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Hanukah Latkes with Sweet Potatoes

Written by Danielle Oteri

As I sit here writing, I can smell the fragrance of sizzling hot fat permeating the walls. It’s Hanukah, and the many Orthodox Jewish residents in my apartment building are cooking the potato pancakes called latkes.

I can definitely smell vegetable oil, but I also smell something else, more gamey and pungent, that I think must be chicken fat.

platter of latkes with sour cream and applesauce
Photo: Casey Barber

Schmaltz is the Yiddish word for it. Maybe that sounds disgusting to you, but to me, it smells comforting and familiar.

I’m not Jewish, but Jewish food was the ultimate treat growing up for my brother and me.

I think everyone has one set of grandparents they like more than the other. For us, Nana and Papa who lived down the street treated us like we were little ravioli.

Our grandparents who lived in Yonkers were less…enthusiastic. Grandpa, a butcher, was often in a bad mood and felt cold, as though he had just walked out of a meat locker.

sweet potato latkes with sour cream
Photo: Casey Barber

Grandma would start lamenting her bad luck the second we had pried off our shoes so as not to dirty her “broadloom.”

She collected mass cards from funeral homes like baseball cards and happily shared them with us to demonstrate how much grief she had recently suffered.

As a result, a deathly pall came over the faces of my brother and I every time a visit to Yonkers was suggested.

To soften the blow, our Dad always prefaced our visit with a stop at Epstein’s Kosher Delicatessen.

crispy hanukah latkes with sour cream
Photo: Casey Barber

Epstein’s had the best hot dogs in the world. A career waitress with blue eyeshadow and a blonde bouffant wig would put a plate of mixed pickles down on the table…for free!

Dad would often get matzoh ball soup followed by a basket of the most perfectly fried chicken. Mom, who grew up in a Jewish part of the Bronx and knows more Yiddish than Dr. Ruth, always had a corned beef sandwich on rye and a soft, pillowy knish.

Bellies full of latkes and cresting a sugar high from multiple cans of Dr. Brown’s cherry soda, we had been successfully bribed into enduring the following three hours of “guess who died?”

As an adult, I have always giddily accepted any invitation to a Hanukah festivus just so I can wolf down latkes, fried potatoes being so simply and deeply satisfying.

sweet potato latkes with sour cream
Photo: Casey Barber

I enjoy watching the lighting of the menorah and try to hum along to the somber tones of chanted Hebrew, recalling, I assume, the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days in the rededicated temple.

(I like to think of fried food for Hanukah as the Jewish equivalent of lemons into lemonade.)

I always go home full and happy, my hair and wool coat reeking of oil.

And though I only need open my apartment door to be washed in the smell of frying latkes, I sadly haven’t received any festivus invitations this year. What’s a shiksa to do?

platter of latkes with sour cream and applesauce

Combing through my cookbooks, I see that Arthur Schwartz gives a detailed history of latkes in one of my favorite cookbooks, New York City Food, along with a recipe by his own bubby.

He advises against tampering with the classics and I usually abide by the advice of the Food Maven. (Maven is a Yiddish word, after all.)

That said, my favorite latkes were made by my dear friend Hadas, who plays on tradition by adding sweet potatoes to the mix.

So for your fried-in-fat Hanukah pleasure, here is a recipe for latkes, Hadas-style.

sweet potato latkes with sour cream

Hanukah Latkes with Sweet Potatoes

Yield: about 15 latkes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Hanukah latkes, the traditional fried potato pancakes, get a modern update with sweet potatoes. But you can still fry them in schmaltz for tradition's sake.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, left unpeeled
  • 1/2 pound sweet potatoes, peeled
  • 1 large white onion (about 8-10 ounces), peeled
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, to your taste

For frying and serving

  • Vegetable oil
  • Sour cream
  • Applesauce

Instructions

  1. Fill a large bowl with cold water to hold your grated potatoes.
  2. Grate the Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes on a box grater or with a food processor, then transfer to the bowl of water to keep them from turning brown.
  3. Grate the sweet potatoes and add to the bowl.
  4. Grate the onion.
  5. Thoroughly drain the potato and onion mixture in a large mesh strainer—a dry, not soggy, potato base is the key to latke success.
  6. Transfer the drained potatoes and onions to a large flat-weave cotton towel, and wring to get as much remaining moisture out of the vegetables as you can.
  7. Wipe out the large bowl and shake all the potatoes and onions into the bowl.
  8. Pour the eggs over the potatoes and onions.
  9. Add 1/4 cup flour, salt, and pepper to the bowl and mix well.
  10. Make a draining rack by lining a large rimmed baking sheet with paper towels and placing an upside-down metal cooling rack on top of the towels.
  11. Pour oil into a large (10- to 12-inch) cast-iron skillet or other high-sided, heavy-bottomed pan until about 1/4 inch deep.
  12. Heat the oil over medium- to medium-high heat until a test piece of grated potato sizzles when dropped into the pan.
  13. Scoop a mound of latke mixture with a large serving spoon and carefully slide it into the hot oil to make a 3-inch latke. If the consistency is too thin, add more flour to the potatoes 1 tablespoon at a time.
  14. Fry the latkes until golden, about 5-7 minutes total. Flip the latkes after 2-3 minutes, then flip again as needed for even browning.
  15. Transfer to the draining rack and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.
  16. Repeat with the remaining latke mixture, adding more oil to the skillet as needed.
  17. Serve immediately with sour cream and applesauce if desired.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 142Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 91mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 5g

The nutritional information above is computer-generated and only an estimate.

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15 Comments

  1. Epstein’s!!! Wow, I haven’t thought of that place in years. It was our treat, too, growing up–my family kept kosher so our dining-out options were limited. Every so often, after a trip to the kosher butcher down a ways on Central Ave, we’d hit Epstein’s. Man, that fried chicken was good. And the pickled tomatoes!

    I’m wigging out here. Can you tell?

  2. I have many a latke story, but mostly I just love them and find them incredibly hard to make! I’m going to hold onto this recipe and perhaps give it a try :-)

  3. This post made me laugh – “three hours of guess who died”, ha!
    We used to have to go visit my grandmother on Long Island and it was a similar experience, including the visit to the deli (free pickles!) and the cherry soda.
    I’ll be making my latkes tonight and we’ll all smell of oil too.
    Thanks Casey!

    PS – We went to the cupcake bakery you suggested on Rivington St. Yum!

  4. I’m going to try this recipe tonight! I’ve been just making up the recipe each night — they’ve come out well but I’m ready to measure something. I love this time of year but I must say I’m getting a bit sick of potato pancakes! (And the house smelling like oil!!)

  5. Latkes are a gift. I don’t just make them at Hanukkah, but they seem somehow special during this holiday.

    The enormous batch I made for our little Hanukkah dinner were devoured, even by a non potato eating Irishman.

    Love the action shot of the pancake in sizzling oil. I can almost smell it from here.

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