The BF just left for two weeks of travel. (Boy, am I jealous.) He requested kartoffelpuffer (potato pancakes) as the last nice meal he'll get for the next fortnight. OK, not so jealous of a 14-day hotel food diet.
My family knows these foods as latkes. They are the special symbolic food of Chanukah, the Festival of Lights (and, informally, of Frying Everything in Oil). Long story short: Roughly 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem, the Temple was ransacked & desecrated by the Assyrians. The Jews took it back and cleaned it up. The first thing to do to re-sanctify it was to light the Ner Tamid (Eternal Flame), which should always, always be kept burning, and in those times was fueled by olive oil. It took eight days to prepare oil for the lamp, but they only found one day's supply of oil that hadn't been destroyed and lit it right away. Miraculously, one day's worth burned for eight, until fresh oil was ready. So now, in remembrance, for eight days we fry everything - most famously, donuts and potatoes. For us, they've always been a seasonal treat, but in Germany they're eaten year-round. I like the German way better!
The first time BF and I bonded over these fried morsels was the week leading up to a friend's Chanukah party. I kept talking about how much I was looking forward to latkes, but BF didn't have a clue what they were, and was wary. Last time I got excited about holiday food, he thought I was talking about porridge.
We got to the party, the latkes were served, he took one look and exclaimed, "Oh! Kartoffelpuffer!" and dug right in. We all laughed.
The next time we visited BF's parents, they made sure to serve us Kartoffelpuffer for lunch. In May.
The best part of this recipe is seeing the naturally-forming potato starch at the bottom of the bowl after you've squeezed the potato shreds. In a lucky batch, that's all the binding you'll need. Tonight I added about half a teaspoon extra potato starch, and another tablespoon of flour.
If you have a look in the December 2010 issue of Food Network Magazine, you'll see my Letter to the Editor thanking them for the Jewish holiday recipes for Passover and Rosh Hashanah, and looking forward to their take on latkes. They printed not one, but two latke recipes, including one from Duff Goldman's grandma. I like to think of that issue as my own personal shoutout from the Ace of Cakes.
If you have a look in the December 2010 issue of Food Network Magazine, you'll see my Letter to the Editor thanking them for the Jewish holiday recipes for Passover and Rosh Hashanah, and looking forward to their take on latkes. They printed not one, but two latke recipes, including one from Duff Goldman's grandma. I like to think of that issue as my own personal shoutout from the Ace of Cakes.
Kartoffelpuffer/Latkes
adapted from Food Network
serves 3-4
prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 25 minutes for a batch
ingredients:
1 large onion, halved
1 large egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, matzo meal, or potato starch
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (or to taste)
Salt and pepper
Vegetable or canola oil, for frying
Applesauce and/or sour cream for topping
directions:
Peel the potatoes. Stick them in very cold water immediately as you finish each one.
When they're all peeled, remove the potatoes from the water. Grate the potatoes and onion in a food processor - or a grater if you go the hard way. Don't press too hard on the potatoes going in -- just enough to get them through.
When they're all peeled, remove the potatoes from the water. Grate the potatoes and onion in a food processor - or a grater if you go the hard way. 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 large bowl. Let it rest a few minutes so the potato starch settles, then pour out as much water as possible, leaving the starch in the bowl. Add the potato-onion mixture to the bowl and mix around to reincorporate the starch. Add the egg and flour. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. Mix well! Personally, I dig my hands in there 'cause they're gonna get dirty with the next step anyway. Add flour and/or potato starch as needed so the shreds cling just a bit, just enough to stay in pancake shape when they're flipped.
Heat a skillet with an inch of vegetable oil over medium heat. Take a large handful of the potato mixture, flatten it gently in one palm, and carefully set it in the hot oil - be wary of splashing!! You can also scoop large spoonfuls into the oil and flatten them once they're in there. That might damage your cred, though.
Fry until golden on the bottom, then gently flip and fry the other side, 4-5 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately. Or, to reheat, place on paper towels in a 350F/175C oven... if you can make it more than 5 minutes without gobbling them up.
Top with sour cream and/or applesauce.
Fry until golden on the bottom, then gently flip and fry the other side, 4-5 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately. Or, to reheat, place on paper towels in a 350F/175C oven... if you can make it more than 5 minutes without gobbling them up.
Top with sour cream and/or applesauce.
No comments:
Post a Comment