When speaking to chef Reuben Gerber of the Crow's Nest in downtown Anchorage, I'm always inspired by his enthusiasm for good food. And when it comes to the holidays, his exuberance is tenfold.
"Hanukkah is right around the corner and that means it's time for latkes!" he told me recently as we talked about traditional holiday foods. "Growing up in a Jewish home, I could hardly wait to enjoy the festive food … I will never forget tugging on Bubbie's apron for a latke before they ever made it to the table."
Hanukkah foods for Gerber often include a roast chicken or cholent, a traditional bean and meat stew. "And kugel and matzo brei with cinnamon, egg and matzo." He pauses for a moment and says, "You know, Jewish food isn't pretty, but it's pure comfort food, lots of one-pot meals."
Gerber was born in upstate New York into a home where there was always "a fish in the pot." Both his parents cooked as well as his beloved Bubbie, "who," Gerber recalls, "was great at taking the cheaper cuts and transforming them into something delicious. And my father -- he used to poach fish in the dishwasher!"
One Hanukkah mainstay Gerber insists upon is potato latkes, cousin to the hash brown and potato pancake. "Hash browns to me," Gerber explains, "are all about crisp texture with a very thin melted potato center. A potato pancake will share a slightly less crispy crust and a more mashed potato center. Both delicious in their own right but very different. The latke is all about potato, and the great flavor and texture it yields throughout once it's fried."
Any way you look at these, Gerber's recipe makes latkes that happen to be very pretty, with their golden crisp edges and a dollop of sour cream and pink-tinged applesauce. No need to use the rinse cycle on the dishwasher for this one.
Chef Reuben Gerbers tips for perfect latkes
1. You'll want to shred the potatoes into long, thin strips (julienne), preferably using a mandolin slicer; a box grater yields a little too much starch.
2. The binder is a mixture of egg, potato flour and matzo meal. The egg will act like wallpaper glue. Just mix it with all the other ingredients and try and scrape it from your hands. Oy, vey! The potato flour will help bind the egg to the potato and onion. For me, matzo meal is mostly tasteless but adds great texture to the center of the latke, giving it a bit of a crunch. You can use matzo meal right from the box or get a little more adventurous and grind onion matzo in a food processor and incorporate this into your mix.
3. The oil symbolizes the miracle of the cruse of oil, which lasted for eight days. You'll want to use oil with a fairly high smoke point. That's why I love avocado oil, which can reach a smoke point of 500 degrees. I prefer using a cast-iron pan, which offers a steady, even heat. Cast iron, if seasoned well, also acts like a nonstick pan. A stainless pan will make the latke stick to the bottom before you achieve the color you're looking for. If you use an aluminum pan, you might forget what you are doing halfway through the cooking process and burn everything. Test your oil first with a strand of potato. If it bubbles rapidly, then it's ready to go.
4. Make a small test latke, fry it and taste it, then adjust seasoning as needed to the potato mixture before frying them all.
5. Other ways to change up your latke: Substitute the russet with sweet potato; parsnip and potato; potato and apple; or celery root.
Hanukkah potato latkes by chef Reuben Gerber
Makes 18 latkes
1½ pounds russet potatoes
9 ounces (about 1 cup) chopped yellow onion
¼ cup potato flour or all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons matzo meal
3 large eggs
Kosher salt
About 1 cup avocado oil (or grapeseed or vegetable oil)
Applesauce (recipe below) and sour cream, for serving
1. Finely dice onion and place in a fine mesh sieve; season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and let drain; the salt will draw the liquid out of the onion. Peel potatoes and julienne, preferably using a mandolin slicer, into thin strips that resemble shoestrings. (Some recipes call for the use of a box grater, but Gerber feels this produces too much potato liquid and the latke lacks a crispy texture through the center.)
2. Place the julienned potatoes in batches into the center of a square of cheesecloth. Bring corners of cheesecloth together and twist to squeeze out any liquid; discard liquid. Repeat with remaining potatoes and place potatoes and onions in a medium bowl. Add potato (or all-purpose) flour and matzo meal. Combine mixture by hand and season with salt to taste. Add eggs one at a time, tossing mixture with your hands until mixture just sticks together.
3. Pour about a half-inch of oil into a large cast-iron pan and heat over medium-high heat. Form latkes on a cutting board into 3-by-1/2-inch thick rounds. When oil is shimmering (but not smoking), test the oil by tossing in a pinch of flour or a piece of potato; the flour should rise to the surface with small bubbles forming around it. Fry latkes, in batches of three or four (be careful not to overcrowd the pan) until golden, about 3 minutes. (If they begin to brown too quickly, reduce heat slightly.) Flip latkes, preferably using a slotted fish spatula, and cook until golden on the other side. Transfer to a baking sheet or oven-proof platter. Fry remaining latkes. Once all the latkes are cooked, place the platter in a warm oven (about 300 degrees) to reheat. Serve warm latkes with applesauce and sour cream.
Chef Reuben Gerbers simple applesauce
3½ pounds apples, preferably combination of honeycrisp, Granny Smith and cameo
2 cups water
Pinch kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Peel and core apples; cut into ½-inch pieces. Place apple pieces in a large pot over medium-high heat and add water, salt and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, stir and reduce heat to medium-low and let apples simmer; cover with parchment paper. Let simmer 15 minutes. Remove parchment and let apples cook another 15 minutes or until apples are soft and most of the water has evaporated. Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and purée. To cool mixture faster, place applesauce in a bowl set inside a larger bowl of ice water. Chill, covered, until ready to use.
Kim Sunée ate and lived in Europe for 10 years before working as a food editor for Southern Living magazine and Cottage Living magazine. Her writing has appeared in Food & Wine, The Oxford American and Asian American Poetry and Writing. She is currently based in Anchorage. Her most recent cookbook is "A Mouthful of Stars." For more food and travel, visit kimsunee.com.