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Post by bjd on Jan 5, 2012 17:09:55 GMT
Last time I was in Paris I went to the Polish deli on rue Oberkampf. While I was waiting, two ladies were buying ready-made potato pancakes -- well, one was buying and her friend said, "I never make them from scratch any more, I use a mix." The saleslady agreed and said they were as good as fresh.
So, I bought a packet of the mix -- made by Knorr. I made them at home -- you just add water & an egg and let the mixture sit for a bit before making the pancakes. Certainly not as good as freshly-made, but okay. I also added a bit of garlic to give them more taste.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2012 20:09:21 GMT
Is it a freeze dried potato BJD? I cannot imagine making them without using fresh potatoes. I have a vivid recall from childhood of my mother having purchased a box of French's brand freeze dried potato mix and my father seeing it in the cupboard. He flew into a total rage at seeing this,we all hid in fear. My poor mother,jeez...it was awful. Anyway,I have seen them offered in the frozen food section at a Kosher deli here,they just don't look "right". I learned to make them at such a young age that it's almost second nature to me to make. And,I never tire of them.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2012 21:42:11 GMT
I think I tried a mix about 20 years ago and it was not good. However, most mixes have improved since back then so perhaps I will try one to see if it is worthy of being used in an emergency.
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ssander
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At the Belleville Arts Open Doors in Paris in 2007
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Post by ssander on Jan 5, 2012 21:59:17 GMT
Here is our family recipe...but we use a food processor to grate the potatoes, onion and carrot, and squeezing out the liquid well and using really hot oil is the key to crispness.
POTATO LATKES
6 medium potatoes ½ carrot 1 onion ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 eggs 2 oz matzo meal salt and pepper to taste oil
Grate potatoes, carrot and onion. Mix with bicarbonate of soda. Squeeze out liquid using cheesecloth. Beat in the eggs, matzo meal, salt and pepper. Fry in hot oil in an iron skillet.
The four of us - me, my wife, my son and my mother finished off a batch made from 9 potatoes about ten days ago -- a 1.5X recipe!!
SS
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2012 22:06:19 GMT
I screwed up my potato pancakes last weekend. I was outraged. I don't know how it happened. Actually, I do know what I did wrong now -- too much liquid. I was trying to make a small batch but I used two eggs when I should have used just one, and I also should have removed some of the potato juice, but I always think that I can compensate sufficiently by adding corn starch. Not this time.
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Post by hwinpp on Jan 6, 2012 1:30:44 GMT
In Germany we eat potato pancakes with apple compote.
Are they really that difficult to make?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2012 6:04:17 GMT
No, they're not difficult. However, I think that everybody has a personal family method which is considered wonderful within the family but not necessarily by outsiders.
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Post by bjd on Jan 6, 2012 9:51:37 GMT
Casi -- I'm not sure what you mean by "freeze-dried potatoes". This was a mix in a packet like dried soup, if you see what I mean, but made in Poland. Despite it being branded Knorr, the instructions on the package were only in Polish, so obviously imported.
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ssander
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Post by ssander on Jan 6, 2012 11:27:05 GMT
kerouac... I am a firm believer that the secret to good latkes (potato pancakes) is to put the mash in cheesecloth and squeeze the hell out of it! It gets pretty dry and is a little difficult to spoon out into the hot oil, but if you don't, the moisture in the mash cools down the oil and they won't be crisp. It's always better to err on the side of too dry rather than too moist. I know lots of folks who put toppings (such as apple sauce) on them, but I just sprinkle salt to taste and eat till I'm ready to fall over. SS
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2012 12:16:00 GMT
My grandmother would grate the potatoes and carefully drain away the juice (without using a cheesecloth, but I remember that she would also dry the potatoes as much as possible with a kitchen towel before grating them), but try to retain as much of the potato starch as possible during the process. The onions would be grated next, and then after an egg or two, she would use flour to obtain the proper consistency.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jan 6, 2012 12:28:22 GMT
For latkes, we grate the potatoes into cold water (or usually use a food processor shredding plate and turn the pots into the cold water.) After they sit there a while, the shreds are put into a clean kitchen towel and squeezed dry. The remaining liquid in the bowl is drained off but the starch residue is saved and added to the mix. I rarely have to use flour, bread crumbs or matzo meal. I make a version called "Potatonik", a recipe I got from the NY Times a few years ago. It's sort of a cross between potato latkes and hash brown potatoes. Recipe: Potato Nik Time: About 40 minutes About 2 pounds baking potatoes, like Idaho or russet, peeled 1 medium onion, peeled 2 eggs Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 2 tablespoons plain bread crumbs or matzo meal Neutral oil, like corn or grape seed. 1. Grate potatoes and onion by hand or with grating disk of a food processor; drain in colander or strainer. Combine potatoes and onions in a large bowl with eggs, salt, pepper and bread crumbs or matzo meal. 2. Put about 1/8 inch oil in a large, deep skillet, either nonstick or seasoned cast iron; turn heat to medium-high. When oil is hot (it will shimmer) put all the batter in pan, and smooth the top. Cook, shaking pan occasionally; adjust heat so mixture sizzles but does not burn. Continue until bottom is nicely browned, at least 15 minutes. 3. To turn, slide cake out onto a large plate, cover with another large plate and invert. Add a little more oil to pan if necessary, and slide pancake back in, cooked side up. Cook 15 minutes or so longer, until nicely browned. Serve hot or warm. Yield: 4 to 6 servings. Can't get "baking potatoes" here in Pátzcuaro, Mexico, but this works fine, nevertheless. I found this not great photo deep in the archives on my hard drive. Potatonik
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ssander
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Post by ssander on Jan 6, 2012 20:28:21 GMT
Don Cuevas...they look delicious!
I forgot to mention that, lately, we have been making our latkes without peeling the potatoes - just washing them really well.
It hasn't adversely affected the taste and is easier and probably more nutritious.
SS
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jan 6, 2012 20:54:10 GMT
ssander, that method apeels appeals to me.Thanks!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2012 21:21:21 GMT
In any case, I will try to dry out my next potato pancakes a bit more.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 7, 2012 2:06:19 GMT
The Don Cuevas version looks a bit like Swiss Rösti, another yummy potato galette.
It seems to me that peanut oil would be good, no? (As long as there are no peanut allergics about).
Bixa, with the ham, the sour cream is mandatory as well, to make everything thoroughly treif.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2012 15:17:48 GMT
No, they're not difficult. However, I think that everybody has a personal family method which is considered wonderful within the family but not necessarily by outsiders. Reading through these posts this is truly evident. For my family,being on a potato farm,potatoes were served in some fashion at least once a day. Clearly because they were readily available year round and because they stored well,and,being a large family, they were economically practical. I can remember the first time I ever had rice as a food and it was a rarity,almost an oddity,it just wasn't something readily available. It's quite the opposite now,living in an area where rice is one of the main staples with most meals. Kerouac's grandmother's version is the closest to how we,I,prepare them. And yes,having the oil (I use peanut or sometimes shortening,aka,what was then basic lard) just hot enough is truly key to achieving the crispness without drying out the succulence of the inside of the pancake). BJD,I just assume that packaged dry ingredients of vegetables are freeze dried,but,confess to total ignorance as to how these are made. I 'm sure some of them are adequate for flavoring if in a pinch. The Knorr products,their bouillon I have used on occasion and it's trusty enough.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jan 7, 2012 15:32:31 GMT
I like my latkes best alongside a piece of juicy beef pot roast or sauerbraten. But apple sauce and sour cream are all right, too.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2012 18:18:08 GMT
Oddly enough, in my own family tradition, potato pancakes were considered to be a real treat and were the main dish when served -- probably one of the rare vegetarian meals in the family. Although the ingredients were dirt cheap, they were very labour intensive back then, when you had to hand grate the ingredients. First you were exhausted from grating the potatoes, and then you would weep your way through the onions -- you had to be really motivated to make them compared to so many other dishes. I'm sure that my grandmother was thrilled during the year that my brother and I spent at their house, because we were motivated probably about once a week for this delicious treat, and we did all of the grating on a tiny Moulinex disk grater. Besides being very tiring, the disks had to be unclogged regularly.
Now with the grating disk on my food processor, I can get the same results in about 10% of the time without tears or a sore arm.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2012 12:54:11 GMT
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Post by auntieannie on Jan 14, 2012 20:20:41 GMT
um... am I right in thinking that if you take the egg off you get what some chefs called "paillasson" a decade or so ago?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2012 20:57:16 GMT
I was thinking the same, Annie. There appears to be quite a zone to cover between hash browns, pommes paillasson, rösti and potato pancakes.
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Post by auntieannie on Jan 14, 2012 22:00:49 GMT
well... roesti are made using boiled and cooled potatoes and no egg. amended to add that of course (oeuf corse) you can add fried eggs or cheese on top of the roesti. but that's on top of the side that's already been roasted so during the last part of the cooking process.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2012 16:04:24 GMT
My friends from Zürich and Bern taught me that "real" rösti are just the same as the meat patties that my grandmother used to make from all of the leftover pork chops, chicken, steak, stale bread or whatever or that the Chinese use for "fried rice" -- it is supposed to be just a way to use leftovers, so the recipe can change each and every time you make it.
Of course, now that most of these things have been turned into a "noble" dish made from non-leftovers, there are very official recipes to follow. It's kind of shame, even though it makes the dishes better -- I think we all know that recycled leftovers do not always turn out as well as we hoped.
But potato pancakes are not really in the same category since they are not made out of leftovers, just super cheap ingredients. But they are still a fine area for experimentation for me. I think my next attempt might include grated ginger.
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Post by auntieannie on Jan 15, 2012 16:32:06 GMT
poshifying food, are we, Kerouac? ;D
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Post by bjd on Jan 15, 2012 16:32:35 GMT
After all these posts, I made potato pancakes for lunch today. I grated the potatoes and let them sit for a while with a bit of salt to get most of the water out. Then squeezed the grated potatoes several times. I added a beaten egg and a bit of flour.
Since I wanted to eat them with lingonberries, I didn't add onions. Made them thin and crisp in hot oil -- delicious.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2012 11:43:40 GMT
I made potato pancakes for lunch, and this time I squeezed as much water as possible out of the grated potatoes -- it definitely improved them. I retained all of the onion juice from the grated onions, though -- I don't think it would be possible to get rid of much of that juice even if you wanted to.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jul 7, 2012 14:03:27 GMT
I have a version of potato latkes called "Potato Nik" You make one large pancake at a time instead of lots of smaller ones. I prefer to shred the raw potatoes coarsely. This is from The NY Times: Recipe: Potato NikTime: About 40 minutes About 2 pounds baking potatoes, like Idaho or russet, peeled 1 medium onion, peeled 2 eggs Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 2 tablespoons plain bread crumbs or matzo meal*. Neutral oil, like corn or grape seed. 1. Grate potatoes and onion by hand or with grating disk of a food processor; drain in colander or strainer. Combine potatoes and onions in a large bowl with eggs, salt, pepper and bread crumbs or matzo meal. 2. Put about 1/8 inch oil in a large, deep skillet, either nonstick or seasoned cast iron; turn heat to medium-high. When oil is hot (it will shimmer) put all the batter in pan, and smooth the top. Cook, shaking pan occasionally; adjust heat so mixture sizzles but does not burn. Continue until bottom is nicely browned, at least 15 minutes. 3. To turn, slide cake out onto a large plate, cover with another large plate and invert. Add a little more oil to pan if necessary, and slide pancake back in, cooked side up. Cook 15 minutes or so longer, until nicely browned. Serve hot or warm. Yield: 4 to 6 servings. *Attention: BIXA (I located a picture I took.)
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Post by fgrsk8r1970 on May 13, 2013 17:46:57 GMT
Just stumbled across this and agree that the German version I grew up with is very close to Kerouac's version, but my dad puts a little parsley and nutmeg in ours. We also eat them with Apple Sauce. And after years of grating he has completely gone "hi def" and uses a food processor & pretty much just gets it to a coarse but more liquidy looking constancy. They taste just like in the past and he has mastered the art of it so they pretty much are a requirement for him to cook at our house to be allowed into the US now and visit apologies for the blurry right corner - edited to protect my dad's privacy
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2013 18:08:28 GMT
Nutmeg is an interesting addition, but it looks like your ingredients are finely blended rather than having chunks and strips. Mine look like the Don Cuevas version. (Actually, when my mother got her first blender, we tried that for potato pancakes and did not at all like the smoothness of the result. We went back to laborious hand grating since food processors with a grating dish did not yet exist.)
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Post by fgrsk8r1970 on May 13, 2013 18:14:27 GMT
Yes it is a bit more finely blended but not as fine as it looks maybe? Or maybe I am just so used to it now (It's not completely pureed but I see what you are saying). Yes - I have one of those disks now and have not yet suggested it to my dad (I could make them myself I know... but somehow it's his "thing" LOL). Maybe I will try it to remind myself how the different texture may affect it ... for me at least. We love nutmeg in savory dishes.... when I moved to the US I found it super strange that people would put it on their coffee drinks or hot chocolates. We put it in Mashed Potatoes, Spinach, soups and freshly grated NEVER the store bought ground stuff.
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