2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
250ml vegetable oil
Apple sauce, for serving
Sour cream, for serving
Method
- Using a box grater or a food processor with a grating insert, grate the potatoes and transfer them to a large bowl of very cold water.
- Grate the onions.
- Scoop the potatoes out of the water and place them, with the onions, in a clean tea towel or muslin cloth, and thoroughly wring out the excess liquid over the sink. You want the mixture to be as dry as possible as that will ensure crisp latkes.
- Transfer the potato-onion mixture to a large bowl.
- Add the eggs, matzo meal, salt, and pepper.
- Carefully pour off the potato water from the bowl they were in, keeping the white potato starch that will have sunk to the bottom of the bowl. Scoop that into the potato mixture and stir to combine all the ingredients thoroughly.
- Pour about 1 cm depth of oil into a large frying pan and set it over medium heat. Allow it to get hot — a cube of bread should turn golden in a minute.
- Scoop heaped tablespoons of potato mixture from the bowl and squeeze slightly to release any more water.
- Place in the hot oil, about 2cm apart. Do not overcrowd the pan as it will cool down. I fry about 5 at a time. Flatten the latkes slightly and cook, turning once, until crisp, golden brown, and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side.
- Transfer the cooked latkes to kitchen towel-lined oven trays or plates. If you are making a large batch keep them warm in a low oven.
- Repeat with more spoonfuls of mixture until it is all used up. You may need to top the oil up during the cooking process.
- Keep latkes warm in oven and serve hot with applesauce or sour cream.
