Kosher Latkes

Making these Kosher Latkes are as simple as adding shredded potato and onion together. Top with applesauce or sour cream and serve while they’re hot.

Eat these latkes plain or with a variety of different toppings. These potato pancakes are generally served plain with many different kinds of dippings and toppings. Favorites include smoked salmon, sour cream and applesauce – just to name a few common toppings.

Ingredients:

Ingredients for a traditional Jewish latke is actually quite simple and straightforward.

• Potato: Russet potatoes are a good hearty potato for this dish. It holds up well to frying which is why it is the recommended potato for latkes.
• Onion: Using a whole medium-sized yellow onion will give this recipe a bit of zip. Feel free to omit for picky eaters.
• Egg: Acts as a sticky binder and will hold the potato pancake together.
• Matzo meal: Another binder for this latke is matzo meal. If you don’t have any on hand, replace with breadcrumbs.
• Oil: To really take this recipe to the next level, use schmaltz, also known as chicken fat. You can buy some from a kosher butcher or from a grocery store. If you don’t have schmaltz, use a neutral cooking oil instead, such as canola oil.

How to Make these Kosher Latkes

Making Kosher latkes is as simple as combining all the ingredients and then frying the pancakes.

Take your potatoes and onion and grate in a box grater. After the potato and onion are grated, add salt and add the mixture to a cheesecloth to allow excess water to drain from the vegetables. Allow water to drain from the mix for about 10 minutes and squeeze out any excess liquid. Then add in the matzo meal, egg and baking powder.

Once you have your latke mix ready, make pancakes by pressing some of the mix together between your palms. Add to your pan once the oil is hot. Continue adding the latkes to your pan until you are out of mix.

You’ll know the pancakes are finished frying when they are golden brown on both sides. I like to have a plate lined with paper towels at the ready to move the latkes to when they are finished cooking. The paper towels will soak up some of the excess oil.

Serve the pancakes immediately with sour cream and applesauce.

If you need to reheat these kosher latkes, for example if you need to make a lot of them in preparation for a party, you can make a bunch in the morning and then recrisp on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Common Latke Problems and How to Fix Them

Problem: My Latkes are too wet and are falling apart! They aren’t getting crispy when I fry them!

Solution: There are a couple things that could be causing these issues. The main problem will be too much liquid in your mix.

Check to see if liquid has gathered at the bottom of your bowl. If there is an excess amount of water, drain your latke mix through a cheesecloth or through a colander. Squeeze out the excess water. If there is no extra water in your mix and your latkes, add in another egg as binder and some more matzo meal or flour.

Make sure to take your time shaping the latke in your hands before adding them to the pan. Also ensure that the oil in your pan is nice and hot before adding you pancakes. Allow the potato pancakes to fry on each side until they are golden brown and then flip them. If you are trying to flip them too quickly, they will fall apart.

Problem: I want to make vegan Latkes by not adding eggs to my potato pancakes! How do I avoid adding eggs to my Latkes?

Solution: If you don’t want to add eggs to your Latkes, don’t worry – there are lots of other options instead!

Add in more flour or matzo meal to your potato to give it a more starchy consistency.

Problem: I need to make my Latkes ahead and of time!

It depends on how far ahead of time you need to make them.

If you need to make these Latkes ahead of time, like way ahead of time, you can freeze them. If you just need to make them a couple hours ahead, you can make fry them and then recrisp in the oven just before serving.

If you are making this recipe in bulk and freezing ahead of time, say a couple of days, make this potato latke recipe and lay out the pancakes on paper towels. Then add to a gallon freezer bag once cooled and freeze. When you are ready to reheat, add the latkes to a baking sheet and reheat in a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

If you are making latkes in the morning for an afternoon event, fry the pancakes as normal and lay out in a single layer on paper towels. When you are ready to reheat, add to a 350 degree oven and recrisp for about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Problem: The onion doesn’t grate very well, what should I do with it?

You can try to grate your onion with your box grater like you grated your potato, but because there’s more water inn onion than there is in potato, it may become soggy very quickly.

Instead, dice your onion and add it to the grated potato.

Problem: I want to use little to no oil, can I air fry my latkes?

Yes! You can absolutely air fry the latkes instead of pan frying. Make your latkes according to this recipe and set your air frier to 350 and fry for 10 minutes. Flip half way through.

Other Recipes You Might Like:

• Classic Chicken Matzo Ball Soup
• Challah bread
• Corn Fritters
• Scalloped Potatoes
• Chicken Liver Pate