Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 BCE. When the time came to relight the Menorah, the Jewish people found only enough oil for one night. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight nights, enough time to prepare more. Hanukkah commemorates the miracle by celebrating for eight days and nights. The tradition of enjoying fried foods during the holiday is in celebration of the miracle of the oil that kept a Menorah lit. Latkes are potato pancakes that are perhaps best known as traditional Hanukkah food. While my family is not Jewish, my husband comes from a Jewish heritage. To teach my kids about their family history, we celebrate Hanukkah. This year I whipped up a batch of my own potato pancakes that I made gluten-free using soy flour instead of the traditional matzo meal* used in latkes.
https://youtu.be/nNOg45BjS8I
Ingredients
- 4 large potatoes
- 1 large onion
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup of soy flour
- 1 tablespoon of seasoned salt
- vegetable oil
Directions
- Wash the potatoes. Remove any eyes or bad spots. Do not peel.
- Shred the potatoes using a hand grater.
- Peel the onion.
- Shred the onion using a hand grater.
- Add the eggs, soy flour, and seasoned salt to the shredded potatoes and onion.
- Stir to combine thoroughly.
- Pour and inch of vegetable oil in the bottom of a large frying pan.
- Heat the oil over medium heat.
- Drop 1/4 cup of the potato mixture into the hot oil.
- Fry the potato pancake until browned.
- Flip the potato pancake.
- Fry the other side of the potato pancake until brown.
- Remove the fried potato pancake from the oil and place on a paper towel on a plate to cool.
- Serve the potato pancakes with sour cream and applesauce.
- Refrigerate any uneaten potato pancakes.
*Kosher matzo for Passover is limited to plain matzo made from flour and water. Matzo must be made from one of the five grains (wheat, barley, oat, spelt, or rye), all of which contain gluten except for some oat matzo. I thus refer to my gluten-free recipe as potato pancakes rather than latkes. However, non-Passover matzo may be made with non-traditional flours that can never be used for Passover matzo.
Image Credits
Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes Recipe © 2018 Heather Johnson
Potatoes for Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes © 2018 Heather Johnson
Shredded Potatoes for Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes © 2018 Heather Johnson
Shredded Onion for Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes © 2018 Heather Johnson
Eggs for Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes © 2018 Heather Johnson
Soy Flour for Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes © 2018 Heather Johnson
Seasoned Salt for Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes © 2018 Heather Johnson
Batter for Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes © 2018 Heather Johnson
Frying the Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes © 2018 Heather Johnson
Flipping the Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes © 2018 Heather Johnson
Fried Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes © 2018 Heather Johnson
Finished Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes © 2018 Heather Johnson
Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes © 2018 Heather Johnson