These are a delicious side dish for fish or roast chicken, but can also be served alone. They are lightly pan fried in olive oil and my kids used to beg for them. I serve them with applesauce or sour cream, or both. My kids just liked them plain or with ketchup. Either way, they are tasty potato cakes and easy to make.
To begin, wash your potatoes well. One potato will make two medium sized latkes, so use the appropriate amount of potatoes for your amount of guests.
When grating potatoes with the peels on, I usually cut the ends off of the potatoes, so that there is not an overwhelming amount of peel in your food. I also stop before grating the ends (and my fingers)!
After grating the potatoes, put them directly into a bowl and cover with cold water. This will remove some of the starch from the potatoes and it will drop to the bottom of the bowl.
Let the shredded potatoes soak for about five minutes, then carefully lift the potatoes out of the water, using a slotted spoon or your hands (like I do). The point is to move the potatoes from the bowl to a strainer without mixing the starch back onto the potatoes.
The next step is to drain the potatoes and dry them as much as possible. I use paper towels to dry them, squeezing as much moisture out as you can.
While the shredded potatoes are draining, slowly heat about 1/4 inch oil in a heavy pan on medium heat (I use a 10 inch cast iron pan). I use olive oil, but you can use canola or vegetable oil as well.
Put the dried, shredded potatoes in a bowl and sprinkle 1/3 cup of flour over the top of the potatoes. I actually used rice flour since I avoid wheat products when I can.
Add one egg, salt and pepper to this mixture and mix lightly with a fork until everything is thoroughly mixed.
Drop large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the oil, being careful not to crowd the pan with too many pancakes at once. Cook for about three minutes, then check to see if the pancake is brown on the bottom. If not, let cook a couple of minutes longer until golden brown.
Once the underside is nicely browned, flip the pancake over and continue to cook until the other side is browned (about another 3-5 minutes). Then remove the pancakes and drain them on a screen or a paper towel, whichever you have handy.
I prefer the screen, because it allows the pancake to dry evenly, on all sides. A paper towel tends to make one side soggy, so I always use a screen on a baking sheet to drain anything like fried chicken or chicken fried steak.
You can keep the pancakes in the oven at a low temperature (about 200 degrees) while you finish cooking them all. Then serve hot!
Traditionally, these are served with applesauce or sour cream, but feel free to use ranch dressing or ketchup, whatever your family prefers!
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