I love latkes — Hanukkah potato pancakes — but I don’t love standing over the stove, frying up pan after pan of these tasty potato treats.
Enter baked latkes.
My mom gave me a recipe for baked latkes a few years ago, and while I was definitely skeptical, I gave them a try.
I know, I know, nothing baked tastes as good as the same thing fried. And if you’ve got plenty of Hanukkah helpers in the kitchen, I’d always choose the fried ones. But these light and crisp baked latkes are surprisingly good, and they’re much, much easier to prepare.
Here’s the recipe. Enjoy! (And thanks, Mom!)
Audrey’s Baked Potato Pancakes
Ingredients:
4 large Russet potatoes
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 egg whites
Vegetable oil (to grease the baking sheets)
Method:
Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).
Grate the potatoes. You can use a food processor if you prefer; just don’t grate them too finely. Press them to squeeze out as much water as you can.
Add salt and three of the four egg whites. Stir to blend. If the potatoes don’t seem to hold together enough to make a pancake, add the additional egg white.
Generously oil two cookie sheets. Using half the potato mixture, scoop potatoes onto a cookie sheet in eight mounds. Gently flatten each mound into a 3-inch-wide (7.5-cm) pancake. Repeat with the remaining potato mixture.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until pancakes are beginning to set. Turn them over and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden and crisp.
Serve immediately, with sour cream and applesauce on the side.
Yield: 16 pancakes.
Notes:
You can make the latkes smaller if you like. You may need to reduce the cooking time by a minute or two on each side.
You can also add finely grated onion to the potato mixture.
[mrlinky owner=wanderfood postid=21Dec2011 meme=2888]
Happy Hanukkah, and Tasty Travels!
Carolyn
Photo credits:
Latkes by ohmeaghan (flickr)
Frying the latkes by slgckgc (flickr)
Potatoes by grongar (flickr)
Hanukkah candles by RonAlmog (flickr)