Potato Latkes ( Recipe by Marlene Sorosky)

For 24 pancakes:

( 1 Vitamin C tablet )
2 1/2 pounds baking potatoes ( about 4 large potatoes)
1/2 onion
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 Tb flour or matzoh meal

Vegetable Oil

Directions:

• Place vitamin C tablet in a small bowl with 2 Tb water to dissolve. ( this step is optional... Peel the potatoes, and keep in a bowl of cold water until you are ready to shred them. ) Shred potatoes, using shredding blade of food processor, or by hand; place in a bowl. Stir in dissolved vitamin C.
• Shred or finely chop onion. Add to potatoes.
• Add eggs, salt , baking powder, and flour or matzoh meal; mix well.
• In a large skillet, heat 1/2 inch oil over moderately high heat. Using a slotted spoon, place about 2 Tb of batter into hot oil for each pancake. Do not crowd pancakes in pan.
• Flatten slightly with the back of the spoon and fry pancakes until golden on both sides, turning once.
• As you reach the end, squeeze batter lightly to remove excess liquid.
• After frying, remove to paper towels to drain.( Or brown paper bags with a paper towel on top. Pancakes may be kept warm in single layer in a 200 degree oven. May be frozen. Freeze on baking sheets in single layers. When solid, place in container. Bake in single layer on baking sheets at 450 degrees for 5-10 minutes or until crisp and bubbling.

Do not double the recipe, as the last of the raw potato batter gets too starchy and brown when it sits too long.

You can also coarsely grate the potatoes, and let some edges stick up and get more crispy. Or you can grate them, and then if it is too coarse for you, put them into the processor and pulse the blade a few times to more finely process them. It is up to you. Whatever you like!

When you are done, your house will smell like Latkes for a while!!

Love, Mom

RECIPE: JOAN NATHAN

YOU WILL NEED:

10 medium potatoes

2 medium onions

2 large or 3 medium eggs

4 Tb flour, breadcrumbs, or matzoh meal

salt and pepper to taste

veg oil

• Peel the potatoes if the skin is coarse; otherwise, just clean them well. Keep them in cold water until ready to prepare the latkes.
• Starting with the onions, alternately grate some of the onions on the large holes of the grater and some of the potatoes on the smallest holes. This will keep the potato mixture from blackening, probably from the acid in the onions. Press out as much liquid as possible and reserve the starchy sediment at the bottom of the bowl. Return the sediment to the mixture. ( I have done this, and it works well: it is the potato starch, and it has a strange but fun texture. ) Blend potatoes with the eggs, flour, salt, and white pepper.
• Heat 1 " of oil in a frying pan. Drop about 1 Tb of mixture, fry turning once.
• She says the steel blade of a food processor or the grating blade are less painful ways of grating the potatoes and the onions. The blade makes a smooth consistency and the grater a crunchy one.I think if you are doing many, don't grate by hand. Save it for a smaller, special batch. But, you can grate in the food processor, first some potato, and then some onion. It is the same idea.