1,000 Jewish Recipes (122 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1.
Line a tray with paper towels to drain latkes. Puree
1
â
2
cup of the cooked corn in a food processor; a few chunks may remain. Mix pureed corn with bell pepper, celery, salt, pepper, cayenne, cumin, and flour. Adjust seasoning. Stir in egg, then the 1
1
â
2
cups remaining corn kernels.
2.
Heat
1
â
4
cup oil in a deep, large, heavy skillet. For each pancake, drop 1 heaping tablespoon of corn mixture into the pan. Flatten pancakes slightly with back of a spoon. Fry over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Turn carefully with 2 slotted spatulas so oil doesn't splatter. Transfer to paper towels. Stir batter before frying each new batch. Add more oil to the pan as necessary, and heat it before adding more latkes.
3.
Pat tops of latkes with paper towels before serving. Serve hot.
You can serve these pancakes for Hanukkah or for Passover. They're a tasty accompaniment for broiled sea bass or salmon or roasted chicken. If you serve them as an appetizer, top them with
Leek Compote
and a sprinkling of fresh dill. For dairy meals, I like them with
Creamy Dill Topping
or garnished with a dollop of sour cream and a few strips of lox.
1
â
4
pound small mushrooms
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1
â
4
cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 to 3 tablespoons matzo meal
About
1
â
4
cup vegetable oil (for frying)
1.
Line a tray with paper towels to drain the latkes. Separate mushroom stems from caps; halve caps and stems lengthwise and cut into thin slices. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet. Add onion and sauté over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and celery and sauté 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Let cool. Transfer to a bowl. Add dill, salt, pepper, eggs, and 2 tablespoons matzo meal. Mix well; if mixture appears watery, add another tablespoon matzo meal.
2.
Heat
1
â
4
cup oil in a deep, large, heavy skillet. For each pancake, drop 1 heaping tablespoon of mixture into pan. Flatten them slightly with back of a spoon. Fry over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Turn carefully with 2 slotted spatulas so oil doesn't splatter. Transfer to paper towels. Stir batter before frying each new batch. Add more oil to the pan as necessary, and heat it before adding more latkes.
3.
Pat tops of latkes with paper towels before serving. Serve hot.
When I visited Saint Louis, I learned that carrot latkes are a specialty of the restaurant at the city's Jewish Community Center. The latkes have a delicate sweetness and an eye-catching orange hue. I like to season them with a little ginger and to serve them with
Onion Marmalade
.
1
1
â
4
pounds carrots
1
â
2
small onion
1 large egg
1
â
2
teaspoon salt
1
â
2
teaspoon ground ginger
1
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4
teaspoon white pepper (optional)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
About
1
â
2
cup vegetable oil (for frying)
1.
Preheat oven to 250°F. Line a tray with paper towels to drain latkes.
2.
Grate carrots and onion, using the large holes of a grater or a food processor fitted with a coarse grating disk. Transfer to a large bowl. Beat egg with salt, ginger, and pepper, if using, in a small bowl and add to carrot mixture. Add flour and mix well.
3.
Heat
1
â
4
cup oil in a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet, preferably nonstick. For each latke, drop about 2 tablespoons of carrot mixture into pan. Flatten with back of a spoon so each pancake is about 2
1
â
2
inches in diameter. Do not crowd pan. Fry over medium heat 4 minutes on each side, or until light golden. Turn carefully with 2 slotted spatulas so oil doesn't splatter. Transfer to paper towels. Stir batter before frying each new batch. Add more oil to the pan as necessary, and heat it before adding more latkes. After frying about half the batter, put latkes on baking sheet and keep warm in oven.
4.
Pat tops of latkes with paper towels before serving. Serve hot or warm.
Spinach and nutmeg are classic partners in European cooking, and they complement each other well in these shallot-accented pancakes. They make a colorful addition to a platter of potato latkes or a good accompaniment for baked fish.
Three 10-ounce bags rinsed spinach leaves
2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
2 medium shallots, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1
â
2
cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup sour cream (regular, low-fat, or nonfat)
Ground white pepper, to taste
About
1
â
4
cup vegetable oil (for frying)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1.
Line a tray with paper towels to drain the latkes. Cook spinach in a large pan of boiling salted water 3 minutes or until tender. Rinse with cold water. Squeeze spinach to remove excess liquid. Chop fine with a knife.
2.
Melt butter in a medium skillet. Add shallots and sauté over medium heat 1 minute. Add spinach and cook about 2 minutes, stirring. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg. Transfer to a large bowl.
3.
Mix flour, eggs, milk,
1
â
4
teaspoon salt, and a pinch of nutmeg in a small bowl until it becomes a thick batter. Add batter to spinach and mix well.
4.
To make nutmeg cream topping: Mix sour cream with nutmeg, salt, white pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.
5.
Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Fry spinach mixture by tablespoonfuls, flattening each after adding it, about 2 minutes per side or until golden browned. Do not crowd pan. Turn carefully with 2 slotted spatulas so oil doesn't splatter. Transfer to paper towels. Stir batter before frying each new batch. Add more oil to the pan as necessary, and heat it before adding more latkes.
6.
Pat tops of latkes with paper towels before serving. Serve hot, with a small dollop of topping and a sprinkling of chives.
You can make pancakes from zucchini alone but the latkes come out a little crisper when the zucchini are paired with potatoes. These light latkes are flavored with onion and garlic and taste good with veal chops, roast chicken, or baked halibut. As an appetizer, they're good with
Sephardic Salsa
.
1
â
2
medium onion
1 large baking potato (about 5 ounces)
3 medium zucchini (about 12 ounces)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 egg, lightly beaten
3
â
4
teaspoon salt
1
â
4
teaspoon white pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
About
1
â
4
cup vegetable oil (for frying)
1.
Line a tray with paper towels to drain latkes. Peel and grate onion and potato using large holes of a grater or a food processor fitted with a coarse grating disk, alternating onion and potato. Transfer them to a colander. Squeeze mixture by handfuls to remove as much liquid as possible. Put potatoes and onions in a bowl. Grate zucchini the same way and squeeze out excess liquid. Add to bowl of potato and onion. Add garlic, parsley, egg, salt, pepper, and flour and mix well.
2.
Heat oil in a deep, large, heavy skillet. For each pancake, drop 1 heaping tablespoon of zucchini mixture into the pan. Flatten them slightly with back of a spoon. Fry over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Turn very carefully with 2 slotted spatulas so the oil doesn't splatter. Transfer to paper towels. Stir batter before frying each new batch. Add more oil to the pan as necessary, and heat it before adding more latkes.
3.
Pat tops of latkes with paper towels before serving. Serve hot.
One Hanukkah my mother and I made new latkes from all sorts of vegetables, a different one each night. My favorites were those we prepared on the seventh nightâsweet potato latkes, with a subtle sweet flavor and a lovely orange color. They're great with
Chunky French Applesauce
,
Creamy Dill Topping
, or, for an unusual touch,
Pineapple-Papaya Salsa
.
Use a nonstick skillet and be especially careful when frying these latkes, as the high sugar content of sweet potatoes can cause them to burn easily. You can make these ahead and reheat them on a cookie sheet in a 400°F oven about 7 minutes; but watch them so their edges don't scorch.
