Potato Pancakes, Straight from a Jewish Grandmother
The Oma & Bella Cookbook is a collection of classic Jewish recipes from Eastern Europe, as told to Alexa Karolinski by her grandmother Regina (Oma) and her best friend Bella. Karolinski worked with Oma and Bella to translate “handfuls” into half cups and “platefuls” into servings, and she also made a film about the duo.
Illustration: Joana Avillez
Potato Latkes (Potato Pancakes)
Makes 5 latkes
1 lb potatoes
1 egg
2 tbsp flour
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
Peel the potatoes, grate them by hand or in a blender and let them sit in a sieve for about 15 minutes.
In a bowl mix the potatoes with the egg, flour, salt and pepper. Fill a frying pan with the oil and set the burner to high. Make a flat pancake the size of your palm with the dough and place in the pan. Turn the latke over a couple of times, until both sides are golden brown. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Serve hot with apple sauce, sour cream, lachs or salmon roe.
Excerpted from Oma & Bella by Alexa Karolinksi (self-published, 2014).
Perfect your potato pancakes:
Latke frying mistakes to avoid
