Potato Latkes

Hanukkah is almost over and I was determined to make M some typical Jewish food while the holiday was going on. I’m an atheist Jew, which means I don’t believe in a god or any of the other accoutrements that usually accompany religion, but I do have a Jewish family and grew up with Jewish culture around me. That includes Jewish food.

M isn’t Jewish and never had Jewish food before, so I thought it would be fun to cook it for her. But I also was a bit worried. Even though M is always sweet and never criticises me, I had flashbacks to a previous partner, whose Christian family made fun of the Jewish dishes I cooked for them. They claimed to be interested in Jewish things, because of course their friend Jesus was a Jew, but then they mocked anything that was different from what they were used to, and they seemed to view Judaism as an outmoded set of beliefs that was simply there to make way for Christianity. Again, M is nothing like this, but somehow I was worried that she wouldn’t like the food anyway.

But Hanukkah seemed like a good time to force myself to face my stupid and ill-founded fears. I’d gotten 8 little gifts for M and they were piled up in the corner of the living room, poorly wrapped (I’m an awful wrapper!), and it was snowy and icy outside. So potato pancakes seemed like just the thing.

Potato pancakes – called latkes by us Jews – are quite easy to make. The only important thing to remember is that potatoes can be pretty watery, so once you’ve grated the potatoes, press them and strain out as much liquid as you can. That way the latkes will be much crisper. If you don’t want your Hanukkah food soaked in oil, despite the fact that it’s an oil-based holiday, use kitchen towel to pat the fried latkes dry.

Serve with sugar, crème fraiche or sour cream, and apple sauce, and open a few presents while you’re at it. Next thing you know, you’ll be singing “dreidel, dreidel, dreidel” too.

As for M, she liked the latkes. I was relieved. Now I just had to find something else to worry about, which meant wondering if she liked all the silly and sappy gifts I’d gotten her (heart-patterned socks, anyone?). Time for another latke!

Ingredients:
4-5 potatoes (I used blue ones for variation, but any firm sort will do)
1 onion
3 eggs
3 tbsp flour or matzoh meal
1 tsp salt
oil
sugar, crème fraiche or sour cream, and apple sauce to serve with them

Instructions:
1. Shred or grate the potatoes and try to press as much liquid out of them as you can.
2. Grate the onion and add it to the potatoes.
3. Beat the eggs and add them to the potatoes, then mix in the flour and salt. Blend well. Meanwhile, heat the oil over low heat.
4. Fry heaping tablespoonfuls of the potato mixture until crispy on both sides.
5. Serve with sugar, crème fraiche or sour cream, and apple sauce.