Bake
by: Ella Quittner
November23,2018
4.5
23 Ratings
- Prep time 15 minutes
- Cook time 20 minutes
- Makes 1 10-inch latke
Jump to Recipe
Author Notes
When I decided to develop a single, giant skillet latke recipe—goodbye, oil splatters and spending the entire night at the stovetop!—I knew I had to start with that of David Firestone, aka The Latke King. After I told him I'd be doing so, he responded that if my end result's any good, I just might score an invitation to a future latke party. Well, David, what's your verdict? (I'll bring wine.) —Ella Quittner
Test Kitchen Notes
Featured in: A Giant Skillet Latke to Win ’Em All: —The Editors
- Test Kitchen-Approved
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 poundsRusset potatoes, unpeeled and scrubbed, grated using the disk of a food processor
- 2 medium shallots, peeled and finely blitzed in the food processor
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup(scant) matzo meal or very finely ground matzo
- 1/4 cupfinely chopped scallions, chives, and parsley, plus extra chopped chives for garnish
- 1 1/2 teaspoonskosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoonfreshly cracked pepper
- 1/4 cupolive oil (or enough to cover the bottom of your skillet comfortably), plus a little extra for drizzling
- 1/2 cupapplesauce, for serving (or use whatever you like to top)
- 1/3 cupsour cream, for serving (or use whatever you like to top)
Directions
- Place the grated potato and shallot in a colander over a large bowl. Mix it all around with your ands and squeeze as hard as you possibly can so that any extra moisture leaves the potatoes and onions and drips through to the bowl. When you think you’re done, squeeze some more. Toss the liquid that makes it into the bowl, but don’t rinse the bowl out—you want to retain the gluey starch clinging to its bottom.
- Add the potato and shallot mixture to the bowl. Mix in the egg, matzo meal, chopped herbs, kosher salt, and pepper. Make sure the various components are thoroughly combined. Let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat your oven to 475°F.
- Heat olive oil in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over a medium-high flame, until it’s hot enough that if you drop a little pinch of the potato mixture in as a test, it immediately starts to happily sizzle. Add the latke mixture to the skillet and pat it firmly into a single even layer no more than 1/3-inch thick. Don’t try to get the sides too smooth—it’s a latke! The edges are supposed to be frizzy. Drizzle the top with a little extra oil (about 2 tablespoons), and transfer to the oven.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the top is starting to brown and the sides are crisp. Then, turn on your broiler. Broil the latke for 3 to 4 minutes until the top is golden brown and crispy. Check on it regularly during this time to prevent it from staying in too long and burning. Remove from under the broiler and let cool a few minutes. Serve straight out of the skillet or by sliding the giant latke onto a serving platter. (Just be careful, the pan is hot!) Top with sour cream and applesauce mounded in the center, with finely chopped chives sprinkled over the whole thing.
Tags:
- Fritter
- Pancake
- Jewish
- American
- Shallot
- Olive Oil
- Egg
- Potato
- Weeknight Cooking
- Bake
- Broil
- Serves a Crowd
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18 Reviews
Akané December 20, 2022
It was delicious!
I made a few changes though as I didn’t have potatoes and matzo.
So I substituted potatoes with pumpkin and carrots (still squeezed the liquid out as instructed), and matzo with pea protein powder plus 2 eggs instead of 1 because the pea protein powder absorbed one egg in a second.
I do most of my cooking in the oven, so this was perfect! 😻
Robin M. December 14, 2022
This is confusing. Put the colander over the bowl and squeeze out the liquid? Use the same bowl and put the liquid back into the mixture? I'm an experienced cook, and I can't figure it out.
Lagordon December 14, 2022
There is a line about pouring the liquid out of the bowl. You are left with a layer of potato starch which you can mix back into the batter
Sherby P. December 14, 2022
This is a version of a Potato Nik. See Mark Bittman’s classic NY Times recipe for reference. Been making it for many years.
Monica A. December 14, 2022
Isn’t the whole point of Hanukkah dishes to be fried in oil?
Jeneba54 December 14, 2022
That is a kugel, not a latke. Happy Hanukkah to all. 💙
ellemmbee December 14, 2022
1/3” thick is a latke, sorry. Hope yours turn out great!
Jeneba54 December 14, 2022
Lolololol. I think I will make smaller ones. Happy Hanukkah.
Marlo December 26, 2020
Forgot to add that the bamboo colander set in the Food 52 shop was super handy for squeezing out the shredded potatoes, pouring out the liquid, and mixing. Highly recommended!
Marlo December 26, 2020
Excellent recipe! I'd never made latkes before, but the promise of no peeling potatoes and no oily spattering intrigued me. My son and I got out the food processor and followed the well written instructions, only adapting amounts slightly for more potatoes (1 3/4 lbs potatoes, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup panko, 2 tsp salt, extra herbs--didn't have matzo meal) and a 12" skillet. It was a delicious addition to our little Covid-era Christmas dinner. This amount served 4 people with no leftovers. It's only the day after Christmas and I'm making another one now. That's how much we liked it!
Lagordon December 13, 2019
How many people would this serve? I usually serve 3-4 roughly 3 inch latkes per person. Am I right in thinking this basically would serve two people? Its too bad I dont have a double oven...
bookjunky November 29, 2018
My husband says “one? That’s not enough.”
Ella Q. November 29, 2018
I have made a double batch with two skillets concurrently before, when feeding a bigger group. (Exactly double proportions.)
Eric K. November 27, 2018
Ugh. This was so insanely delicious. Thanks for the recipe, Ella-
Nancy November 27, 2018
Ella- this looks intriguing...like the Dutch Baby of latkes! Also, I note that you skirt the perennial argument/split in families by showing both applesauce and sour cream as garnishes. Last, I'm interested in playing with some of the other root veg here... did you try or think of parsnip, sweet potato etc?
Ella Q. November 27, 2018
Thank you Nancy! That sounds so delicious. I have thought about variations, but haven't tested through them quite yet—would love to hear how it goes if you swap in any other root vegetables.
Nancy December 7, 2018
Ella - made this with half sweet potato and half regular (wanted the starch from the regular) and it tasted delicious. I will try parsnips in the mix another time. Nice technique...much less work and splatter!
deanna December 14, 2022
I usually add zucchini which is also shredded and squeezed dry.
