Latkes Archives - Serious Crust

Phew! We just got back yesterday from a relaxing, sun-soaked week in Mexico. We were there celebrating my birthday and my sister’s birthday with my mom and her boyfriend. It was so much fun, and there were food adventures to be had! Post coming soon about that.

This Weekend Finds is starting to lean towards the holiday season. I don’t know if you know, but this year Thanksgiving falls on the second night of Channukah, for the first time ever, and the only time for the next 75,000 years. My family, being a little eccentric, is going full steam ahead for “Thanksgivukkah,” so the holiday has been on the brain lately. Here are some things we’re thinking of:

1. Rosemary Wreath Place Cards

Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler — Rosemary wreath place cards from Spoon Fork Bacon

I’m super into these mini wreaths, made of rosemary, so you know they’ll smell delicious. Head over to Spoon Fork Bacon for the (not that hard) tutorial!

2. Butternut Squash Latkes

My mom wanted to make traditional latkes and put cranberry sauce on top (which, I guess, is still a possibility), but I always like making new latke variations. This seems like the perfect year to try these butternut squash and sage latkes.

3. Squash Soup with a twist

Moving away from the holiday theme, this soup from Molly Wizenberg over at Orangette looks wonderful. I love squash soup, but I love even more that this one has some unusual ingredients for a squash soup: fish sauce and sriracha anyone? I can’t wait to try making it.

4. Drinking with your eyes

This is an entertaining article about the design of wine labels. Not that it helps terribly much – I still probably won’t know what to pick up when I go to the store – but it’s interesting to learn about what all goes into the design, and the tools label designers use.

5. Cocktails in a slowcooker

This idea to put your mulled wine or spiced cider in a slow cooker instead of a pot on the stove is brilliant. Having a bunch of people (who’ve been drinking) gathered around the stove where there is fire has always made me nervous, and this seems like a great alternative, and a way to get people out of the kitchen and into other rooms.

Yes, I know. By the time this post gets published, Hannukah and the time for latkes will be over. But if there is anything I’ve learned from the past week, it is that latkes should not be a “once a year” dish. They make a great little side dish, or a base for eggs benedict, or even just a fried egg on a Saturday morning. This is especially true once you’ve found a recipe you really like. And I have. After doing some hunting around and even trying another recipe I found, I made the latkes from “Jerusalem,” a cookbook I have previously written about, by Yotam Ottolenghi.

Now this recipe is what made me really want this cookbook. I thought it was interesting that there weren’t onions in it, and I also had never tried latkes with parsnips, although I know it’s not an uncommon thing. And here’s what I liked about these: Not too salty (an issue with the first recipe I tried this season), I liked having the chive flavor in there (although I halved the chives, because one of the people I was cooking for doesn’t like them), and the parsnip and very dried out potato made it extra crispy. Also, the fact that you fry them in a combination of butter and oil didn’t hurt.

Potato & Parsnip Latkes

Ingredients

5 1/2 cups peeled and grated waxy potatoes, such as Yukon Gold
2 3/4 cups peeled and grated parsnips
2/3 cup finely chopped chives
4 egg whites
2 Tbl corn starch
Butter and oil (preferably canola or sunflower) for frying
salt and pepper
sour cream and applesauce to serve

Instructions

For all of the grating, I recommend the grater attachment for a food processor, but if you haven’t got one, a box grater will work just fine. Then maybe you’ll have done enough physical activity to justify the fried potato goodness you’re about to eat.

Squeeze the grated potato out in a clean dishtowel (make a little satchel, twist the ends, and squeeze!) into the sink. Some recipes reserve the juice, let it separate, and then add the starch back in. This one doesn’t call for it, but if you want to, go for it. After you’ve squeezed out the potato, spread it out on a clean kitchen towel to dry as completely as you have time for. In a large mixing bowl, combine the potato, parsnip, chives, egg whites, corn starch, 1 tsp salt, and as much pepper as you’d like.

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees, and in the oven place a rimmed baking sheet with a cooling rack on it. Also prepare a plate or baking sheet with a couple layers of paper towel.

In a (preferably non-stick) pan, heat enough butter and oil so it’s ~1/4-1/2 inch deep over medium-high heat. To see if your oil is hot enough, drop in a little chunk of your potato mix. It should sizzle and bubble a bit without spitting violently. If it isn’t hot enough, take out the potatoes and keep heating and try again. When it is hot enough use a spoon to scoop about 2 Tbl portions of the potato mixture, squeeze out some of the juices, and shape into patties and carefully drop into the oil. Or, you can use my tried and true method: squeeze out the juices, drop into the oil, and then quickly use your spoon to spread and press the mixture into a patty. Fry for about 3 minutes a side, or until they are as dark/cooked as you like them, then flip and cook the other side. Remove from pan to the paper towels, then keep warm in the oven. Serve with sour cream, applesauce, and holiday cheer 😉 Enjoy!

Serious Crust

Tag: Latkes

Weekend Finds 11:3:13