Potato Pancakes

Click to Enlarge	Potato Pancakes Polish - Placki Kartoflane \| Jewish - Latkes / Levivot
	Serves Effort: Sched: DoAhead:	4 break ** 30 min No	A very popular appetizer / breakfast / meatless dinner in Central and Eastern Europe, and a traditional Hanukkah dish (because of the oil connection) among Jews of Eastern European extraction. These may be eaten topped with sour cream, apple sauce, horseradish, mustard, preserves or just plain salt (my favorite). This recipe makes about 12.

1-1/2
5
1
1-1/2
1-1/4
ar

#
oz

T
t

Potatoes,russet (1)
Onion
Egg, large
Flour, all purpose
Salt
Oil (2)

Slice ONION thin and chop very fine.
Beat EGG lightly.
Peel POTATOES and grate on the coarse side of a box grater or with a similar disk or drum. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can and immediately mix in Onions, Egg, Flour and Salt. At this point you can break for just a few minutes if you need to.
In a large heavy skillet, heat Oil about 1/16 inch deep over moderate heat. For each pancake spoon in 1-1/2 oz of the Potato mix (I use a 1-1/2 ounce restaurant ladle), then flatten to about 1/4 inch thick and shape them as needed.
When browned on one side (watch the edges for a hint, and stiffness when moved), turn and fry the other side. Watch your oil making sure it doesn't get too hot and smoke, and add more as needed - there must be liquid oil in the pan.
Remove from the pan and interleave with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Serve hot with condiments and toppings of your choice. They can be reheated in the oven if need be.

NOTES:

Potatoes: Russets are the potatoes you want to use. They're relatively dry, fry well and cook up tender in a very short time. See my Potato Page for details.
Oil: Olive Oil (Pomace or Pure Olive Oil, not Virgin) works particularly well here and is healthy. See my Cooking Oils page for details. In Poland lard is traditional and splatters less than oil, but if you're calling them "Latkes" that's probably not allowed.
Names & Variations: Placki, Kartoflane (Polish); Latkes (Yiddish); Levivot (Hebrew); Deruny (Ukraine); Draniki (Russia); Reiberdatschi, Kartoffelpuffer (Germany); Rarakor, Raggmunk (Sweden). Some recipes call for the onion, others do not.

Method:
- First realize this is going to make a mess. Cover your floor around the stove with newspapers. Cover other burners or hard to clean parts of your stove with foil. Have plenty of paper towels to absorb oil. Have plenty of oil on hand.
- Keep in mind this is not a low calorie item, even though much of the oil escapes, some ends up in the pancakes. No matter how delicious they are you probably don't want to pig out on them unless you're a farm or steel mill worker.
- Some recipes try to make these pancakes neater and firmer. That's not the point - this is Polish peasant fare, not French gourmet. The pancakes should be a bit ragged, lose textured and with just enough integrity so you can handle them with a turner. They should be thin enough to be thoroughly cooked through by time they're lightly browned.
- Use a very thin wide flexible turner for handling. A wooden spatula is better for flattening and shaping them.
- Most of the splattering will happen immediately upon spooning scoops of potato into the pan.
- Know your pan and stove. Watch temperature carefully as you cook.
- You will end up with a fair about of liquid in the bottom of the mixing bowl when all the pancakes are done. This is normal.
- Be sure to clean up all oil spatter right away. In a couple of days it will have dried to varnish making the job much more difficult.
U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch