There are so many ways to make latkes - grated, pureed, from a mix, and all of it changes when you make 10 vs. thousands. As someone who has been there and back, the best of all latkes is the small batch, fresh latke. You know that first or second one, eaten from the pan while still crisp and tender, It's so tender and light that you can still see the ribbons of potato inside -- crispy and golden-brown, with the sweet and savory aroma of well-seasoned potator supported by onion.
This recipe is the master batch of latkes. It is meant to be simple and straightforward while adding a technique to keep your mixture stable so you don't have oxidizing, watery batter. Whether you are a sour cream or applesauce person, you should also try the quick applesauce to serve at your latke party. We also included some vegetable variations to change things up and include more variety.
Enjoy the latkes, they are delicious no matter what you are celebrating. Thank you to Helen Park and La Boite for this wonderful recipe!
Ingredients
Master Latke Recipe
1 pint grated potato (2 cups)
1 egg
1 Tbsp corn starch or flour
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp Onion, ground into powder
1 tsp baking powder Oil for frying
Sweet Potato Version
1 cup grated potato
2 cups grated sweet potato
1 egg
1 Tbsp corn starch or flour
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp Onion, ground into powder
1 tsp baking powder Oil for frying
Zucchini Version
1 cup grated potato
2 cups grated zucchini
1 egg
1 Tbsp corn starch or flour
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp Onion, ground into powder
1 tsp baking powder Oil for frying
Quick Apple Sauce – make ahead
½ cup sugar
2 Tbsp water
4 cups apples, peeled and cut into large chunks 1 Tbsp lemon juice
pinch of salt
½ tsp Sri Lanka blend
1 Tbsp corn starch, mixed with 1 Tbsp water
Directions
For the latkes
Spread the grated potato out onto a flat plate and cover lightly with plastic wrap. I like to use a 9”-10” glass pie plate
as the sides come in handy.
Microwave on high 2-3. You want the potatoes to be warmed through and still raw but not cooked or clumping.
When ready, mix the potatoes with a fork to fluff, separate, and cool the potatoes. The potatoes should cool to room temperature.
Add the egg, corn starch, salt, onion powder, and baking powder and mix to combine well.
Prepare a tray with a cooling rack or a bed of paper towels. Heat a heavy bottom skillet with a ¼” of oil until shimmering.
Drop the latke mix in ¼ cup piles and fluff down lightly to ½” thick patty shapes. You want even thickness with some perfectly imperfect edges. Resist the urge to smash the cake here and after flipping, it will make them dense.
Fry the latkes in small batches on low-medium heat. The oil should be gently bubbling around the edges.
When the edges are golden brown, flip each latke and continue cooking until both sides are golden-brown and cooked through.
Note that when cooked you can still see, and taste, the layers of grated potato inside. High five. Keep cooking latkes until all of the batter is cooked.
For the Applesauce – make ahead
Pulse the apple chunks in a food processor with the lemon juice, pinch of salt, and Sri Lanka until finely
chopped. If you don’t have a food processor, the apples can also be grated.
In a small heavy bottom sauté pan, cook the sugar and water to an amber caramel.
Add the rest of the ingredients and bring back to boil. Resist the urge to stir the caramel at this point, it will only stick to your spoon instead of staying in the applesauce.
Bring to boil then simmer for 20 minutes or until the fruit is cooked and the jam is sticky and shiny. Drizzle in your corn starch and water mixture and stir through to combine well, while still simmering. Remove from heat and store.
Recipe Note
For the potato, both Russet or Yukon gold potatoes work as well as a mixture of the two. Make sure to use the largest holes of your box grater for nice ribbony pieces.
The heated potato can be done in advance (the day before) so if you are making a big batch, it is best to still cook the two cups of potato at a time but you can fluff and cool the cooked potatoes and mix more batter as you go on the cooking day.
This recipe uses our premium onion slices, ground into a powder, to prevent the extra moisture that grated fresh onion adds. If you prefer fresh onion, just grate on the box grater and add them into the potato microwave step.
If you do not have a microwave, you can also lay the grated potatoes onto a flat steaming tray and steam quickly. This recipe also works as is without microwaving at all. The latkes will still be delicious, just work as quickly as you can.
The potato latke is definitely king but sweet potato is a nice addition and the zucchini is even lighter, they are also a little trickier to cook because of their delicate nature. For the variations above, you could also mix 1 cup each of potato, sweet potato, and zucchini.
For the applesauce, you can use a variety of apples. I like a mix of Honeycrisp and Grannysmith. If you are using different apples, try to get 4 cups of peeled apples from whatever apples you use (or need to use from that apple picking day trip).
The applesauce is really delicious (full of fresh apple, caramel, and Sri Lanka flavor) and should be made in advance (up to 2 weeks) so that it is nice and chilled when ready to serve). The recipe makes about 3 cups, so there might be extra.
Variations and Ideas
The latkes can be made smaller for little bites and passed hors d'oeuvres or larger for a brunch entée with salmon and fried egg.
In place of sour cream, you can also serve full fat Greek yogurt or labne.
