Potato Latkes

Though Chanukah has sadly come and gone, it would not be Chanukah without some potato latkes. I was lucky enough to enjoy these wonderful treats several times over the eight nights. These latkes can be thick or thin, crispy and chewy. They hold up well to sour cream and applesauce. They are filling, but not mealy or doughy. I've tried many different latkes but these are always my favorite. This is my mom's original recipe, and it has never failed. Though time consuming, it is easy enough to figure out. The key is to make sure that while processing the potatoes in the Cuisinart, use two different blades in order to vary the textures of the potatoes. This recipe makes about 16 latkes, but it can be easily adjusted to make more than that. Doubling this recipe, or using large potatoes works well. You'll never eat conventional hash browns again.

Potato Latkes

5 to 6 medium potatoes
6 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 medium onion
Plenty of vegetable oil for frying

1) Peel and coarsely shred potatoes using a food processor.
2) Squeeze out excess water from the shredded potatoes. Do this with your hands in a sink. Cheesecloth can be very useful for this.
3) In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, flour, onion, salt and pepper until smooth.
4) Stir the potatoes into the egg mixture.
5) Heat a pan and add about 1/2 an inch of oil. Once oil is very hot, begin adding batter in scoops about 1/4 of a cup. Flatten and round the scoop into a pancake.
6) Fry pancakes on each side until the sides are golden brown. If the oil is hot enough this should only take 3-5 minutes on each side.
7) Preheat an oven to 200 degrees, and keep the latkes warm in until all the latkes are cooked.