Twice Cooked Potato Latke Recipe
Hanukkah starts this Sunday and it’s customary to eat foods that are either fried in oil or made with cheese. So my favourite part of the celebration is making and eating latkes.
Because we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukah, I consider myself lucky that the Hebrew calendar is based on the lunar cycle and the date Hannukah falls on each year fluctuates. Since celebration and food always goes hand in hand, having the holidays too close together is sometimes too much of a good thing! The beginning of Hanukkah can range from late November to late December and occasionally overlaps with Christmas.
To learn more about the differences between traditional latkes and this recipe, visit out blog.
We actually use small potatoes instead of bigger ones because they just have to be cut anyway to put through the food processor.
Because it can be difficult to know how many potatoes you’ll need, I weigh them. This batch weighs in at under 2 1/2 pounds (2 pounds 6 5/8 ounces to be exact), or 1.1 kg. We ended up using more than the recipe calls for, but aim for 2 pounds.
Of course, you can hand grate, but a food processor makes quick work of it!
I bake these in muffin top tins, but you can use a regular large muffin tin too if that’s all you have! Oil them well and set aside.
Once the potatoes are peeled, we pop them into water right away.
We also put water into the food processor to prevent oxidation (or little lemon instead after the water is squeezed out of the potatoes).
When the water is drained, it should still be squeezed out well, but it’s not as essential as the traditional method since they’re being baked first.
After mixing in the egg and dry ingredients, you’re ready to get them onto the pans.
I use a 1/4 cup measure to be consistent.
Then flatten them down to spread out to the edges.
In the oven, the edges should start to crisp.
Underneath, they’re golden brown.
You can stop here and refrigerate or freeze them for later. But we always pan fry at least 1/2 a dozen to eat right away. We start them face down in the hot pan.
If you want the ultimate flavour, use a high smoke point oil (like Grapeseed oil), but combine it with schmaltz (chicken fat). We always save the chicken fat each time we make chicken soup.
Use as much or as little oil as you like. It really doesn’t take much oil to finish them off.
We love the convenience of being able to prep these ahead! Serve with sour cream or apple sauce.
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Twice Cooked Potato Latke Recipe
Recipe details
- 12-18 latkes
- Prep time: 20 Minutes Cook time: 14 Minutes Total time: 34 min
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