potato latkes (and eggless röstis for my pleasure)

Thanks to Cheryl and her thread on Ravelry, I'm now craving latkes. The first time I ever had a latke was in kindergarten; we made them right there in class (this was clearly before Health and Safety decided cooking on a Bunsen Burner wasn't the way forward). I had one with cinnamon and applesauce and one with sour cream. We had them every year until I moved up to junior high, where everyone was full of indecisive hormones and miserable, and Hanukkah passed each year latkeless.

If you haven't had your latke today, I suggest you mosey on down to Latkelicious.

Such musical stylings might make you hungry, Allrecipes.com boasts 'more than 20 trusted latke recipes' to choose from.

There's a whole child psychology angle to Hanukkah I never even thought of, though I suspect that's because I've always had the blinking lights and visions of Rudolph. Mind you, latkes cause all kinds of debates.

Regardless, if you're like me you may appreciate the egglessness of the latke's Swiss cousin, the rösti. Potatoey and delicious!

ingredients:

450 g potatoes, about 3-4 largish ones (usually yellow preferred, though sweet potato röstis are lurvly)
2 tbsp butter/margarine
1 tbsp sunflower oil

optional:

salt
pepper
oregano
cinnamon/all spice
sugar

each to taste

method:

Cut potatoes into long wedges and boil, covered in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan until tender. Drain and allow to cool; keep covered with a tea towel (i.e. rather than plastic wrap/foil/etc.) for at least a few hours.

When ready, coarsely shred potatoes into a large bowl. If desired, now's the time to season. Make sure you toss the mixture so that said seasoning spreads evenly.

Note: You really should use a skillet to fry them, but I only have a frying pan and it works fine. Some people like to make one big huge rösti, and there's nothing wrong with that, but I like smaller ones so that I can have two or three and not feel humongous afterwards.

Heat a tablespoon each of butter and oil until hot (I know that sounds silly -- I mean until it gets past the initial foamy slidy and is merely slidy). Add potato shreds in an even manner, then pat them down so that they form a roundish cake. Cook on low-medium heat for about 10 minutes, until golden on the underside (usually when the edges are already darkening). Flip CAREFULLY. Add the rest of the butter and oil and brown the other side.

Note: When I say CAREFULLY I mean it. A crumbled rösti quickly becomes little more than a pile of pomme frites slivers. Also, it's often a good idea to transfer the half-done rösti to a separate plate while you heat the remaining butter and oil; however, no one will blame you if you decide you can't wait. I never can.

Not strictly latkes, but delicious all the same. My favourite is still dressed with cinnamon and applesauce. Yum!

Comments

[Sharon]

The only thing that puts me off rostis is having to grate potato. It doesn't seem worth the effort!

[orata]

I love latkes, rosti, hash browns, french fries, all kinds of fried potatoes. It's like some kind of cruel joke that my people's only native potato dish, nominally julienned fried potatoes, turns out to be *stir*-fried, non-crispy, and essentially like eating a big mouthful of semi-raw potato.

Anyway--I discovered the pre-shredded frozen potatoes in the freezer section and it changed my breakfast life. No more tedium and effort at the box grater when I want hash browns!

[liz]

Latke-licious. Don't forget to light your first Chanukah candle tonight. And I do so hope you are feeling better (although it didn't sound like a norovirus - or perhaps you were going for the more dignified approach by not divulging all the gory details.) Happy Chanukmas!