Re: gluten free latkes-a great recipe (including eggless option)

[Guest guest]

(Carina, You've misread her email - she replaced the matzo meal with potato.)

I made latkes today for my son's kindergarten class. Two children and three adults are gluten free, and one of the gf adults can't eat eggs, so I made two batches - one that used eggs and one that didn't. Other parents brought in "regular" latkes (wheat flour, eggs). All of my three dozen latkes were gone by the end of the party, which I take it means even non-gluten-free people thought they were delicious! (There is certainly truth in "once you fry anything in all that oil, anything tastes good!") I love this recipe because you briefly cook the potato before mixing it with everything else and frying it, so you don't end up with crispy on the outside, still raw on the inside latkes. This recipe makes thin, crisp, totally yummy latkes...

Here's the recipe:

2 large potatoes peeled and grated (I use my cuisinart)

1 medium onion (I use my cuisinart)

1/4 cup gluten free all purpose flour

a pinch of xantham gum

2 eggs or, for the eggless version, 1 mashed ripe banana

1 teaspoon salt

black pepper

(1) Boil a large pan of water. When boiling, put in grated potato and parboil (5 minutes - no more or you will overcook potatoes). Drain in colander and rinse with cold water until the potato is completely cold (so it stops cooking).

(2) Combine all ingredients.

(3) Put a thin layer of oil (I used grapeseed oil because it doesn't smoke and is light in taste). Let heat until a drop of batter on it sizzles, then spoon in batter - I like to use a tablespoon and flatten them down. Fry on both sides until brown and crispy.

It took me a long time to realize that the trick to great latkes is to make sure that after you remove on batch from the oil, you scoop out any little pieces that are left (which can make the oil bitter) and add a bit more oil and wait until the oil heats up enough again for a drop of batter to sizzle. While you're making more batches, you can keep the cooked latkes warm on a thick bed of paper towels in the oven, set at 175 or 200.

To top the latkes, I peel and slice apples and saute them with butter and either cinnamon or cardamom until very soft.

Happy Hanukkah!

-----Original Message-----

From: Carina C. Zona <cczona@...>

Sent: Fri, Dec 11, 2009 1:33 pm

Subject: Re: [ ] gluten free latkes

My understanding is that regular matzo is made with gluten-containing grains. You mentioned being new to GF eating, so just wanted to make sure you've checked that the matzo you're using is a safe GF substitute.

On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 8:52 PM, noglutenordairymom <dearmegzzgmail> wrote:

Hello,

I am new to this site (my adult son just went gluten free because of ulcerative colitis--)

so this may not be a new idea, but it worked so I thought I would share:

I usually thicken my potato/onion/egg mixture with some matzo meal. Tonight I used a cooked yellow potato--threw it in after I had blended other ingredients in Cuisinart (might not work so well if you do the coarsely grated style of latkes) It worked great, and I think the flavor was better--it may be my new way of making them. (Of course, once you fry in all that oil, anything tastes good!)

Happy Chanukah!