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Why It Works
- Squeezing the patty mixture in cheesecloth helps eliminate excess moisture, making the results more consistent and helping the latkes brown more efficiently.
- Shredding the ingredients in a food processor ensures a hearty, consistent size and shape for the latkes.
Latkes are flawless as is. Done right, they’re golden and crispy on the outside, tender within. Why mess with perfection? Traditional latkes are simply potato, onion, egg, and matzo meal, but sometimes the bounty of rainbow-hued veggies is too much to resist. This recipe takes its inspiration from beet skordalia, a delectable Greek dip that combines potatoes, beets, walnuts, and a whole lot of garlic. Translating it into a latke was a simple matter of shredding my ingredients rather than whipping them.
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
If you’re not a fan of earthy beets, here’s a delicate zucchini version, or a brilliantly colored sweet potato, carrot, and squash latke. Beets, typically sugary-sweet when roasted, have a slightly milder, more vegetal flavor served raw. But when briefly fried, they straddle the line between sweet and savory, partnering seamlessly with the punchy garlic, zesty onion, starchy potato, and chopped nuts. The vibrant color is nothing to scoff at, either. Just look at that:
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
A spoonful of sour cream helps brighten these latkes up, but the real coup here is a horseradish-spiked version. This combination will make sense to those of you who love beet horseradish at Passover. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then take my word for it: Sharp, pungent horseradish, tangy sour cream, and sugary beets are a match made in latke heaven.
Actually, horseradish sour cream is pretty much perfect with most things. Oh, and it’s as easy as dolloping some horseradish into a bowl of sour cream and giving it a big stir.
December 2014
These Beet Latkes Are the Crispiest You’ll Ever Make
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For the Horseradish Sour Cream:
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1 cup sour cream (about 7 1/2 ounces; 210g)
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Horseradish, to taste (approximately 1 tablespoon; 15ml)
For the Latkes:
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1 1/2 pounds (680g) red beets, peeled, trimmed, and shredded on the shredding disk of a food processor (6 cups shredded)
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1 pound (454g) russet potatoes, peeled, trimmed, and shredded on the shredding disk of a food processor (3 cups shredded)
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4 cups chopped onion (about 4 medium onions; 900g)
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6 medium cloves garlic (about 1 ounce; 30g) minced
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1/2 cup chopped walnuts (2 1/4 ounces; 65g)
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3 large eggs
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3/4 cup matzo meal (about 3 1/4 ounces; 90g), plus more as needed (see notes)
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1 1/2 tablespoons (18g) kosher salt, plus more if needed
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1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more if needed
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Canola or peanut oil, for frying
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Unsweetened applesauce, for serving
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For the Horseradish Sour Cream: In a small bowl, combine horseradish and sour cream. Stir to mix thoroughly and refrigerate until ready to use.
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For the Latkes: Working in roughly 2-cup batches, wrap beets, potatoes, and onions in cheesecloth that has been folded over twice. Tie corners around the handle of a wooden spoon and twist bundle until liquid flows out and vegetables are dry. Add squeezed vegetables to a large mixing bowl and toss to combine thoroughly.
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Add garlic and walnuts and stir to combine. Mix in eggs and matzo meal. You should be able to form patties that just stick together in your hands; if the mixture is too wet, add more matzo meal, 1 tablespoon at a time, until patties can be properly formed. Stir in salt and pepper.
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Fill a cast iron skillet with 1/2 inch oil and heat over medium-high heat until a shred of potato immediately bubbles when dropped in. Form a small amount of latke mixture into a disk and fry on both sides until golden brown to test for seasoning. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
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Form patties about 3 inches wide and 1 inch thick in the center and slide patties into pan (no more than 4 at a time). Fry until a golden-brown crust forms on bottom, then flip using a slotted spatula and fork and fry until golden brown on other side and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes per side. If a darker crust is desired, continue cooking on each side to desired doneness.
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
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Transfer latkes to a baking sheet lined with paper towels and let cool for 2 minutes. Serve with applesauce and horseradish sour cream at the table.
Special Equipment
Cast iron skillet, food processor, cheesecloth, rimmed baking sheet
Notes
The exact amount of matzo meal needed will depend on how moist your vegetables are. Start with the suggested amount, then add more if needed, working in 1-tablespoon increments, until you can form patties that stick together in your hands.
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