A traditional Jewish Hanukkah dish, latkes are crispy potato pancakes. The traditional recipe uses russet potatoes fried in oil until golden brown and served with applesauce, sour cream, or both. While the standard variation is tasty enough, the upgraded one is even better! These sweet potato pancakes will win you over this winter, for sure!
What Ingredients Are Necessary?
The latkes recipe is pretty straightforward. Arguably, the most complicated thing is grating the potatoes into thin slices. A time-saving technique is saving the peel. Sweet potato peel is rich in nutrients, so there’s no point in removing it. That said, check out the necessary ingredients below.
- 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes (that’s usually 3 big or 5 small to medium potatoes)
- ½ medium yellow onion (you could use more to taste, but it can compromise the potato flavor)
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 eggs (medium to large ones)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1-quart vegetable oil, for frying
- ½ cup sour cream (optional)
How to Prepare the Latkes
Latkes are pan-fried pancakes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare them in advance. You can prepare them the previous night by placing them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Cover them with plastic wrap, and they’ll be ready to fry the next day.
Step 1: Potatoes and Onion Preparation
First and foremost, preheat the oven to 200°F. Put a baking sheet with paper towels on it. Peel the sweet potatoes, if you want, and the onion. Next, shred them in a food processor or grate the potatoes and onions using a box grater.
Step 2: Remove the Liquid
Combine the two ingredients and put them onto a kitchen towel. Wring out the excess liquid by squeezing the towel as tightly as possible.
Step 3: Prepare the Mixture and Heat the Oil
Once you’ve removed the excess liquid from the sweet potatoes and onion mixture, put them in a large bowl. Add flour, eggs, and spices, and stir the mixture to combine all ingredients. Heat the oil.
Step 4: Fry the Latkes
Use a cup scoop to measure how much latke mix to put in the pan. Flatten the mixture with a spatula, and fry until golden brown. Don’t overcrowd the pan, or it will be hard to turn the pancakes. Repeat the frying process until the mixture runs out. Serve with sour cream, if you like.