The Golden Hour
A new twist on a Hanukkah classic
By Stephanie Levi
Published: December 7th, 2006 | 12:18pm
When it comes to latkes, the potato pancakes eaten on Hanukkah (and year-round, if you’re so lucky), the classic is hard to beat — crisp, salty, topped with cold sour cream and applesauce (or either one if that tickles your fancy). Happily, it’s customary to eat foods fried in oil on Hanukkah to celebrate the central miracle of the holiday — following the destruction of the temple, there was only enough oil to light the temple lamp for one night, but the oil was miraculously sufficient to light the lamp for eight nights. I say that a holiday that encourages the consumption of deep-fried goodness is a miracle indeed. To celebrate, try this recipe for latkes with pomegranate sour cream, pomegranate applesauce and pomegranate seeds. The pomegranate and parsley elements are Sephardic in origin, meaning they are from the cuisine of the Jews of Spain and the Middle East. You could also make these smaller (a little larger than a quarter), and serve them as a sophisticated and addictive little bite to give your party some Yiddish-American flair.
Potato Latkes
2 1/2 lbs. potatoes
1 cup white onion, grated
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 tsps. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup flour
1/2 cup parsley, finely minced
generous pinch of pepper
bottle of canola oil for frying
seeds from 2 pomegranates
Pomegranate Sour Cream (see recipe)
Pomegranate Applesauce (see recipe)
1. Peel the potatoes.
2. Grate the potatoes (it’s a lot more work but I recommend that you do this by hand, a food processor gives it a homogenous texture that reduces crispiness enough that hand-grating is worth the effort). It’s helpful to halve the potatoes lengthwise and grate those.
3. Grate 1 cup’s worth of white onion—the number of onions will depend on their size. 4. Add the eggs and combine well.
5. Add the oil and combine well.
6. In a separate bowl, combine the salt, baking powder, flour and pepper.
7. Add this to the potato mixture using your hands.
8. Use your hands to add the minced parsley until combined. Try to work quickly so that the potatoes do not discolor.
9. Pour 1/2 inch of canola oil into a large skillet and place the skillet over medium heat. Let the oil get hot — it will take on a shimmering appearance, but should not smoke. If it smokes, turn off the heat and get the pan off the burner until the smoking stops and then start again at lower heat.
10. Start on the low end of the heat and work your way up, that’s what I do. Test the oil by dropping in a pinch of the batter — it should bubble gently when you add it to the pan, and should become golden brown in a few minutes. Adjust the heat until your batter sample does this.
11. When you’re ready, take about 1/4 cup of batter, and use the palm of your (clean) hand to shape it into a pancake.
12. Gently drop the pancake into the batter and repeat until you have a few latkes in the pan with about two inches of space between each. Don’t overcrowd the pan or they won’t cook properly.
13. Allow the latkes to cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side — they should be a beautiful amber color. I don’t recommend flipping the latkes from one side to the other, just keep them on one side, let them cook and then flip. Drain cooked latkes on a plate lined with copious amounts of paper towel. Top with pomegranate sour cream and/or applesauce and sprinkle with fresh pomegranate seeds. Serve immediately.
14. If you keep these overnight, heat them in a 350 degree oven for ten minutes when you’re ready for them and serve immediately.
Pomegranate Sour Cream
2 cups pomegranate juice (from fresh pomegranates or bottled)
2 cups sour cream
pinch of sugar
1. Bring the pomegranate juice to a boil in a saucepan.
2.Reduce the heat and simmer until the juice is reduced to 1/3 cup.
3. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, then cool in fridge.
4. Place 1 cup of sour cream in a bowl, and swirl in half the pomegranate reduction by drizzling over the sour cream and swirling with a knife.
5. Place the other cup of sour cream on top of that, and repeat the addition and swirling of the pomegranate reduction.
6. Keep chilled until ready to use.
Pomegranate Apple Sauce
8 apples (I like Granny Smith and Golden Delicious but Fuji apples work well if you can find them), peeled, cored and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
small pinch cinnamon
1. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan or pot.
2. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, covered until the apples are tender. This will take about 20-30 minutes.
3. Remove the pan or pot from heat and let cool.
4. Mash with a fork or a potato masher, or throw it in the food processor until the apples are broken down and the mixture is smooth. Chill until ready to serve.
Issue #34
Comments
Please login to be able to comment on this article.
more