Lots o'latkes

To fry or to bake? Latkes or kugel? The Hanukka debate rages on.

By FAYE LEVY
Latke 521 (photo credit: Yael Ilan)
Latke 521
(photo credit: Yael Ilan)
Like many Ashkenazi Jews, I grew up eating potato latkes for Hanukka. One year when my mother and I were making potato latke batter for Hanukka in her Jerusalem kitchen, she decided to make it into a kugel instead. Rather than baking it in the oven, she made the mixture into one cake and fried it in a skillet.
The result was delicious; but was it a latke or a kugel? This experience made me reflect on the link between the two.
My mother explained that latkes and kugels are very similar – the same mixture can be fried as individual latkes or can be made into kugels by being baked or fried as larger cakes.
In contrast to the baked potato kugels served today by most Jewish delicatessens in the US, pan-fried potato kugels like the one my Warsaw-born mother prepared were traditional in some European Jewish communities. In Alsace, France, for example, Jews sauteed their potato kugels in a skillet, according to Freddy Raphael, author of Les recettes de la table juive (Recipes of the Jewish Table).
You could consider latkes and kugels two sides of the same coin. Both can be made from a variety of ingredients. “Kugel recipes run the gamut from sweet to salty, soft to crisp, bland to sharp,” according to The Taste of Shabbos by Aish Hatorah Women’s Organization. “They may be baked in the oven or pan-fried on the range.”
Although savory potato kugels and sweet noodle kugels are the best-known types, kugels can be made from all sorts of vegetables.
The same is true of latkes, which can be made even from noodle kugel mixture, cooked noodles mixed with eggs, oil or butter and seasonings.
To make kugels or latkes, start with grated raw vegetables or chopped, mashed or pureed cooked vegetables. Grating is most practical when using zucchini and root vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes and onions. Cooking and chopping works well for those vegetables too, as well as for cauliflower, broccoli and spinach.
To make classic potato latkes or potato kugels, grate the potatoes. Mash the spuds if you prefer creamy-textured potato kugels like the Mashed Potato Kugel with Mushrooms recipe below.
When making latkes, use a stiffer mixture, with fewer eggs or more flour, bread crumbs or matza meal, so the pancakes will hold together. Kugels to be baked in the oven can be made from softer mixtures.
These kugels are not fried; however, they still include some oil, not only to recall the Hanukka miracle but also for good taste.
MAKE-AHEAD POTATO LATKES
These fry-and-freeze potato latkes make it easy to enjoy the traditional taste of the latkes without having to fry them on the day you are serving them.
Makes about 30 pancakes, 8 to 10 servings
✔ 1.2 kg. large potatoes, peeled
✔ 2 medium onions
✔ 2 to 3 Tbsp. chopped parsley (optional)
✔2 large eggs
✔ 2 tsp. salt
✔ 1⁄2 tsp. white pepper
✔ 4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
✔ 1 tsp. baking powder
✔ about 3⁄4 to 1 cup vegetable oil (for frying)
✔ Applesauce, sour cream or sugar (for serving)
Grate potatoes and onions, using the grating disc of a food processor or the large holes of a grater. Transfer them to a colander. Squeeze mixture to press out as much liquid as possible. Put the mixture in a large bowl. Add parsley, eggs, salt, pepper, flour and baking powder and mix well. Line cookie sheets with paper towels.
Heat 1⁄2 cup oil in a deep heavy 25- to 30-cm. skillet. For each pancake, drop about 2 tablespoons of potato mixture into pan.
Flatten with back of a spoon so each cake is about 6 to 7.5 cm. in diameter. Fry over medium heat about 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crisp. Turn carefully with 2 pancake turners so oil doesn’t splatter. Drain on paper towels.
Stir potato mixture before frying each new batch. If all the oil is absorbed, add a little more to the pan. Transfer latkes to paper-towel-lined cookie sheets in a single layer and freeze them. When they are frozen, you can transfer them to sturdy plastic bags to save space. Shortly before serving, preheat oven to 220ºC and thaw latkes for about 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer latkes to cookie sheets in a single layer.
Bake them for 7 to 10 minutes or until heated through. Serve hot, accompanied by applesauce, sour cream or sugar.
MASHED POTATO KUGEL WITH MUSHROOMS
Golden-brown sauteed onions give this kugel a rich flavor. For dairy meals, enrich the kugel with butter. If you’re serving the kugel with chicken or meat, you can use schmaltz or margarine.
Makes 6 servings
✔ 1 kg. large boiling potatoes, unpeeled
✔ salt and freshly ground pepper
✔ 350 gr. mushrooms, quartered
✔ 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
✔ 5 Tbsp. schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), butter or margarine
✔ 3 medium onions, chopped
✔ 1 large egg, beaten
✔ 1⁄2 tsp. paprika
In a large saucepan, cover potatoes with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat 35 to 40 minutes or until very tender. Drain and leave until cool enough to handle.
In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons schmaltz, add onions and saute over medium heat until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove 1⁄2 cup sauteed onions for mixing with potatoes.
To onions in skillet add mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and pepper and saute over medium heat for about 7 minutes or until lightly browned.
Peel potatoes while still fairly hot. Mash them with a potato masher or food mill, not in a food processor. Add remaining 3 tablespoons schmaltz and stir until melted in. Add beaten egg and reserved 1⁄2 cup of fried onion. Add salt and pepper to taste; mixture should be seasoned generously.
In a greased 2-liter casserole, layer half of potato mixture (about 21⁄2 cups), top with all of mushroom mixture, then with remaining potatoes. Smooth top.
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Sprinkle casserole with paprika and bake uncovered about 50 minutes or until top is firm and light golden at edges. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving. Use a spoon to serve.
HERBED CAULIFLOWER LATKES
These green-flecked latkes make tasty appetizers accompanied by sour cream or yogurt and hot pepper sauce, or as an accompaniment for roast chicken.
Makes 6 servings
✔ 1 large cauliflower (about 900 gr.), divided in large florets
✔ salt and freshly ground pepper
 ✔ 6 to 7 Tbsp. vegetable oil
✔ 1 onion, finely chopped
✔ 2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 tsp. dried thyme
✔ 6 Tbsp. unseasoned bread crumbs
✔ 2 large eggs
✔ 2 to 3 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Cook cauliflower in a large pan of boiling salted water uncovered over high heat for 10 minutes or until very tender. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy skillet, add onion and cook over medium-low heat about 10 minutes or until soft and golden brown. Add thyme and cook for 1 minute.
Drain cauliflower thoroughly and mash with a fork or chop in a food processor. There should still be small pieces of cauliflower. Add bread crumbs, eggs, fried onion, parsley and salt and pepper to taste and mix well with a wooden spoon. Wipe pan used to fry onions, add 4 tablespoons oil and heat it.
Take 1 heaping tablespoon cauliflower mixture in your hand and press to make it compact. Flatten it to a cake about 1 cm. thick and add to pan. Make 4 or 5 more cakes and add them. Fry over medium heat about 3 minutes on each side or until brown. Turn carefully using a wide pancake turner. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm by placing in a 150ºC oven with door ajar while frying rest. Add more oil to pan if it becomes dry. Serve plain or with sour cream.