Around this time of year the food blogs tend to bomb you with all sorts of quirky updates on the classic potato pancake: red beets and horseradish, shaved zucchini, sweet potatoes and maple syrup?
They're hard to resist, but more often than not they pale in comparison to the humble Idaho potato of our youths. (Well, mine at least!) Maybe it's nostalgia, but there's no way a radish can ever taste as good as a golden pellet of deep-fried potato straight from the vegetable oil.
So how do we keep things fresh? Answer: Keep the potato, make it into shapes!
Saguaro cookie cutters are available at lots of home stores, but the Ace Hardware at 6959 E. 22nd Street has a huge selection of cowboy boots, coyotes and cute little chile peppers that you can purchase individually.
It took me awhile to get this recipe right: No matter what you read, DO NOT think about frying the latkes straight in the cookie cutters, it's a disaster just trust me. But if you oil them up just enough so the potatoes can easily slip away from the cookie cutter before you plop them in, it's really very simple. Just make sure there's a lot of oil in the pan and that it's hot enough so the latkes cook quickly without falling apart.
If you can do it right, the cookie cutter shapes actually give you a little more crunchy surface area than your average latke. Which is never a bad thing. Spin the dreidel or make 'em at Christmas, either way, they're a Tucson thing!
Saguaro Latkes
- Half a white onion
- 2 cups parsley
- 1 pound potatoes
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup matzo meal
- salt and pepper
- vegetable oil for frying
- tub of Mexican crema
Quarter white onion and pulse in food processor with parsley until finely chopped, almost like a paste. Remove and place in bowl.
Peel and cut potatoes for food processor. Pulse until pieces are roughly chopped, but still have texture to them. Remove and place in strainer with a bowl underneath to catch excess moisture. With the back of a spoon or spatula, push down on potatoes for a couple minutes to drain them. Discard the excess moisture.
In a large mixing bowl, crack an egg and beat it. Then add onion and parsley mixture, beating until fully incorporated. Then add potatoes, matzo meal, salt and pepper and stir.
Pour vegetable oil in pan until it's about half full. Heat oil on medium high heat until it begins to shimmer.
Meanwhile, rub oil over the insides of the cookie cutters and set them on a plate or cutting board. Pack potato mixture into each cookie cutter so that it's firm, about 3/4 of the way to the top.
Scoop each cookie cutter up with a thin spatula. Right before you place it in the hot oil, remove the cookie cutter by pulling it straight up. Fry for several minutes on each side until golden brown, then place on a plate lined with a paper towel. Dip into Mexican crema and enjoy!
