Potato Latkes

These shallow-fried pancakes of grated potatoes and onion make classic potato latkes the perfect side dish for a variety of meals.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Polish

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings latkes

Calories 143kcal

Peel the potatoes and place in a bowl with enough water to cover them so they won't brown. Let sit in water for 5 minutes. When ready to prepare, drain the potatoes in a colander.
Using a food processor with a grating disc, grate the potatoes and onions. Place potato and onion mixture in a clean dish towel, wrap tightly and squeeze hard to remove the liquid. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add the eggs, flour, baking powder, salt and black pepper to potato mixture and mix until flour is absorbed.
Preheat oven to 250°F and place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Pour in about ¼ inch of oil into a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Scoop up 3 tablespoon of the potato mixture per latke and drop into skillet. Use a spatula to flatten into discs. When the edges of the latkes are brown and crispy, about 5 minutes, flip. Cook for another 5 minutes or until browned.
Transfer cooked latkes to a paper towel-lined rack to drain and then put on wire rack in oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining latkes. Serve with some applesauce or sour cream.

For classic latkes, russet potatoes are the only way to go since their high starch content make a crispy latke.
Soak the potatoes in water for 5 minutes so they don't brown. However don't soak too long or you'll remove the starch.
Place the potatoes and onion in a dish towel and tightly squeeze to remove the excess liquid which helps create the crispiness you want.
Add cold oil to a cold skillet and let heat up to proper temperature before adding the chicken. You’ll know it is ready when the oil starts to shimmer.
Once you add the potato latke mixture to the oil, don't move them for 5 minutes before flipping so they create a crispy exterior.