Conference turris::cooks

    Sure do!!!!
    This will give you latkes for 4 people (you can double/tripple
    the ammount-it never fails...
    
    Latkes for 4
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~
    4 large potatoes-peeld and grated
    1 small/medium onion-same
    2 eggs
    2-3 tablespoon white all purpous flour
    salt,white pepper (for the taste)
    
    "squeeze out" the liquids from the potatoes and onion.Combine all the
    above.Fry this Latkes both sides in hot oil (not deep fry!) untill it's
    yellow/brown.use peper towels to absorbe the oil.If you like sweet
    latkes you can then spread some sugar on them.
    simple but genious...
    r/
    
    

    We had a variation on latkes last night.
    
    2 potatoes, grated on the coarse side of a 4 side grater
    1/2 an onion (you could use a whole one, I had 1/2 in the fridge)
    	chopped up small
    1 clove garlic, minced or mashed through a press
    1/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
    1/3 cup pancake mix
    2 eggs
    1 small can (the short kind, 6 oz?) fake crab (polluck), drained and
        chopped up.  If you're not kosher and are rich you can use real crab.
    
    Beat the eggs, mix milk and pancake mix into it.  Add garlic and blend.
    Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well.  If the mix is watery,
    add a bit of flour - if too stiff, add more milk.  Add pepper to taste;
    there should be enough salt in the crab/sea legs for the dish.
    
    Heat oil in a skillet (I used a flat cast-iron pancake griddle) as if
    you were making pancakes.  Fry cakes over med-low heat until brown,
    turn over and brown the other side.
    
    Serve hot with yogurt or sour cream.  This makes a tasty dinner for
    two people (or more if you have other things for dinner as well).
    
    --Louise
    

    And yet another variation...(who said latkes are boring???...):
    
    1 cup grated potatoes (coarse side of the grater)
    1 cup grated carrot
    1 cup grated sweet potato (Batata...)
    1/3 cup flour
    1 teaspoon salt
    guice of 1/2 leomn
    1 small onion-grated
    4 eggs-bitten
    1/4 cup parsley (sp?)-chopped fine.
    a bit of nutmeg,a bit of black pepper
    
    how to: same as in .1
    
    Marilyn-well??? mail me the "test resaults"....
    
    Chug Chanukah Sameach to you all.
    r/
    
    
    

    My Gramma used to make potato-latkes that had a beautifull golden-brown
    color in the outside and an incredible pastel-green color inside. She
    would not use anything but potatoes, eggs, etc., NO colorants nor
    Spinach or any other green stuff. 

    It seems that she would leave the grated potatoes standing for some time
    before she would be able to make the latkes; the potatoes got brown and,
    when fried, they would turn green.

    My mother could not ever make the same "green latkes".

    Can anybody help me clarify "the mistery of the green latkes"?

    Juan-Carlos

    I have never made latkes before, but the other week I prepared to
    potatoe "gratins" thinking I would polish off the extra one during the
    week (the first was for guests).  Well I didn't feel like eating gratin
    so the stuff stayed in the fridge for several days and I can vouch for
    the fact that the potatoes turned a grey-greenish color.. which
    prompted me to chuck the whole dish out... Now that I know you can eat
    them without getting sick, I can start a new trend of "green" gratin !
    

    I realize that this is post-Chanukah, but my husband really loves his
    latkes and made me research for "authentic" receipes.  These are real
    latkes; the kind that grandma slaved over a hot stove to make.
    
    4-6 peeled potatos (FRESH)
    1 large onion
    2 eggs
    1/4 - 1/2 cup MATZO MEAL (you can find it in the jewish cooking
          section of the supermarket)
    1/2 tsp baking powder
    sprinkle of kosher salt
    oil
    
    
    Grandma hand grated the potatos and onions; I'm lazy, however, so I
    throw them in my mini-food processor with  little water, then drain.
    I'm not sure if its the type of potatos or the onion, but if you let
    them sit for a while after grating, they will indeed turn green.  Be
    sure to drain out all excess water.
    
    Add remaining ingredient and mix.  The secret to really good latkes is
    to put about 1/2" oil in the bottom of your fry pan and let it get hot;
    I usually set it at medium-high for about 5 minutes.  Place a spoonful
    of latke mix around the edges of the fry pan to make 5-6 latkes, with
    one in the middle.  Turn ONLY when latkes are brown on the edge; remove
    when cooked and drain for a few minutes.
    
    My husband likes to eat them with apple sauce, though my family prefers
    sour cream.  Its some work and can get messy cooking, but they go over
    like hotcakes for my family.  You can even cook them ahead of time and
    then reheat for a few minutes in the oven.
    
    

    I love to cook and part of the fun for me is ethnic cooking.  Not only
    do I love preparing (and eating) different dishes but I also enjoy 
    hearing the stories about where the dish originated from or why 
    something was made the way it was, etc..
    
    Regarding the latkes....I have two questions.  Does the dish have a
    story behind it's origin and/or does it have any religious
    significance?  And, I found it interesting to read that you eat them 
    with sour cream.  Aren't some kosher meals not allowed to be served with 
    dairy products or is that just that you can't cook dairy products in
    the same pot that you cook meat?
    
    I don't want to get off the subject here - so if the moderator feels
    these questions are inappropriate - you could answer these questions
    for me off-line.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Marilyn
    

    RE:  2801.8
    
    1) Origins.  At Chanukah it is traditional to serve a fried food. 
    Those of European descent (Ashkenazis) have latkes, thos of middle
    Eastern descent (Sephardis) have sufganiot, a type of donut.  Don't
    know about Jews from other areas.  
    
    Why?  The festival celebrates the rededication of the Temple in
    Jerusalem and the miracle of the special oil used for the holy menorah
    (Candelabrum) used in the rededication.  Hence food cooked in oil.
    
    2) Kashrut (rules of kosher).  According to Jewish law, there are four
    type of food:  Dairy, meat, pareve (Not dairy or meat - usually plant
    foods), and trafe (forbidden foods such as pork or shellfish).  Dairy
    and meat cannot be prepared or served using the same utensils, nor
    eaten at the same meal.  Pareve can go with dairy or meat.  Latkes are
    pareve normally, but served in a dairy meal with sour cream at
    Chanukah, although they can also be served with meat.  Applesauce
    either way (pareve).  Kashrut rules are vast, detailed, and far
    reaching, including the slaughter and butchering of meat, and many
    other aspects of food preparation.  This is just a quick explanation. 
    For more information, try the TAVENG::BAGELS notes file.
    
    3) Nearly every Jewish holiday has traditional foods associated with
    it.  There are a number of cookbooks and many interesting recipes,
    especially those of Sephardic origin which blend many ethnic traditions
    such as Spanish, Italian, Morroccan, Egyptian, etc. with Jewish dietary
    laws and traditions.  There are just a few Sephardic cookbooks and
    restaurants that serve Sephardic in the US have a fast-food
    orientation, unfortunately.

    This recipe is really delicious, easy to prepare, and (happily)
    nutritious as well.  They're not really comparable to traditional
    latkes--can anything compare?  8^)--but are worthwhile in their own
    right.  These makes a great breakfast/brunch/lunch dish, and could also
    be served as a side dish at dinner.  Enjoy!
    
    Vegetable Latkes
    ----------------
    
    1 C carrots, grated                 1 whole egg + 1 egg white
    1/2 C zucchini, grated              1/4 C milk
    1/2 C onion, grated
    
    1/2 C flour                         1/2 t salt
    1/2 t baking powder                 1/4 t pepper
    
    Beat egg and milk in med-sized bowl.  Add grated carrots, zucchini, and
    onion.  In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and
    pepper.  Stir dry ingredients into wet until just mixed.  Spray
    nonstick skillet with Pam and heat pan over medium heat.  Drop
    spoonsfuls into hot pan, shaping into flat pancakes of desired size. 
    Cook until golden, at least 2 minutes on each side.  Serve with
    applesauce or sour cream.
    
    ***********************************************************************
    
    Here's another recipe for vegetable latkes, which are more in line with
    the traditional variety.  I haven't tried these--just thought I'd enter
    this recipe along with the above.
    
    Vegetable Latkes
    ----------------
    
    3 eggs
    2-1/2 C shredded, peeled zucchini
    1 C shredded, peeled potatoes
    1 C shredded carrot
    1/2 C shredded onion (1 large)
    1/2 C snipped parsely
    1/2 t salt
    3/4 C matzo meal
    1-2 tablespoons peanut oil
    
    In a bowl combine eggs, shredded vegetables, parsley, salt, and 1/8 t
    pepper.  Stir in matzo meal.  Shape into flat cakes, using 1-2 T for
    each.  Fry latkes in a skillet a few at a time, in 1-2 T hot peanut
    oil, 1-1/2 minutes per side.  Add additional peanut oil as necessary. 
    Drain on paper towels, serve.
    

    I use a food processor on these to do the grating and chopping.  It's
    important to squeeze out as much of the potato water as you can.
    
    4 baking size potatos
    2 eggs
    1 small onion
    2 (or 4, as needed for the right dryness) rounded T bread crumbs
    1/4 t white pepper
    1/2 t salt
    2 T milk
    1 T flour
    
    Peel the potatos and grate them.  Set aside in a colander to drain,
    possibly with a bowl of water set in on top of them to press them dry.
    
    Chop up the onion and add the rest of the ingredients.  Chop them
    together real fine until they are a thick paste consistency.
    
    Take about half the grated potato and squeeze it tight between your
    hands.  Add them to the mix and continue chopping.
    
    Place mix in large bowl, squeeze dry the remaining grated potato and
    add to the mix.  Blend it all together.  This method gives you some of
    the potato as threads with the rest as a binder.
    
    Have about a 1/2" of oil in the pan, heated.  Scoop out about 1/3 cup
    mix at a time for each one, drop them in the pan and flatten them out a
    bit to about 4" diameter.  Don't flatten them out too thin.  Almost
    right away slide a spatula underneath each one to make sure they are
    floating a bit and not sticking to the pan.
    
    When the edges begin to brown, turn them over and then keep an eye on
    them so they don't burn.  Take them out and drain.  I can eat a lot of
    these on a Sunday morning.  I always make more than we can eat and warm
    them up later in the toaster oven during the week.