Potato Latke with Fried Egg

Tuesdays Toast

I know that Hannukah has passed and each year I promise myself that I will make potato latkes again before the holiday arrives next year.  These shallow-fried potato and onion pancakes are traditionally eaten savory with sour cream or sweet with apple sauce. With a fried egg on top I am sure to make these again and again throughout the year.

Potato Latke with Fried Egg

(makes about 2 dozen)

Potato Latke

  • 2 large potatoes, peeled.
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour or matzo meal
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Vegetable oil
  • chives
  1. Grate potatoes and onions together using the grating attachment of your food processor.
  2. * MOST IMPORTANT PART* Transfer potato and onion mixture to a dish towel or cheese cloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Return to bowl.
  3. Add eggs, flour, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly until incorporated.
  4. To shallow-fry the latkes, pour enough vegetable oil in large skillet to reach 1/4 inch up the sides. Heat oil on high.
  5. Working in batches, take a baseball size amount of latke mixture and place in hot oil. Flatten with back of spatula. Cook until crispy about 3-5 minutes then flip and continue to cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.
  6. Place on paper towels to dry.

Fried Egg

  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  1. Heat pan over medium/high heat. Add butter and swirl around pan to cover.
  2. Lower heat to medium and crack egg in pan.
  3. Cook egg until whites are set and yolk is still runny.

Place one fried egg on a latke and sprinkle with chives.

 

Dutch Baby

I'll try it but I won't like it

You know you are on to something when you make a breakfast your children have never had and they ask if I can make it again the next morning.  Earlier that morning when asked what was for breakfast and I said, "Dutch baby" their first reaction was to repeatedly ask the same question 10 times, hoping the answer would change and finally relenting to a chorus of"okay, I will try it but I won't like it".

They liked it, loved it and asked for it later that day as an afternoon snack and the next day for lunch.  I did learn a long time ago not to push food on them just because I find it delicious.  Yup, beef tongue was a major fail. I know we have different tastes and I encourage individuality in everything they do but do they really think I would serve them something that was awful or I didn't think they would like. I guess they do but this time it was a success and a self high five to me.

I was first introduced to a Dutch baby many years ago, when I first started spending weekends in Bucks County, PA. The name comes from the Pennsylvania Dutch, originally Deitsch, who settled in Pennsylvania from Germany in the late 17th Century thru the 18th Century. We had neighbors who were descendants of the original settlers and were still living in the same 250 year old stone farm house built by one their ancestors, who introduced us to this breakfast dish. It is a cross between a pancake and a soufflè and is delicious with powdered sugar, syrup or your favorite jam.  There are also some very delicious savory recipes if you wanted to have a Dutch baby for lunch or dinner.

Dutch baby

(serves 2)

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  •  A little less than a 1/2 cup of flour
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Powdered sugar, for serving
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Place 1 tablespoon of the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet and heat the pan in the oven for 10 minutes.
  3. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.
  4. Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt (this can also be done in a blender). Add the eggs, milk, vanilla extract and melted butter. Whisk until smooth and frothy,  if using a blender approximately 30 to 45 seconds.
  5. Remove the hot skillet from the oven and immediately pour the batter into the center. Bake for 20 minutes, do not open the oven while baking. The Dutch baby will puff up in the center and the edges will be dark and crispy.
  6. Serve immediately with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. Also delicious with syrup or your favorite jams.