Potato Latkes
Yields roughly 8-10 latkes.
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds large Yukon gold or russet potatoes, peeled
- 1 small onion, peeled (about 6 ounces)
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons dried bread crumbs
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Peanut or canola oil for frying
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 200°F.
- Grate the potatoes and the onion using a box grater or the medium grating blade of a food processor. Lay a large piece of cheesecloth or a clean dish cloth in a large bowl, and pour in the potato-onion mixture. Gather up the edges of the cloth, forcing the grated vegetables into a tight bundle, and wring out as much liquid as you can, discarding the liquid.
- Shake the potato onion mixture into a large bowl. Stir in the eggs, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, mixing well. Using a ½-cup measuring cup, scoop up a portion of the batter and pat it between your hands into a pancake shape ½ inch thick and 3 to 4 inches wide. Continue until all the latkes are shaped, placing them on a plate.
- Place two large nonstick or cast iron skillets over medium high heat and pour in enough oil to coat the bottoms of the pans (about 1/8 inch oil). When the pans are hot, starting adding as many latkes as will comfortably fit to each pan. (To protect your hands from the hot oil, you can slip the latkes into the pan using a large spoon.) Fry until golden, turning with a spatula to brown both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
- Turn the heat down to medium as needed so the latkes don’t burn before they’ve cooked through. Transfer the latkes to a paper towel lined baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven as you continue to fry any remaining latkes, wiping out any burned bits of debris from the pan and adding more oil as needed.