Greetings, salutations, and g'mar chatima tova from Bubbe, straight from the kitchen with a very important announcement:
After 30 years of marriage, I have FINALLY perfected a latke recipe that saves you an hour of your life!!! Enough time to play a few extra hands of mahj, or put in a load of laundry, or write an article!
Maybe some of you already knew these secrets, but it took decades for me to get here.
1) FROZEN CHOPPED ONIONS. These, I have been using for years. They're a blessing for several reasons, including not having to chop your own, not having the issue of "half an onion" hanging around the fridge, and being super easy to measure (for recipes that use measurements). They usually come in a 12 ounce package (approximately 3 cups) in the frozen vegetable section; get the store brand. I also recommend letting them defrost for a few hours, rather than trying to "nuke" them--that just turns them into water and a few thin pieces of onion.
2) "SIMPLY SHREDDED HASH BROWNS" or whatever pre-shredded potatoes you can find. Does anyone still need to prove how much they love their family by slicing up their knuckles on a vegetable grater? I got tired of de-clogging the food processor, too....
This particular brand of potato was the magic ingredient for me; I tried other sizes and styles of frozen potatoes, and they were awful for latkes. These are in the refrigerated (NOT frozen) section of the vegetable department. The package is 20 ounces (a little less than 5 cups). They are perfectly cut for latkes. And yes, like the frozen onions above, they have an OU hechsher.
3) 3 eggs
4) Salt and pepper
5) A few fistfuls of flour
6) Vegetable oil
I mix all the onions and potatoes together well in a medium-sized bowl, with a 1/2 cup of diced fresh leeks if I happen to have them--strictly optional, of course, as is garlic or scallions.
I put about a third of the onion/potato collaboration into a large bowl with one egg and mix well. Then add another third, with a second egg, and mix. Then the final third with the final egg and continue mixing. Add the salt and pepper (a lot or a little, depending on your crowd) and enough flour to hold things together.
Heat the oil in a fry pan or two, or....
Here is the other HUGE Bubbe time-saving tip: a la Ruth's Chris and other swanky steak restaurants, you can make ONE BIG LATKE in a 8 or 10 inch omelet pan. Sure, you can stand over the stove and make the traditional size (4-5 inch diameter) latkes, flipping and checking and putting in more oil and giving up half your afternoon. OR you can make a FEW of the traditional size, plus two or three of the super-size ones. Trust me, once they taste them they won't quibble about the shape.
The key to flipping the larger latke was to flip it into another frypan first, or even a pot lid that is larger. There was no way I was going to keep such a large latke intact on one immediate flip.
This recipe makes enough food for at least 4 starving people, or 6 normal ones. I made them for both tonight and the break fast tomorrow, and hopefully they will last until lunch on Tuesday, too.
Leftover tip (also good for Pesach): sandwich of barbecued brisket between two latkes.
Wishing my Jewish friends a meaningful fast. And (per the Hebrew above) may we be signed and sealed in the Book of Life for a much better year.
Talk to you soon!
Bubbe Fischer
