A new twist on Hannuka’s potato latkehs: The kids look forward to the same latkehs year after year, but adults sometimes want something a little different. Surfing the Net for an alternative recipe, this recipe from The New York Times caught my eye. It’s as easy to make as the traditional recipe, but it’s just different enough to make those traditional potato fritters interesting again.
For a Middle-Eastern taste twist, forgo the expensive imported maple syrup and use native Silan date syrup. Here’s a riveting little story about how sheep keep the weeds down in a Jericho date farm.
Apple-Potato Latkes With Cinnamon Sour Cream
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons sour cream or Greek yogurt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon maple syrup or silan date syrup
2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled and cored
1 large russet potato, peeled
1 medium yellow onion, peeled
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Olive oil, for frying
Method to making these latkes
In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream or yogurt, cinnamon and syrup. Cover and chill until ready to use.
Coarsely grate the apples, potato and onion. Put the mixture in a clean dish towel and squeeze to wring out as much liquid as possible. For the crispiest pancakes, you want the least moisture.
Working quickly, put the mixture in a large bowl, add the flour, eggs, salt, baking powder and pepper, and mix until the flour is absorbed.
In a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat, pour in about 1/4 inch of oil. Once the oil is hot (a drop of batter placed in the pan should sizzle), drop heaping tablespoons of batter into the pan, cooking 3 to 4 latkes at a time. Use a spatula to flatten the scoops into disks.
When the edges of the latkes are brown and crispy, 2 to 3 minutes, flip them. Cook until the second side is deeply browned, another 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer the latkes to a plate lined with recycled, crumpled newspaper sheets to drain. Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve with dollops of the cinnamon sour cream on top.
Yield: about 1 1/2 dozen latkes. Enjoy!
More recipes for the Festival of Lights from Green Prophet:
Photo by Andrew Scrivani via the New York Times
Author: Miriam Kresh
Miriam Kresh is an American ex-pat living in Israel. Her love of Middle Eastern food evolved from close friendships with enthusiastic Moroccan, Tunisian and Turkish home cooks. She owns too many cookbooks and is always planning the next meal. Miriam can be reached at miriam (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
You’re very welcome, David.
These are amazing! Thank you so much!