Potato Pancakes--Cook-Off 16

[kiliki]

I was craving raclette tonight but instead of the usual boiled potatoes, I made rosti. Along with the prosciutto, cornichons and white wine from Alsace it was a wonderful meal. My first attempt at food photography failed and the melted cheese couldn't wait for me to fiddle with the settings, trying to get a good picture.

I made my rosti just by grating the potatoes on both the small and regular holes of the grater, draining over a bowl, adding back in the starch and frying in a combo of butter and canola oil. I don't know that this is the best or most authentic way to make rosti-I can't find in my cookbooks or online sites like epicurious a consensus about rosti (not that it's a complicated dish), and even in Switzerland I've had a variety of versions (it seems like it often comes with bacon).

[Chris Amirault]

Jason, those look fantastic. Where'd you get the schmaltz? Rendered yourself or storebought? If the latter, what brand?

[spaghetttti]

Uber latkes! Truly magnificent, Rachel & Jason! Do you recycle schmaltz or is it single-use frying fat?

Man, y'all eat good....

[Rachel Perlow]

The schmaltz I use is a byproduct of stock making. I strain while degreasing, etc. I'll keep the used schmaltz/oil by the stove for a week or so, for sauteeing where appropriate, then get grossed out and toss it.

I've edited the captions in Jason's post above to conform better to my recipe as posted.

[spaghetttti]

Thanks so much, Rachel.

Yoohoo, Chris...what's up for the next cook-off?

[katbert]

Last night I got home late after glazing at the ceramics studio and threw two potatoes in the oven for dinner- one was scarfed last night, and I grated the other today and mixed it up with another raw grated potato for potato pancakes. Fried in canola, in a cast iron frying pan, the pancakes came out a little thicker than I usually make with all raw potato. I think this is b/c I actually formed balls that I squashed into the pan with a spatula versus with all raw potato, I just drop spoonfulls into the pan. I should've put a pancake in each corner of the plate, but I ate them before I realized there wasn't enough contrast. oops.

[Susan in FL]

That looks really nice, and the idea of grated raw and cooked potato is interesting. Is that plate an example of your ceramics work? ...Beautiful!

We had a potato pancake for brunch today, with steak & eggs, and I am getting ready to load the photos and take a look. Russ made it, and if I'm not mistaken, used only grated raw potato and S&P.

[Susan in FL]

This morning for brunch we had a potato pancake with steak and eggs. As I said, Russ cooked, and he did use only the grated raw potato with salt and pepper. He made one, skillet size, and we divided it between us. It was good.

[piazzola]

Latke?

I call them Deruny

Deruny (Ukrainian Potato Pancakes)

1 lrg Onion, grated

6 x Potato, peeled & grated

2 tbl Flour

2 x Eggs

2 tsp Salt

3/4 tsp Black pepper

1 pt Sour cream

1/2 pt Cream

Method :

* In a large bowl mixed the ingredients except the sour cream & cream. You may do this in a food processor as well or a blender. Heat oil in a skillet and when hot drop large spoonsful of the mixture. Cook until browned on one side. Turn and repeat. When done remove, drain, and place in a warm oven.

* Mix the sour cream & cream together.

* Serve warm with a large dollop of the the cream mixture! This a staple in Ukrainian homes and these pancakes will store well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. In many homes preserves or jam is also served on these delicious pancakes.

Note for savoury deruny there is the option of mixing some grated cheese to add a extra kick to the potatoes whatever you like goes it is a peasant food at its best

There are many versions just google for them

Edited December 11, 2005 by piazzola (log)

[JasonTrue]

I decided to jump continents between yesterday and today, and made potato pancakes two ways: Roesti (Swiss), then kamja-jeon (Korean).

(More explicit details in my blog entry.)

My Roesti, with toasted almond slivers (instead of my usual sunflower or pumpkin seeds) and sour cream. I used clarified butter to cook the potatoes in the pan, before shaping into a patty.

My Kamja-jeon, served with a soy sauce and vinegar dipping sauce, with a hint of sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, and scallions:

Kamja-jeon are usually made with much more finely shredded potatoes than most European versions. They also aren't quite as oily as Latkes or Kartoffelpuffer. They use recovered starch, something like Kartoffelpuffer. But the dipping sauce is salty, rather than a sweet or creamy garnish.

[Pam R]

Today I taped a latke segment for CBC radio. As I was prepping for the taping I took some pictures:

2 small onions and 2 lbs. potatoes grated and draining:

squeezed on the left, starches settling on the right:

added 2 eggs, 3 Tbsp. flour, salt and pepper:

ready for flipping:

now, I know that the plating is lacking, but everybody knows that the best way to eat a latke is right out of the pan - no fork or knife necessary - before the rest go to the table (or in this case, they were packed up and sent to the studio):

[Gul_Dekar]

Not strictly on topic, but anyone heard of the Leevees? Click on the frying latke on the mainpage and listen to their discussion of applesauce versus sour cream...and join the latke clan!

[Chris Amirault]

Pam, thanks! I'm going to use your recipe tonight to make some latkes to go with a roast leg of lamb. Do I have permission to fiddle with them a bit? Report and pix to follow.

[Pam R]

Do I have permission to fiddle with them a bit? Report and pix to follow.

←

Of course! I even mentioned during the interview that I like to saute some spinach and garlic, add it with feta and oregano for a different flavour. Or some zucchini and leeks. Or ....

I can't wait to see what you come up with.

[scubadoo97]

I always like to use a box grater. Just seems to result in a better texture than when I've used a food processor's grater disk.

[Pam R]

Latkes anybody?

I made about 10 dozen today.. which had me wondering how many I'll be making over the holidays.

So I taped a piece of paper to the kitchen wall and I'm going to count them up. The list includes ones from Wed. on. It's definitely potato pancake season (though I'm including latkes... that are potato-less in the count).

[Chris Amirault]

Pam, your recipe is excellent! I modified it a bit with my eight-year-old daughter assisting. I was going for a Sephardic Syrian take on dinner: we had roast lamb with baharat (seven spice) and lemon, so I added some minced garlic and ginger as well as za'atar (a mixture with a thyme-like herb and sesame seeds) to the latke foundation above. They were fantastic with the lamb and some sumac-dusted broccoli rabe with raisins. It was a bit too frantic (and I'm a bit too sick) to take photos, I'm afraid.

[prasantrin]

I have embarked on my first attempt to make latke. But I've come across a problem. Sort of. I grated 1 lb of potatoes, and am letting them drain. They're turning brown, which I don't mind, but the liquid is also brown, and there's not very much of it. All the other pics I've seen have had loads of liquid with that all-important starch to go along with it. All the other pics I've seen have also had clear liquid. I also skipped on the onion, since I don't have any.

I'm thinking not peeling the potatoes might have been a bad idea (in terms of the browness). But why don't I have any good liquid with starch? Is it the potato I'm using? (I'm using "May Queen" which is a Japanese potato--we're very limited in our potatoes here in Japan).

Should I just add a bit of cornstarch or something to make-up for the lack of potato starch? I'm planning on adding 1.5 T flour, 1 egg, salt and pepper following Pam's recipe.

I'm really avoiding going to the store, since it's a no-so-balmy 5 degrees C *inside* my apartment--it's probably warmer outside, but I'm too cold to find out!

[Pam R]

Hi Rona. The amount of liquid will vary from potato to potato - after a rainy summer, the potatoes around here tend to have much more water in them... as they do this year. I actually squeeze the grated potatoes - I don't just let them sit in a colander. If you squeeze them and you don't get a lot of water out of them, don't worry about it. You don't have to add any cornstarch. Sometimes I add the starch, sometimes I don't.

As to the colour. I always grate the onion first then toss the grated potatoes with the onion - this keep the oxidization to a minimum. Some people add some vinegar to their recipes - but you have to be careful because then you have vinegar flavoured latkes. If the potatoes turn brown, it doesn't really harm the latke - it's just oxidizing potatoes. In fact, my grandmother's latkes always had a purplish tint to them when I was growing up.

And last, it's -21.4 C back here at home. Enjoy the 5.

[Pam R]

Pam, your recipe is excellent! I modified it a bit with my eight-year-old daughter assisting. I was going for a Sephardic Syrian take on dinner: we had roast lamb with baharat (seven spice) and lemon, so I added some minced garlic and ginger as well as za'atar (a mixture with a thyme-like herb and sesame seeds) to the latke foundation above. They were fantastic with the lamb and some sumac-dusted broccoli rabe with raisins. It was a bit too frantic (and I'm a bit too sick) to take photos, I'm afraid.

←

I love that... a Sephardic Syrian dinner.

I should be receiving cases of zaatar and sumac this week - you'r latkes are now on my must-try list.

Hope you feel better soon (and I hope it wasn't the latkes that made you sick!)

[Chris Amirault]

Yoohoo, Chris...what's up for the next cook-off?

←

Sorry for the delay, Yetti!

Cook-off XVII: Sausages.

[jhlurie]

I've noticed that not many people above go through the step of squeezing the excess water out of their potatoes (through paper towels, or better yet some kind of cheesecloth) instead of merely draining them.

Is there any thought on this? I've noticed a much better result when doing so--the resulting product is much lighter and fluffier.

[Jason Perlow]

I've noticed that not many people above go through the step of squeezing the excess water out of their potatoes (through paper towels, or better yet some kind of cheesecloth) instead of merely draining them.

Is there any thought on this?  I've noticed a much better result when doing so--the resulting product is much lighter and fluffier.

←

It depends on how water saturated your potatoes are. Some types of potatoes are a lot more watery than others, and even the same kind of potatoes grown in different regions also vary in water retention.

I for one, like the heavier variety of latke, however. I also think matzo meal as part of the mix is a necessity, as are two textures of potatoes -- shredded and fine chop.

[Pam R]

I'm a squeezer. The final latke is crisper. I think I'm giving myself arthritis though...

It does depend on the potato though. As I said in an earlier post - we had a lot of rain this year, and the potatoes are wetter than last year. When I was making a small batch the other day, I got more than 1 cup of water from 2 lbs. of potatoes and 1 large onion.

I've noticed that not many people above go through the step of squeezing the excess water out of their potatoes (through paper towels, or better yet some kind of cheesecloth) instead of merely draining them.

Is there any thought on this?  I've noticed a much better result when doing so--the resulting product is much lighter and fluffier.

←

[Jake]

Made latkes for dinner last night, sorry no pics as the camera is, well, therein lies the problem. I, too, am a squeezer. They turned out beautifully and I had to kick the SO out of the kitchen as he was eating them as fast as they came out of the pan!