Celebrate the Festival of Lights with Potato Pancakes

One of the coolest things about working in a restaurant is working with people from so many different backgrounds. Peter Klein, our banquet manager, is Jewish, so he's the one I turn to when I want to know all about great Jewish food traditions.

Tonight was the first night of Hanukkah, so we were talking about how Jews from all over the world celebrate with fried food in commemoration of the rekindling of the Temple menorah at the time of the Maccabee rebellion. You'll see everything from fried dough to vegetable pancakes made with zucchini or sweet potato to that classic Hanukkah food, latkes.

These fried potato pancakes are a great way to celebrate the Jewish culture. With a little smoked salmon and a dollop of sour cream, it's a delicious way to add something special to your meal.

Potato Pancakes
serves 4

1 1/2 pounds Idaho or other baking potatoes
1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6-8 tablespoons clarified butter

1) Preheat the oven to 300ºF.

2) Peel the potatoes and finely grate them on a box grater or
the grating disk of a food processor. Wrap in a kitchen towel
and twist it tightly to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
Put the potatoes in a large bowl and add the onion and egg,
mixing well. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the potato
mixture into 4 parts.

3) Heat 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the clarified butter in an
8-inch skillet over medium heat (if you have two 8-inch
skillets, cook 2 pancakes at a time). Add a quarter of the
potato mixture, pressing it into a flat cake with a spatula,
and cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.
Turn the cake and cook for about 10 minutes longer, or
until browned on the bottom side and cooked through. Transfer
to paper towels to drain briefly, then transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining
pancakes. Serve hot.

From AQUAVIT AND THE NEW SCANDINAVIAN CUISINE by
Marcus Samuelsson. Copyright © 2003 by Townhouse
Restaurant Group. Used by permission of Houghton
Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.