Sheets Culinary Feats

When I catered for the Jewish community I always looked forward to Hanukkah and the making of latkes for the kids to eat. There’s nothing quite like a warm breakfast of blintzes and latkes eaten with friends and family.

These latkes are a wonderful combination of potato, onions and egg. A wonderfully delicate treat that just explodes with flavor in your mouth. And then the amazing depth that actually comes out when you combine the savory and the sweet with the sour cream and the applesauce.

The act of slathering my latkes with sour cream and applesauce actually took a great deal of coercing on my behalf from my co-workers until I actually put the condiments on. But once I did I was sold, and I can never dream of having a latke or any other potato pancake without them ever again. In fact several times I’ve gone into restaurants and asked if I can get sour cream and applesauce with my potato pancakes, and when told that they didn’t have either I had to find something else.

But I digress, on to the recipe:

Potato Latkes with sour cream and applesauce - makes approximately 16 latkes

Ingredients:

2 pounds Idaho potatoes

1 large yellow onion

1/2 cup of matzo meal

4 eggs, lightly beaten

salt and pepper to taste

Your favorite brand of plain applesauce and sour cream for serving.

Method of preparation:

1. Grate the potatoes and the onion into a bowl and combine well. If you’re increasing the size of this recipe it is greatly recommended you use a food processor with a grating attachment. Place the mixture into a colander and let it drain until it is dry to the touch. This is extremely important, don’t skip this step as your latkes will fall apart otherwise, if you need to, use a paper towel to dry off the onions. Once completely dry place into a mixing bowl.
2. Add the matzo meal and the eggs and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. The mixture should be firm and stick together but still moist.
3. Heat 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in a skillet until very hot. Form the mixture into patties about 2 inches in diameter and fry in the hot oil. When the Latkes are browned on one side flip them over and brown on the other, about 3 minutes or so.
4. Keep the latkes in a warm oven and serve hot. Plate up with the applesauce and the sour cream.