You know my grandparents really knew how to cook. It seems to me that everyone born in “the Old Country” (in this case, Transylvania) was born with built-in cooking intuition. Somehow, they could create the most scrumptious meals using no fancy equipment, nor even measuring spoons. I recall that they hosted every holiday humbly, turning out the expected delicacies with what seemed like the simplest, most relaxed effort. No exotic flavor profiles, nor food combos or wine pairings; no attempts at reinventing the wheel, because when the food is that good – no, make that superb – there’s no need to find a “twist” on the recipe.
On Chanukah, we were treated to their potato pancakes, “latkes” that were classic and simple. My grandfather, a professional chef, wore a manly white waist apron that suited him perfectly. His latkes were made of eggs, onions, potatoes, oil, salt, pepper, and a little matzo meal to make them crunchy. “Cornmeal, that’s also good, if you don’t have any matzo meal,” he would say reassuringly, though you knew that he secretly wondered what kind of kitchen would not have a handful of matzo meal somewhere. The potatoes were hand-grated so fine –almost to a pudding-like consistency – then lightly fried in a pan that looked as though it, too, had just come over from the Old Country. Applesauce and sour cream traditionally accompany latkes, but who needed them? Crispy on the edges, with a fluffy, buttery smooth center, Grandpa’s version of this Chanukah delicacy could stand alone.
MORE: The Ultimate Hanukkah Guide
The first Chanukah after my wedding, I called my grandfather for his latke recipe. He gave it to me with “measurements” like “a sprinkle of salt, a few spoons of matzo meal, some oil…” All the while, I wished I had watched him in action when he was in his prime. I could have taken notes, measured out the amounts he used, studied his grating technique.
But I was on my own. Tasked with recreating Grandpa’s latkes, I tried and failed, tried and failed – until I finally produced something that is reminiscent of his glorious, crunchy potato perfection. The recipe went into my first published cookbook, Quick & Kosher: Recipes from the Bride Who Knew Nothing. I have reprinted these Classic Potato Latkes here and created a how-to video that you can watch below so you can see how easy it is to make.
My husband and kids say these latkes are the best in the world. They are very good, but they’re not my Grandfather’s. Maybe it’s my food processor and that fancy-shmancy skillet.
These are the only plain potato latkes I make, but I love to top them with all sorts of things and make latkes out of every other vegetable too. Check out My 11 Latke Loves for more favorite latkes.
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Best Potato Latke Recipe EVER! As Seen on the Today Show
Servings
Ingredients
- 4 medium Idaho potatoes
- 6 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
- 3 eggs beaten
- 2 tablespoon matzoh meal
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
- Applesauce or sour cream optional
Instructions
- Prepare a large bowl filled with cold water.
- Peel potatoes, and as you finish each, place in cold water to prevent browning.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Cut potatoes lengthwise into halves or quarters so they fit into food processor feed tube. Process potatoes using the blade that creates thin, shoestring-like strips and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add eggs, matzoh meal, salt and pepper and mix well.
- Drop 6 to 8 spoonfuls of mixture into hot oil. Using the back of a spoon, pat down each latke to flatten it. Put as many as you can in the skillet without crowding. Putting them too close together will make them soggy.
- Fry 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden and crisp around the edges; repeat procedure until finished with all the batter.
- Blot excess oil with paper towels.
- Serve warm with applesauce or sour cream, if desired.
My favorite memory is making Hanukkah cookies, partly because making the cookies with my children was fun, but more because no one in the family could ever find my grandmother’s recipe, so we would always have to call back and forth to get it. The recipe I have now includes a chronology of who read it to whom over the phone, and many of those on the list are no longer with us.
My favorite memory is singing maoz tzur with the whole family while father played the piano.
my favorite memory is light the candles and singing the songs in school with everyone singing together
What a beautiful tribute to your Grandfather! My favorite Chanukah memory was watching my (then) 3 oldest boys light their menorahs, some in shorts and tshirts (we live in Miami) the youngest (age 2) in PJs. It was such a cute sight I took a picture and still have that picture displayed on my piano alongside their graduation and wedding pictures! It’s still my favorite picture of all time.
I’m so glad your keeping the feasts drew your husband in…..
So romantic….
Such a cute story. Very clever to get the needed tools as gifts…..
One Chanukah, as my father prepared to light the menorah,I noticed two yellow “lights” outside the window. I hurried out to the front porch and there, on the sill, was a black cat with glowing eyes. He looked at me but did not run. I got him some food but he would not eat. He watched through the window until we finished singing Maoz Tzur, then he went away. He came back for the 8 nights of Chanukah, and never took any food. After Chanukah, we never saw him again. True story.
It’s the onions!
My favourite memory is as a kid, we’d drive across the city to my aunt’s and there was so much to do. there were games to play, people to talk to, candies to eat, and then when the food was ready, we’d light the candles all together, sit down to eat, and after dinner, we’d gather in the living room for gifts. Dessert was always available on the side for anyone who needed.
My favourite memory is as a kid, we’d drive across the city to my aunt’s and there was so much to do. there were games to play, people to talk to, candies to eat, and then when the food was ready, we’d light the candles all together, sit down to eat, and after dinner, we’d gather in the living room for gifts. Dessert was always available on the side for anyone who needed.
My favorite Chanukah memory is of my son playing comic host for the dreidl games at a children’s party.
My favorite memory is of my late uncle teaching me to eat latkes sprinkled with sugar. Still my favorite!
My favorite memory is eating my grandmother’s latkes ( brown, greasy & crispy)with her homemade apple sauce. I can still taste them.
My favorite Chanukah memories are the Chanukah parties my parents used to have at our house. They invited all their friends and family, and had lots of food. We always looked forward to these parties because not only were we allowed to stay up late, but we got to eat and listen to all the adult conversations going on! LOL
My favorite memory is eating my grandmas latkas right out of the pan while they were still hott and how they were extraaa large and not the small little latkas!!!
Wow! what touching memories….My most fond memories of Chanukah is when we were kids, my family and cousins would all pile into my grandparents house. My generous grandparents would dole out hundreds upon hundreds to all the grandchildren. There were piles of presents labeled clearly with everyone’s name on it and we each had to wait our turn to receive their present. We came home after the party feeling like a million dollars:)
I remember (or maybe its because it’s on video) my grandparents coming from Israel to join us for channuka. My grandfather was a chazzan and I remember my whole family gathering around the window box with the lit menorahs singing and then my grandmother handing out sucking candies that she always had hiding in her pockets.
My favorite Chanuka memory is singing maz tzur and lighting candles with my three year old
My grandmother added a little bit of baking soda
When I was growing up in Tunisia, potato latkes were not part of our chanukah tradition. Instead,we had beignets once a year. Delicious, and hard to reproduce the taste in this country because of the difference in flour. Beignets would either be sweet or savory. Yum.
Lighting Chanukah candles with my son and husband for the first time with a family heirloom Menorah that my husband’s Zaydee had brought with him from Lithuania. My beloved mother-in-law had left this to us.
I remember when I was 10-years old and the Bubbies would come to our Jewish Community Center to teach us to cook traditional recipes. My best friend’s Bubbie and mine taught our class how to make latkes – they smelled and tasted so good! We learned the old fashioned way – “You take a pinch of this, a handful of that, grate the potatoes and put them in cold water to keep them white, always render your own shmaltz – it will be better!” These women knew how to cook. I still use the same recipe I learned back then 🙂
it as a reply and not a comment. trying again: a fave memory — my ex-husband is an Israeli, and there’s no tradition of giving presents in Israel. We had come to live, work and save money in the US before moving back, and for his first Chanukah in the States, I decided to not only give him 8 presents, but to come down the stairs to the kitchen with all 8, so he could choose. His eyes opened so wide when he saw me coming, it gave me such a sense of pleasure. (Must say, the following one, I felt rather clever — we’d be going back soon and need to buy an apartment…so I bought him a tool box the first night and different tools to fill it up the other 7).
a fave memory — my ex-husband is an Israeli, and there’s no tradition of giving presents in Israel. We had come to live, work and save money in the US before moving back, and for his first Chanukah in the States, I decided to not only give him 8 presents, but to come down the stairs to the kitchen with all 8, so he could choose. His eyes opened so wide when he saw me coming, it gave me such a sense of pleasure. (Must say, the following one, I felt rather clever — we’d be going back soon and need to buy an apartment…so I bought him a tool box the first night and different tools to fill it up the other 7). 🙂
My favorite memory is of our family going to my grandparents every year. Since a lot of the people in their building were Jewish, you could smell the frying latkes as soon as you walked into their building. She would serve homemade latkes, applesauce, brisket, cookies. Then after that , the presents. We would always come home smelling deep fried!
My favorite Chanukah memory is of my now teenage boys (twins) as preschoolers as they sang and danced around the menorah and waited impatiently for their latkes. The light in their eyes was even brighter than the menorah!
We have a picture of my children lighting Chanukah candles. Their faces and the candles are reflected in the window. This to me says Chanukah.
Definitely my Granny’s latkes. Of course, they were so good, we didn’t just have them on Chanukah. We had them on Thanksgiving, Passover, etc etc etc. Basically whenever we could talk her into hand grating (she insisted they were better that way) 10 pounds of potatoes.
This year is our second Chanukah. I’m excited to have the opportunity to forge new traditions with my daughter, she gets so excited! Last year my favorite memory was the community dinner at the local shul. Lots of great stories, laughter, and the food! 🙂
My favorite memory – I had met a guy 3 days before the first night of Channukah. When he asked me out, the first phone call was right after I lit Channukah candles. I remember sitting on my floor in Washington Heights, watching the candles burn and wondering if I’d receive a gift. We had our first date on the 2rd night of Channukah. The late date, which included a walk in the freezing weather/snow, left him with a cold. He was forgiving. 6 months later we got engaged and married. We just had our first baby and I can’t wait to teach him all about the Simcha of this holiday.
My favorite Chanukah memory is getting to spend time w/ my Great-Grandparents when they would come in for Chanukah
We closed on our first home on the first night of Hanukkah. We were able to light the candles with our children in the new place. It was a great way to start a new chapter in our lives.
My favorite Chanukah memory was the first one I spent with my husband after we were married. I married an athiest redneck. This is my favorite time of year, so I get in the spirit early (right after Rosh Hashanah). My husband had bought a book at the book store, “The Everything Judiasm Book.” The first night of Chanukah I made latkes. From that point forward, my husband made sure to make every holiday on his list and designate that we would have latkes. Even bragging about them.
That was some seven years ago, and he hasn’t stopped yet. He is like a kid in a candy store when the holidays some around now. He bought me a new grater at a black Friday sale because he knows we are close to his favorite time of year.
This is actually our first Chanukah but were excited about creating our own traditions and making memories
My favorite Chanukah memory is when I got my favorite doll, a Cabbage Patch kid who I still have today!
Oh Guys – I am getting all teary from your memories. This time of year I am so emotional. Oy Vey. Thanks for sharing with me and everyone.
That is really really sweet, and one of the things I love about this holiday season, it always reminds me how much I love my family!
what a beautiful story. In my family, latkes were my father’s domain. Every year, on designated nights, he would kick my mom out of the kitchen, pull out the box grater, throw on an apron, & go to work. I was lucky enough to be designated his “helper” (I am sure I was no help at all) but we would stand there together, me, grating the potatoes, my dad mixing the ‘goo’ and frying it, talking about nothing important. It was some of the best times of my childhood. The finished product was crispy on the outside, creamy in the middle, and tasted like perfection. Your post reminded me a lot of that, I think I will call my dad, just to tell him I love him! Thanks!
I love every Chanukah because I love family coming together, lighting the menorah, latkes, decorations, etc. But my favorite memory is when I told my friend that I love him. It’s definitely memorable!
My fondest Chanukah memories are of visiting my grandmother who would crank out batch after batch of the most amazing latkes. Hand-grated potatoes, of course.
sorry, that was 10 typo..
I loved my grandmother’s latke’s but she died when I was 12, so I was too young to even think about recipes.
By the way, I failed to mention that the Hanukkiah in the specialty store the women were so puzzled about was made from spoons but it was professionally done.
A couple of years ago I came across a book called Nine Spoons by Marci Stillerman. In the story, Oma tells her grandchildren the true story of how her Aunt fashioned a menorah from coveted spoons while they were in a concentration camp. I bought the book and my husband made a menorah from spoons. On the last night of Chanukah we gathered my children and grandchildren around the spoon menorah. My husband lit the oil in the lamps while I read the story. It was very moving and was a sweet way to explain about the holocaust to my grandchildren. It has become a tradition and we still use the Hanukiah my husband made. I recently came across a beautiful Hanukiah for sale in a specialty store. There were some women trying to understand the significance of the spoons. I overheard them and relayed the story. Both women teared up and immediately asked for the information about the book so they could purchase it to read to their grandchildren.
Growning up, my family had no money and too many children. My mother would make up a huge batch of latkes, and while we snacked on the tasty treats we would play dreidle. After our lengthy game, we would all crowd around the Hanukkiah, and recite the blessings. Then my mom would send all of us to find our gifts which were hidden around the house in brown paper lunch bags. I don’t remember what the gifts were, but it was such a fun evening to spend together! Now that we are all adults, we still celebrate with latkes and long games of dreidle.
My favorite Channukah memory is of my kids all bundled up in a million layers to go to the world’s largest Channukah menorah parade. The kids had been talking about it for weeks. Our car menorah was all set. My husband got everyone buckled in and went to turn on the car. He couldn’t get it to start. The kids were crying and upset as we all had to go back in. I got the hot oil going and made homemade donuts, latkes, and some other favorites. We got out the dreidels and played a huge game together as a family. The kids stopped crying and started to have a blast. We put on Channukah music and ended the night in a big dance party. What looked like what was going to be a disaster of a night turned into one of my all time favorites.
My favorite Chanukah memory is being home with my whole family, lighting the menorah. I always looked forward to my brothers coming home for Shabbos Chanuka from yeshiva. We would dance and sing the songs all together.
Oh and ym favorite Hannukah memory is actually an annual party my husbadn and I host for our friends. We have them all over for Latke-Palooza and we make a bunch of varieites of latkes (shredded, mushy, zuchini, ginger, different types of potatoes, etc…) and we make sufganiyot for dessert and have everyone vote for their favorite latke at the end of the meal. Its our very own tradition and I look forward to it every year.
What a lovely post! That is also exactly how my grandmother gives me her receipes, a little of this then a handful of that … the results have been mixed on my end 🙂