Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Roasted Garlic and Herb Latkes (Potato Pancakes) from Cleo Coyle #Hanukkah



Latkes or potato pancakes are delicious Hanukkah food, and since tonight marks the 4th night of the 8-day festival (see our Blue Velvet Cupcake Menorah below), what better time to share this tasty spin on the traditional latke recipe?


Whether you are celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or Yule, my husband and I send you our warmest wishes for these cold, dark months...

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Crispy on the outside with layers of flavor on the inside, these delicious latkes feature the sweet-savory taste of roasted garlic with aromatic notes of rosemary and scallion. Serve the pancakes plain or with sour cream on the side. Delicious! 

This recipe was originally featured in our 8th Coffeehouse Mystery, Holiday Grind, which was also the first Coffeehouse entry that Marc and I wrote with a holiday theme. As a special gift to our readers, we included an extra-large recipe section with holiday treats, a glossary of coffeehouse terms, and instructions on making your own specialty coffee drinks at home. So you can eat and drink with joy! 

 ~ Cleo 


To download this recipe in a free PDF 
that you can print, save, or share, 



Click for Free Recipe PDF.

Cleo's Roasted Garlic and Herb Latkes


Makes 2 servings or about nine 3- to 4-inch latkes; for family-size meals,
you’ll want to double, triple, or quadruple this recipe and have two frying pans working at the same time.


Ingredients:

10 garlic cloves, roasted and smashed
    (See How to Roast Garlic at the end of this recipe.)

3/4 cup finely grated onions (2 to 3 medium size onions)

2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary

2 teaspoons salt

1½ pounds Idaho baking potatoes (about 3 medium russet potatoes)

1 large egg, beaten with a fork

Canola or light olive oil

Sour cream (optional topping)


Directions:

Step 1—­Prepare aromatics: First, preheat the oven to 250°F. In a large bowl, combine the garlic with the onions, scallions, rosemary, and salt.




Step 2—­Grate potatoes: Do not peel your potatoes. Grate by hand with a simple box grater, or use a food processor. Add the grated potatoes to the bowl of aromatics and stir well.




Step 3—­Press out moisture: Place the potato mixture in a large sieve and press down to strain out moisture. Getting rid of excess moisture will help you cre­ate latkes that are crisp and golden brown.




Step 4—Add egg: Now return the mixture to the bowl and stir in the egg to finish your latke batter. Cook immediately.

Step 5—­Fry pancakes: Place a heavy frying pan over me­dium heat and add oil, at least ½ inch deep. As our beloved barista character Esther says, “Don’t freak over the amount of oil. It’s the temperature of the oil that makes for greasy latkes, not the amount of oil. Besides, the mitzvah is the oil!” When the oil is hot enough, begin cooking. (See the note at the end of this recipe on judging when the oil is hot enough.)


Pack potato mixture into a ¼ cup measuring cup. Turn the mixture out onto a plate in a little mound. Do this four times. Place the four mounds in quick succession into the hot oil and immediately flatten each mound into a 3- to 4-inch pancake. (Flattening is important or you may have latkes that are cooked on the edges but raw in the mid­dle!) Cook each pancake for about 3 minutes on the first side, until the bottom is golden brown.



Now flip and cook the other side 1–3 minutes until it’s golden brown, too. Do not flip more than once, but do press each pancake a few times with your spatula during the cooking process to make sure the centers cook. Drain in a single layer on paper towels. Keep finished latkes warm in the 250-degree F. oven while you’re cooking the rest of the batter. Serve warm with sour cream!



NOTE ON OIL TEMP: If your oil is too hot, you’ll burn the latkes. If your oil is too cool, your latkes will be greasy. Test the oil with a drop of water. When it dances or bounces on top of the oil, it’s ready. If the oil begins to smoke, it’s too hot! Also keep in mind that if you crowd the pan with too many latkes, the oil temperature will drop dramatically, so don’t fry too many at once—­for big batches, have two pans going at the same time.



How to Roast Garlic


Using peeled cloves: Place your peeled cloves into a small ovenproof dish, drizzle with a bit of oil (olive oil is best), and add a splash of water. Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for
30–40 minutes or until the garlic is soft.

Using a whole head: Cut the top off the head (the pointed end), and wrap in aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for 30–40 minutes or until the garlic is soft. Remove from the oven. Let the foil-wrapped garlic cool down enough to handle. Pop the warm, roasted garlic pieces out of their skins and you’re good to go.

Roasted garlic is delicious and good for you! Try spreading it on slices of a French baguette or Italian bread or smashing it and mixing it with mashed potatoes. Now that’s how to eat with joy!






Click for Free Recipe PDF, and...

May your holidays be delicious!



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New York Times bestselling author of
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2 comments:

  1. You make everything sound so tasty!
    The addition of the garlic is a great variation.
    You know your Jewish cooking. Pretty good for a nice Italian girl!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! Those look fabulous, Cleo! I can almost smell the garlic.

    ReplyDelete