LATKES THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY

(Meat or Pareve)

Recipe developed by Linda Morel

Yield: About 16 latkes

Equipment:

A box grater

Ingredients:

1 small onion

6 large baking potatoes

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons flour, more if needed

Kosher salt to taste

6 tablespoons schmaltz or olive oil (more if needed)

Preparation:

Finely chop onion and place in a large bowl.

Scrape skin from potatoes and rinse them under cold water. Pat dry on paper towels. Over a platter, grate potatoes on the coarse side (not the slicing side) of the box grater. To avoid cutting fingers or ruining your manicure, grate only one-half to two-thirds of each potato. Save the remainders for other purposes, such as soup or potato salad.

Place the grated potato in the bowl with the onion. Add the egg and mix contents together with a fork. Sprinkle in flour and mix again. Add a little more flour, if the batter is way too wet to stick together. (However, it will be a moist batter.)

Heat the schmaltz or olive oil in a large skillet on a medium flame. With your hands, form potato batter into pancakes 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Using your palms, flatten the pancakes and squeeze out any excess water that may have drained from the potatoes.

Place latkes in oil and fry until the bottom side browns. Flatten latkes with a spatula as they sizzle. Flip latkes and fry until the second side browns. Add more oil, if needed. Turn a couple more times, until the center is cooked through and the outside becomes dark brown and crunchy. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.