's and Mimi Sheraton's - pareve
Mimi Sheraton wrote an article in BON APPETIT 15-20 years ago which included Jewish holiday recipes. If you've ever read any of Ms. Sheraton's recipes, you'll discover she is obsessive about technique. I tried her recipe for potato latkes and found them to be significantly better than anything I had ever made before. They produce a very thin, crisp, light potato latke with an intensely potato-y flavor. I subsequently cooked a batch of latkes using Ms. Sheraton's technique coupled with my mother's list of ingredients and, again, the results were better. (My mother's recipe uses a higher onion to potato ratio.) For your consideration, I offer Mom's Potato Latkes and Mimi Sheraton's Potato Latkes with only one set of instructions -- Ms. Sheraton's. I eat these latkes unadorned except for salt and pepper. My husband and son eat them with unsweetened applesauce. Karen Selwyn * * * * * * * Mom's Potato Pancakes 4 large potatoes 1 large onion 2 tablespoons matzo meal 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper clarified butter and oil mixture or your favorite cooking oil Wash and peel potatoes. Peel onions. Cut both vegetables into large chunks. Using a food processor, grate some chunks of the potato, alternating with the onion chunks. Note from KPS: Anyone who wishes to grate their potatoes and onions using a hand grater, please feel free to do so. Hand grating produces a slightly coarser shred which results in a more rustic, authentic latke. Been there. Done that. Have the scars to prove it. I am absolutely convinced that by using the shredder attachment to the food processor and pressing firmly on the potato chunks as I feed them through the tube I get a consistency which is virtually identical to hand-grated. I would not recommend using the basic steel blade of a food process to do the grating. Place a colander large enough to hold the grated potato-onion mixture over a pot or bowl. Remove the grated potato-onion mixture from the food processor bowl and put in the colander. Let stand for five minutes. Press down on the mixture to hasten the draining process. Repeat this pressing step two-three more times at five minute intervals. The ingredients will be ready when the mixture no longer squishes when pressed (in approximately 15 minutes). Note from KPS: the juice from the onion should prevent the potato from discoloring. However, don't worry if the potato does discolor to a pinkish color. Taste is unaffected and somehow the right color returns during cooking. Gray discoloration is a bit more problematic. It usually means that you have doubled/tripled the recipe and are coping with too large a batch of potatoes and there is not enough onion. Place the potato-onion mixture in a mixing bowl. Add all remaining items in the ingredient list except the cooking oil. Blend well. Carefully, pour the liquid out of the bowl/pot which was placed under the colander during the draining step. At the bottom of the bowl, you will find a thick, starchy paste (potato starch). Scrape this paste out of the bowl and add to the potato-onion-egg mixture, blending well. Heat 1/2 inch depth of oil (or oil-butter mixture) in a skillet. Use about 2 rounded tablespoons of potato mixture for each pancake. Drop into skillet and flatten with spatula. Fry pancakes about ten minutes total, turning once. The pancakes should be golden brown. Occasionally, stir the contents of the bowl to maintain the same ratio of ingredients as you work through the total potato-onion mixture. Serve immediately!! Ms. Sheraton says good potato latkes should be held in a warm oven no more than 15 mintues before being served!! * * * * * * * Mimi Sheraton's Potato Pancakes 7-8 medium russet potatoes 1 large onion 2 eggs 2 tablespoons potato flour or matzo meal 1 scant tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon white pepper corn oil Follow above procedure.
