Every Jewish cook has their own favorite way to make these. My mother always peeled the potatoes and never used flour, just a handful of matzo meal. Over the years I’ve come to love them prepared by keeping the peel on the potatoes, and using the grater attachment on my food process which gives some really long, skinny bits of potato which fry up extra crunchy.

Potato Latkes (makes 14 pancakes)

• 3 large russet potatoes
• 2 medium onions
• a few green onions (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• oil for frying

Grate the potatoes and onions in a food processor. Transfer to a large bowl, squeeze out and discard liquid from the potatoes, then stir in the eggs, flour and salt. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of a pan, somewhere between 1/16″-1/8″ deep. When very hot, use a serving spoon to spoon in the batter. If possible use more than one frying pan since these are best served hot from the stove. To keep batches warm, arrange them in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels in a warm oven.

Options:

• substitute 1 sweet potato for one of the russet potatoes
• add 1/2 cup chopped Swiss chard or kale
• substitute 1 cup packed grated zucchini for one of the potatoes