Marcy Goldmans World Famous Potato Pancakes Latkes Food

POTATO PANCAKES (LATKES)

Steps:

• Grate potatoes and onion into a bowl or pulse in food processor. Drain any excess liquid, then add the eggs, matzo meal, salt and pepper.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spoon the mixture into hot oil forming small pancakes. Cook until underside is golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until other side is golden and potatoes are cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Serve hot with sour cream or applesauce.

LATKES (POTATO PANCAKES)

Steps:

• Wash and peel the potatoes.
• Grate the potatoes with a grater or food processor.
• (You can grate them into a bowl of salted water to keep them from discoloring. Otherwise they discolor about as fast as you can grate them, although it doesn't hurt anything if you use them right away). Drain off all liquid, and squeeze the excess liquid out by hand.
• (Do this even if you don't soak them in the salted water.) Beat the eggs and mix with the grated potatoes and other ingredients, except the oil.
• Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a skillet over medium high heat until very hot.
• Drop potato mixture by heaping tablespoons into oil (about 4 at a time).
• Use a pancake turner to flatten them out.
• Fry to golden brown on both sides (about 3 minutes per side).
• Drain on paper towels.
• Serve topped with applesauce or sour cream.

MARCY GOLDMAN'S WORLD FAMOUS POTATO PANCAKES LATKES

Steps:

• The best way to fry these are in tiny dollops, dropped from a spoon (or I use metal kitchen tongs and pick up small clumps of batter) and use a deep wok. the cooking method is so important so follow the directions exactly for perfect results.
• Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and just cover with cold water. Turn heat to high and allow to come to boil. As soon as potatoes are boiling, put a kitchen timer on for 10 minutes. When timer rings, remove potatoes from stove and cover with cold water. Drain immediately, then cover again with cold water. Let sit five minutes. Remove potatoes and pat dry.
• Using a hand shredder (best) or food processor fitted with a medium disc, shred potatoes (with skins on). The potatoes should be slightly softened, but still firm enough to produce shreds. If the peel separates from the potato, discard it. If the peel gets grated in with the potatoes, it's fine and just incorporate it into the mixture. I like the hand grater best. When I use the processor, I use two thirds shredded then pulverized potatoes and one third shredded for a mixture than is bulky but still has shreds. Worth the trouble.
• In a large bowl, blend shredded potatoes, grated onion, eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Place newspaper on work surface (near frying area) and cover with a few paper towels. In a large deep skillet (I like to use a wok), pour in enough vegetable oil to fill about two thirds. If using an electric fry pan, set the temperature to 350°F or 375°F (depending on how fast you want the pancakes to cook). Drop potato batter by teaspoons (for small ones) or soup spoonfuls in small dollops, flattening slightly with a metal spatula if desired. I use large metal tongs for dropping and turning. Brown one side, turn once, and complete cooking on other side. These cook quickly. You're looking for a puffy centre while retaining some crisp shreds of potato on edges.
• Serve immediately or freeze. To reheat, place latkes on a large wire cake rack on a cookie sheet. Warm at 250°F until crisp. For freezing purposes, fry them a little underdone to allow for browning in the re-heating stage.

SLIGHTLY ADAPTED MAMO'S POTATO PANCAKES

Steps:

• Peel the potatoes, immediately immersing them in very cold water as you finish each one.
• Remove the potatoes from the water. Grate the potatoes and onion with a food processor fitted with the grating blade. Don't press too hard on the potatoes going in -- just enough to get them through.
• Transfer the potatoes and onion to a fine-mesh strainer; squeeze out all the water into a bowl. Let the potato starch settle, then pour out as much water as possible, leaving the starch in the bowl. Add the potato-onion mixture to the bowl and mix in the egg, flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste.
• Heat a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet with a thin layer of vegetable oil over medium heat. Scoop large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the pan and flatten them out (thin pancakes yield crispy ones). Fry until golden on the bottom, then gently flip and fry the other side, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. (If you have to wait to serve, re-crisp them on a baking sheet lined with clean paper towels in a 350 degrees F oven.)
• Serve with applesauce, or try my family's favorite toppings: My great-grandmother put cinnamon in applesauce to serve with hers. My grandfather loved his with heaps of cold sour cream. My grandmother served them with poached pears. My mother tops them with tart, chunky homemade applesauce. My brother, Willie, loves his plain with sugar. My stepfather, Ronnie, loves his with ketchup -- but I wouldn't brag about that!