I love latkes. I don’t love the oily mess on my stovetop, nor the smell of oil in the kitchen afterward. However, I have never found a way around that until I across this Food52 recipe for Shockingly Crisp Baked Latkes by Rebecca Firkser. It uses my favorite technique for oven fries: heating the oil directly in the pan before adding the potatoes.
This recipe calls for panko, matzoh meal, or AP flour. My panko, unfortunately, is seasoned which is the wrong flavor profile (Note to self: add unseasoned panko to shopping list.) Matzoh meal just isn’t a staple in my pantry. Flour? I was concerned it may just be too gummy. In place of any of these choices, I settled on potato starch. This is the favorite go-to thickener for soups for Sarah Rae Smith, posted at The Kitchn.
It worked perfectly. We ended up with crispy outsides, tender insides, perfectly oniony latkes, which, served with sour cream and scallions, was the best accompaniment possible to a juicy, beefy, reverse seared, made-it-through-the-week ribeye steak.
Wouldn’t you like to close out the week this way?
Recipe
Makes 8 latkes
Ingredients
1/2 cup peanut oil
1 large russet potato (about 1 lb.)
1/2 Spanish onion
1 egg
1 tbsp potato starch or AP flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Heat oven to 425º
Pour the oil onto a heavy, rimmed half-sheet pan
Using a box grater, grate the potato and onion.
Transfer to a dish towel.
Over a large mixing bowl, twist and squeeze as much liquid out as you can.
Rest on a plate still in the towel.
Squeeze again after 10 minutes.
Let the liquid in the bowl set for 5 minutes, then gently pour off the water on the top, reserving the potato starch at the bottom.
Preheat the sheet pan in the oven for 10 minutes.
Add the potato/onion mix to the potato starch in the large bowl, adding the 1 tbsp of dried potato starch. Season with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, portion out 8 latkes onto the baking sheet.
Press down on them with a spatula lightly.
Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes until the bottom is crispy, then flip and bake 10-15 minutes more until golden brown on both sides.
Serve right from the oven with sour cream and scallions