Every year as the holidays approach, one of my favorite things to do is make latkes. I still remember staying at my aunt’s house for holiday dinner and listening to the sizzle of the golden potato fritters frying to perfection.
Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
- 5lb bag of Yukon gold potatoes
- 4-5 onions (for every 4 potatoes, use about 1 onion)
- 1 shallot
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8 eggs
- 2-3 tbsp flour
- Vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS:
- Grate your potatoes, onions and shallot.
- Add to a cheesecloth (or a paper towel), and gently squeeze all the water out.
- Place the potato, onion and shallot into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the flour and the egg. Use plenty of salt and pepper to taste.
- Give it a toss, and get out a large, shallow frying pan.
- Fill your frying pan with about ½. inch of vegetable oil over medium heat. Carefully drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil. Make sure the pan is not overcrowded, so fry the latkes in batches.
- Fry for about 4 minutes, then flip them and fry for another 3 minutes. Turn the stove off and transfer the latkes to a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
- Enjoy warm with applesauce and sour cream.
A Little History of Hanukkah
Latkes are a classic Hanukkah recipe, derived from the tale of the miracle of the oil.
As the story goes, in 168 BCE, Jerusalem was invaded by Antiochus IV. He took hold of the capital of Israel, killing thousands, and constructed a new altar for a different god in the Holy Temple. The citizens of Jerusalem found this very disrespectful, and there were multiple Jewish revolts led by the priest Matityahu of Modiin.
These rebels were known as the Hasmoneans, or Maccabees. Judah returned home after travels and found out Jerusalem had been ransacked. All of their precious oil was polluted, except one “cruse” (an earthen pot).
There was only enough oil to last for one day, and yet it burned for eight days and nights. This gave the priests time to cleanse the whole temple and prepare new oil supplies.
To celebrate this, each night of Hanukkah a candle on the menorah is lit, and a traditional recipe is made. Most of these recipes contain flour, potatoes, and of course lots of oil (just like latkes!) to remember and honor the “miracle oil” that burned for eight days and nights. The Menorah has nine candles, one for each night and one in the middle to light them all.
