Shatteringly crisp with pops of spicy jalapeno, these latkes are a Texan twist on a Hanukkah favorite (but I reckon they should be eaten all year round!).
Take note – these are not hashbrowns. Though hashbrowns have their place at the breakfast table, they just can’t be compared to the almighty latke. Hashbrowns are griddled, which gives you a hint of crispness but a whole lotta floppy potatoes. Latkes are pan fried and they’re ALL about the crunch. Really you could argue they’re like a flattened tater tot.
Generally, the ingredient list is very simple – potato, onion, S&P, egg and some kind of binder. Traditionally, that binder will be powdery fine matzo meal, but that can be a tricky ingredient to find, so you can substitute with fine breadcrumbs as I have in this recipe (to make it a little more user friendly to those without mm access). Of course, being that I live in Texas, it’s not unusual to add Jalapeño peppers to lots of classic recipes and Texa-fy them (just check out these jalapeno cheddar sausage rolls, for example). Thin slices of jalapeno pepper are a great compliment to the crispy latkes, adding the right burst of heat, which is perfectly offset with a scoop of the cooling avocado sour cream.
There’s a trick to getting extra crispy latkes and it involves getting as much of the water out of the potatoes as possible. It really is a crucial step that shouldn’t be missed, but I have come up with a great hack – a potato ricer. If you don’t already have one, a potato ricer (which ironically has nothing to do with rice) is a press for making the creamiest and smoothest mashed potatoes. But because it’s a press, it’s also perfect to use for squeezing every last drop of moisture out of the shredded potato. That’s what I use on both my potato and onion to remove the water, but if you don’t have a ricer you can simply put the shredded veg into a dish cloth, twist them up into a ball and squeeze to get the moisture out.
Golden Crispy Jalapeño Latkes with avocado sour cream
Ingredients
2 x large russet potatoes (about 1.5 – 2lb total)
1 x onion
3 x jalapeno peppers
2 x teaspoons kosher salt
1 x teaspoons ground pepper
1 x egg
2 x tablespoon matzo meal or breadcrumbs
1–2 cups vegetable or canola oil
1 x ripe avocado
1 x cup sour cream
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and then grate on a large box grater. Place the grated potatoes into a kitchen towel to form a bundle or potato ricer, and squeeze to extract as much moisture as possible. Dry potatoes will get you crispier latkes. Place the dried potato shreds in a large bowl.
- Peel the onion, grate and then also repeat the same moisture-removal as with the potato, then add to the bowl.
- Slice the jalapeno peppers into thin rounds (between ⅛ and 1/16th of an inch), discarding the stems. Add the peppers to the bowl.
- Add the salt, pepper, egg and breadcrumbs to the bowl, and stir to combine the ingredients well.
- Place a large skillet over high heat, and add the oil. When the oil reaches 350f, drop in spoonfuls of the mixture, about 2 tablespoons at a time, but do not overcrowd the pan. You will need to cook the latkes in batches. Cook for 2-3 minutes until deep golden brown, then flip and cook the latkes on the other side for a further 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the latkes from the pan using a fish spatula or flipper, and place onto paper towel to drain. Repeat until all latkes have been cooked. Allow the latkes to cool 2-3 minutes before serving.
- Combine the avocado and sour cream in a blender, and blitz until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
- Serve the hot latkes immediately with the cool avocado cream.
WOW! I’ll definitely make this again. I have kids so I toned the heat down a bit and added a little more potato and a little less jalapeño. I also used some crème fraîche I made a couple days ago instead of sour cream and the sauce was excellent. Simple to make and delicious. Must add Bacon…