The secret to making crispy latkes is to squeeze out as much moisture from the potatoes as possible. Golden on the outside and with a tender soft centre, serve them warm with the traditional accompaniment of apple sauce and crème fraiche.
INGREDIENTS
600 grams Agria potatoes, peeled
2 large spring onions, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 egg
2 tablespoons plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil
butter
Apple sauce
4 Braeburn apples, peeled
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
finely grated zest 1 lemon
¼ cup apple or orange juice or use water
To serve
½ cup crème fraiche
METHOD
Apple sauce: Quarter and core the apples then cut into 2cm pieces.
Place in a saucepan with the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and cook for gently for 5 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until most of the liquid has reduced and the apples are soft. Set aside.
Latkes: Grate the potatoes on the largest holes of a box grater. Try to get long strips of potato.
Spread half of the potato over a clean tea towel, roll up then twist as tightly as possible to remove as much moisture as you can. Tip into a large bowl and repeat with the remaining potato.
Stir in the spring onions, parsley and egg and season generously. Combine the flour, baking powder and the cumin and sprinkle over the potato mixture. Use a fork to mix everything together.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan with a knob of butter. Place heaped tablespoons of the mixture into the pan and flatten a little with a fork. Cook for 4–5 minutes over a medium heat then turn over and cover the pan. Cook for another 4–5 minutes until golden and the latkes are fully cooked. Under cooked potato is never good to eat. Place on a cooling rack in a warm oven. Continue until all the latkes are cooked, adding a little more oil and butter if needed.
To serve: Place the latkes on plates and serve with the apple sauce and a good dollop of crème fraiche. Makes about 12
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