Ingredients
Scale
- 3 pounds potatoes, ideally russet or Yukon gold), peeled and grated
- 2 medium onions, peeled and grated
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup plus 2 to 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour or matzo meal
- Kosher salt to taste
- White pepper to taste
- 1 – 1 1/2 cups sunflower or safflower oil for frying
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 2 tablespoons chives, finely minced
- Applesauce
Instructions
- Using a box grater or food processor, grate the potato and squeeze out excess liquid. Reserve residual liquid from the grated potatoes and allow it to sit for 5 – 10 minutes. The potato starch will fall to the bottom of the bowl. Discard the majority of the top layer of liquid and add most of potato starch back into the potato mixture. This creates a crispier, fluffy latke.
- Add grated onion to potato mixture.
- Mix in the eggs and flour (or matzo meal), tablespoon by tablespoon until a nice cohesive consistency is achieved. Add salt and pepper and mix well.
- Heat about 1/4-inch worth of oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Make latkes from mixture, each about a large palmful worth, gently pressing out some of the excess liquid before placing in oil. Don’t crowd the pan while frying, giving each latke enough space around itself to fry evenly. Fry until latkes are golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes on each side. Place on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Don’t stack latkes on top of each other while cooling to maintain peak crispness.
- Serve latkes with fresh chives, sour cream, and applesauce.