Potato pancakes are perfect anytime, but they're an especially nice meal for early spring. They act as a bridge between the seasons -- a hearty comfort food that pairs perfectly with an early season salad. Latkes are a great way to use those last wrinkled potatoes that have sat so quietly in their bulk box since summer. And they're such a good companion to anything that might be just beginning to sprout in your garden.
Serves 4-6 for dinner.
Ingredients
- 4 cups grated potatoes (about 4 large potatoes)
- 1 cup grated or finely diced onion (1 medium onion)
- 4 eggs
- 2 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp. ground paprika
- 4 Tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour (or a gluten-free flour)
- butter for frying in the pan
Instructions
- Peel potatoes. Then, using a food processor with a grating disk or a box grater, shred potatoes. Place them in a square of cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much excess water as possible. Set aside.
- Grate onion in the food processor (using the medium shredding disk) or finely dice.
- Mix potatoes, onions, eggs, spices, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Stir until all is well-combined.
- Preheat oven to 200°F.
- Warm cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Melt 1/2 Tbsp. of butter in the pan.
- Using 1/3 measuring cup, scoop mixture into skillet. Cook roughly 5 minutes on first side, then flip. Cook 5 minutes on next side. These will be thick pancakes. If you want them thinner use less batter and flatten with a spatula while frying.
- Place cooked pancakes on a cookie sheet in the oven to keep them warm as you work through the batter.
- Continue to scoop and fry until the batter is done. Try frying three pancakes at a time, adding 1/2 Tbsp. of butter to the skillet with each round of frying. Serve warm.
