heirloom potato latkes

I love the Holidays.  We may not always get to spend them with extended family [my immediate family are the lone west coasters] and we frequently celebrate at our own convenience [my pilot dad often works holidays], but we always ALWAYS have a good meal and a good time.  What else can you ask for?

This year Santa came on December 22 - he had heard that dad had to work - and made a special early delivery so that my little bro would have presents to open with the whole family.  Somehow he snuck into the house mid-day when both my parents and Taylor were away and left all of the presents beautifully wrapped under the tree.  That Santa - he sure is somethin'.

 Taylor scored big - as he does every year - and should.  Aside from the awesome books and games Santa brought, there was one present that was especially awesome - the Zoku Quick Pop Maker.  It is the coolest new ice pop maker contraption out there - if you like ice pops, and don't want to wait hours to be able to enjoy them, check this out.  We have already made blood orange and strawberry lemonade ice pops with it and they are amazing!  Best part is, it only takes 9 minutes to freeze.  I want one. 

 Christmas dinner was crab cakes, grilled lobster tail, asparagus and chopped salad.  Always seafood as is our tradition.

What is your Holiday culinary tradition?

Lately, my favorite are latkes.  I was cleaning out my stack of recipe clippings the other day when I came across an article I had clipped on the many ways to prepare latkes.  Why had I never made these before?  I love potatoes.  I love potatoes fried.  So, what's the dilemma?  No dilemma.  Only bliss.  Blissfully crunchy, creamy, salty, with a bite of sweet and tangy, goodness.

As usual, I made what I had on hand - purple potatoes, a few Yukons.  Sauteed apples.  Sauerkraut.  No yogurt sauce - but honestly, you don't need it.  Mike and Taylor liked these so much I wished I had made double.  They are addicting.  Mike suggested making them with eggs sometime in place of hash browns - they would be good with anything.  Who doesn't like fried potatoes?

For the flour, I used finely ground cornmeal, which gave the latkes a rustic flavor.  Almost any flour would do.

heirloom potato latkes
makes 8-10 latkes

3-4 medium potatoes
1 small onion, minced
1/4 cup almond flour* or unbleached white flour
2 eggs
butter, ghee or other heat stable fat
celtic mineral sea salt

Wash the potatoes well.  Do not peel.  In a food processor or with a grater, shred the potato.  In a colander, rinse and drain the shredded potato.

Squeeze as much water out of the potatoes as possible.  Using a cheese cloth, paper towels, or salad spinner [this worked really well], dry the potatoes as much as possible.

Mix the potato, onion, and flour in a large bowl.  Beat the eggs and mix in well.  Season with sea salt.
Heat a cast iron or heavy skillet over high heat.  When hot, melt 1 tbsp fat in skillet and lower heat to medium.  Drop one spoonful of latke mixture into pan and press down to flatten.  3-4 should fit in one pan.  Do not overcrowd.

Let cook on one side for 2 minutes.  Flip and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.  Transfer to a paper towel and pat excess oil off.

Wipe skillet clean with a paper towel.

Repeat until all latkes have been made.

Serve with apple sauce, sauteed apples, yogurt sauce, cultured vegetables, or other condiment.

*Make your own homemade almond flour by throwing whole raw almonds in a food processor and grinding until you reach a coarse flour consistency.  Don't grind too long or you'll have butter!