Email
PrintKatzinger's latkes
If you are thinking about Ohio produce in October, chances are you’re picturing something round, orange and frequently stabbed with carving knives. But there are lots of other delicious options to pick besides pumpkins, including apples, beets, carrots, parsnips and often a late planting of leafy greens. October also is a great month to eat another filling vegetable: the potato.
Don’t store potatoes in the refrigerator since temperatures that low will turn their starch into sugar. But if you store them in a cool, dark place, like a basement, mature potatoes should last for two months and immature new ones will last a few weeks.
Tip: Although there are numerous varieties of potatoes, they easily divide into two broad types: boilers and bakers. Boiling potatoes (like red potatoes) have a high moisture content and waxy flesh. Baking potatoes (such as russet potatoes) have a high starch content and a dry mealy texture. If you boil a baking potato, it typically falls apart. If you bake a boiling potato, it won’t get that great puffy texture.
There are many yummy ways to prepare potatoes aside from boiling and baking them. This fall, consider making soup, bread, gnocchi (potato dumplings) or latkes (potato pancakes).
Diane Warren of Katzinger’s Delicatessen (475 S. Third St. in German Village) contributed her recipe for latkes, which are a great party food.
Katzinger’s latkes
(Makes about 15 four-inch-diameter latkes)
5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
2 1/2 pounds onions, peeled and halved
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon pepper
3/4 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 cup flour
1/4 inch or more vegetable oil, depending on method of preparation
Run the onions through a food processor in batches until shredded. Then run the potatoes through the food processor in batches until they also have been shredded.
Mix the potatoes and onions well and drain in a colander. Put the mixture in a hand towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. (This is a critical step and you may need to do this in batches as well.) Place in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and mix the beaten eggs, salt, pepper and baking soda. Pour this over the potatoes and onions and mix well. Drain in a colander for about 10 minutes.
Place the mixture in a clean bowl. Add the flour and mix well.
Form the mixture into pancakes by hand. Warren suggests a four-inch-diameter pancake, which you can achieve by using the lid of an eight-ounce deli container as a template.
Fry in a deep fryer set to 350 degrees until golden brown. Or put a large quantity of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven and use a thermometer to make sure you get the oil up to 350 degrees. Or pan-fry in vegetable oil: heat about one-quarter of an inch of vegetable oil in a pan. Test the heat by dropping in a pinch of batter. If it sizzles, the oil is hot enough. Fry pancakes until the first side is well browned. Then flip and repeat on the other side. Add oil as necessary given the amount of latkes you are making.
Drain on paper towels. Test the first latke for proper seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Serve immediately with applesauce and/or sour cream or keep warm in an oven set at 250 degrees.
