You needn’t look forward to latke season to get pleasure from potato pancakes. The fritter idea is sheer magic within the kitchen, adaptable to any season and the components you could have available.
This model comes from Michael Mina’s latest restaurant, The Bungalow Kitchen on the Tiburon waterfront, the place it’s served in candy potato type as a crispy bite-sized base for gravlax, crème fraîche or apple butter — or caviar, when you’re in a very luxe temper. At residence, high these with no matter you need or serve them bare. (The fritters, we imply.)
Bungalow Kitchen govt chef Joseph Offner has just a few suggestions for achievement. These potato pancakes use a mix of grated apples and russet and candy potatoes and sliced leeks. Minimize the leeks so their dimensions — the size in addition to the thickness — are much like the potatoes.
Matzo meal is the starch that holds the pancake collectively, and the quantity of moisture from the potatoes dictates the quantity of matzo meal so as to add, so you might want to make use of a bit of extra or rather less than the recipe suggests. Can’t get your fingers on matzo meal? Simply use flour as an alternative.
Earlier than you begin madly frying pancakes, prepare dinner a take a look at fritter. “Style the combo earlier than you begin cooking, as a result of extra matzo meal and salt could also be wanted,” Offner says.
Offner additionally recommends — very a lot — that all of us exit and purchase a kitchen scale. “It is only one instrument and way more exact,” he says. Offner has added ounces to the recipe beneath, however measuring by metric weight is way more correct.
BUNGALOW KITCHEN’S SWEET POTATO PANCAKES
Serves 4 to six
INGREDIENTS
360 g (12.7 ounces) candy potatoes, peeled and grated with a field grater
360 g (12.7 ounces) russet potato, peeled and field grated
200 g (7 ounces) leeks, halved lengthwise, washed and sliced skinny
181 g (6.4 ounces) apple, peeled and field grated
40 g (1.4 ounces) potato starch
100 g (3.5 ounces) matzo meal
200 g (7 ounces) eggs
1 g (0.35 ounces) salt
Impartial oil, for frying
Gravlax, creme fraiche or toppings of your alternative
DIRECTIONS
In a big mixing bowl, mix the potatoes, leeks and apple.
As soon as the greens are blended, add the whole lot else and season with salt. Fry off a small quantity to examine for seasoning and alter with extra matzo or extra salt, as wanted.
Set a cooling rack inside a baking tray and place it close to the range.
In a medium skillet, warmth about 2 tablespoons oil. Utilizing a big spoon, drop small quantities of pancake combination (about 60 g every) onto the new skillet and prepare dinner over medium-high warmth till the sides are golden, about 1½ minutes. Flip and prepare dinner till golden on the opposite aspect, about one minute extra. Switch to the rack. Repeat with remaining combination, including extra oil to the skillet as wanted.
Serve topped with gravlax and a dollop of creme fraiche or the toppings of your alternative.
— Joseph Offner, The Bungalow Kitchen