Best David Firestones Latkes Recipes

DAVID "THE LATKE KING" FIRESTONE'S CRISPY LATKES

Steps:

• Pulse the onion in a food processor a few times until the onion is diced into crunchy bits. Remove the blade and scrape the onion into a small bowl. Return the food processor bowl to the machine. (Don't wash it yet.).
• Cut the potatoes lengthwise to fit in the food processor feed tube. Put the medium-coarse food processor shredding disk and turn it on. Begin feeding the potato slices into the machine.
• When the potatoes are shredded, put them in a colander over a large bowl. Dump in the onion bits and mix everything around with your hands, squeezing the potato moisture out as you work. Let the mixture drip for a few minutes.
• Pour out the potato liquid from the bowl, but leave the starch that clings to the bowl. Dump in the shredded potato and onion mix. Add the eggs, matzoh meal, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir well. Then let it sit for about 10 minutes.
• In a large cast-iron skillet, pour in ¼ inch of oil. Over high heat, get the oil very hot. Using a ¼-cup measure or a long-handled serving spoon, spoon the batter into the skillet. Flatten each with a metal spatula to a diameter of 4 to 5 inches. Don't worry about them being uniformly round. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the latkes until golden brown on one side. Then turn over and fry them some more. When crispy on the outside and moist inside, about 5 minutes per side, remove and place on several thicknesses of paper towels. Keep doing this until you run out of batter.
• Serve the latkes immediately.

LATKES

Steps:

• To the grated potatoes, add 1 grated onion, 2 lightly beaten eggs and 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs (or matzo meal); substitute neutral oil for butter. (Be liberal with the oil.)
• Spoon the mixture into the oil to form pancakes; fry until brown and crisp on both sides.
• Serve with sour cream and applesauce.

MASHED POTATO LATKES WITH DILL AND SHALLOTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees, pierce potatoes with a fork and place directly on rack. Bake for 1 hour or until a knife easily pierces potatoes. Meanwhile, sauté shallots in 1 tablespoon or so of coconut oil until tender. Add dill and parsley and set aside.
• Peel potatoes, cut in several pieces and put in a medium bowl; use a potato masher or ricer to break them up. Mix in egg, shallots and herbs, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Taking about 1/2 cup of filling at a time, form 10 patties about 1/4-inch thick and 3 inches in diameter. Pour bread crumbs into a wide bowl or plate, and coat the latkes in the crumbs on both sides.
• Heat a nonstick frying pan and add a thin film of oil, about 1/8-inch deep. When hot, slide in pancakes and cook over medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes on one side, pressing down to gently flatten. Flip latkes and cook for 3 to 5 more minutes, or until crisp and deeply golden. You can make them in advance, placing parchment paper between each layer of patties and reheating in a 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes or until heated through.

DAVID (THE LATKE KING) FIRESTONE’S LATKES

Steps:

• Place the onion in a food processor. Pulse the blade a few times until the onion is diced into crunchy bits. Remove blade and scrape the bits into a small bowl. Return the food processor bowl to the machine. No need to wash it yet. 2. Scrub the potatoes with a brush, and cut lengthwise to fit into the processor feed tube. Put the medium-coarse shredding disk into the processor and turn it on. Begin feeding in the potato slices. 3. When potatoes are shredded, place in a colander over a large bowl. Dump in the onion bits and mix everything around with your hands, squeezing out the potato moisture as you work. 4. Pour the potato liquid out of the bowl, but leave the starch that clings to the bowl. Dump in the shredded potato and onion mix. Add the eggs, matzo meal, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir the mixture briskly, then let sit for about 10 minutes. 5. In a large cast-iron skillet, pour 1/4 inch of olive oil. Over high heat, get the oil very hot. Using a 1/4-cup measure or a long-handled serving spoon, start spooning the batter into the skillet. Flatten each with a metal spatula to a diameter of 4 to 5 inches. Do not try to make the latkes uniformly round. Reduce heat to medium and cook latkes until golden brown on one side, about 5 minutes. Turn them over and fry some more, another 5 minutes or so. When crispy on the outside and moist inside, remove latkes and place on several thicknesses of paper towels. Repeat until you run out of batter. 6. Serve latkes immediately, with pumpkin preserves.

CLASSIC POTATO LATKES

Steps:

• Using a food processor with a coarse grating disc, grate the potatoes and onion. Transfer the mixture to a clean dishtowel and squeeze and wring out as much of the liquid as possible.
• Working quickly, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the eggs, flour, salt, baking powder and pepper, and mix until the flour is absorbed.
• In a medium heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat, pour in about 1/4 inch of the oil. Once the oil is hot (a drop of batter placed in the pan should sizzle), use a heaping tablespoon to drop the batter into the hot pan, cooking in batches. Use a spatula to flatten and shape the drops into discs. When the edges of the latkes are brown and crispy, about 5 minutes, flip. Cook until the second side is deeply browned, about another 5 minutes. Transfer the latkes to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and sprinkle with salt while still warm. Repeat with the remaining batter.