It's the most wonderful time of the year: latke season.
Oh, you thought I was talking about Christmas? I have to say, Eaters, Hanukkah snacks are tough to beat. Fried potato pancakes, foil-wrapped chocolate, and donuts? Candy canes don't hold a candle (or eight!) to that trio. (I'll grant you that Santa Claus is way cooler than Hanukkah Harry.)
To help you get the most bang from your latke consumption, we're ripping a page from Dan's book, Eat More Better, which proposes some innovative latke pairings.
Once you've fried up a double batch of latkes, here's what to do with them:
- Serve them with sunny-side-up eggs and dip them into the yolk.
- Serve them alongside saucy foods and stews so they can soak up some liquid while maintaining their crispness.
- Insert them into sandwiches of the meat, cheese, egg, or vegetable variety to add crispy, fried potato goodness.
- Slice them into strips and insert them into the dip of your choice.
- Employ them as the base for crostini.
- Use them in place of sandwich bread for virtually any sandwich.
This last tip is my particular favorite because the combinations are endless. A Thanksgiving sandwich between latkes? Perfection. Egg and cheese on latkes? Now that's my kind of breakfast. Layering lox and cream cheese on latkes? A perfectly sensible option.
Feeling ambitious (and unusually hungry)? These last two innovations are where we take things to the next level. Try whipping up Dan's latke masterpiece, the Hanukkah Miracle Sandwich. It combines all the best taste and texture dynamics: tangy, sweet, and savory, as well as doughy and crisp. Here's the play-by-play:
Slice a doughnut in half lengthwise and griddle it in butter. This will be your sandwich exterior.
That golden brown, buttery donut interior will now be your sandwich exterior.
Layer sour cream on the bottom of the sandwich and apple sauce on top. (You want the sour cream closer to your tongue to accentuate that tart flavor.) Serve with extra sour cream for dipping. In the end it looks like this:
If that sounds too sweet for you, try this food's more savory sibling, the Inside-Out Hanukkah Miracle Sandwich, where you put latkes on the outside and a donut in the middle:
Eaters: what are your most creative uses for latkes? Let us know in the comments.
Photos: Sandor Weisz and Quinn Dombrowski
Talia Ralph is a freelance writer pursuing her Master's in Food Systems at NYU. She also hosts a radio show about pizza. Follow her on Twitter @TaliaBethRalph.
