Classic Potato Latkes

Photo: flickr user Ned Raggett

Ingredients

2 lg. potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated

1 sm. onion, grated

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 eggs

Oil

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper

Applesauce, sour cream, Caramelized Applesauce (recipe follows)

6 lg. Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

Juice and grated peel of lemon (4 tbsp.)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup orange marmalade

1/2 cup orange juice

Preparation

In large bowl, combine potatoes, onion, lemon juice, eggs and 1 tablespoon oil. Mix well.

Blend in flour. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly.

Alternately, if using food processor, insert metal blade and mince onion.

Add eggs, 1 tablespoon oil, lemon juice and flour and process to blend.

Use shredding disk to shred potatoes into onion mixture. Remove disk and replace with plastic knife and process to combine.

Transfer mixture to large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In large heavy skillet, heat 1/4 inch oil to 375 degrees. By tablespoonfuls, spoon potato mixture into hot oil and flatten with back of spoon.

Brown on both sides, turning only once, about 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with applesauce, sour cream, preserves or granulated sugar for sprinkling over latkes and Caramelized Applesauce. Yields about 2 dozen.

In large bowl, toss together apple slices, lemon juice and peel. Set aside.

In large heavy saucepan, combine sugar, marmalade and orange juice.

Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar and marmalade dissolve. Bring syrup to boil, reduce heat and simmer 3 to 4 minutes, just until sauce begins to thicken.

Add apple mixture to syrup and toss to coat apples. Simmer, covered, 10 to 15 minutes, until apples are soft.

Transfer to glass bowl and cool to room temperature. Gently mash apple mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and chill. Serve with latkes.

Latkes are at their best when fried just before serving. Keep the first batches warm in the oven at 200 degrees while frying the remaining batter.

Before grating potatoes for potato latkes have all other ingredients ready so potatoes don't have time to turn brown.

For crisper latkes, fry in very hot oil, turning only once.

To freeze latkes, fry on each side until only golden. Drain on paper towels. Freeze in single layers on baking sheets lined with foil. Once frozen, latkes may be removed from baking sheets and placed in plastic bags. They will not stick together if frozen this way. Place frozen latkes in one layer on foil lined baking sheets and bake at 400 degrees until crisp and brown, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Note: Latkes is a Yiddish word for pancakes.