I’m not a huge fan of frying, and it’s not mostly about the health concern (just use a heat stable fat), but the time and effort that it takes, standing over a hot stove while everyone else gets to sit and enjoy the meal.
So for the last few Hanukkahs, I’ve switched over from latke frying to oven roasting without any complaints from the family.
Now I don’t know if my oven-baked latkes will win a side by side taste test to my fried varieties, but it’s close enough to make me never want to fry a latke again.
And I can get double the amount of latkes oven-baked in half the time it takes to fry them and still sit down for dinner at the same time as everyone else.
If you already have a go-to latke recipe by all means stick to it but you must try using this oven-baked method:
Prepare your latke mixture, place them on a preheated sheet pan, and roast in a 450F preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes, flipping them once midway.
The recipe I use is one I developed this year to be gluten-free and egg-free. It’s also a very basic recipe with few ingredients – a perfect palate to create your own variations.
I like adding chopped herbs and ground turmeric to mine. But there are endless varieties of latke recipe on the web – some that don’t even use potatoes. Get some ideas in my latke round up here.
One last thing: USE ORGANIC POTATOES!!
Potatoes are listed on the EWG’s “Dirty Dozen” list of produce containing the most amount of pesticides. And so are apples. Read more about making your hanukkah healthier and more sustainable here.
On to the recipe!
Oven Baked Potato Latkes
Serve with organic, unsweetened applesauce, or organic sour cream.
Yield: 26-28 latkes
3 large organic Russet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 large onion
2 tablespoons potato starch
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup of oil or fat (coconut oil, ghee, duck fat)
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper, pour 1/4 cup of oil in each and place in oven for 5 minutes (don’t leave it in for too long – you just want to heat the pan and oil).
- Grate the onion and potatoes in a food processor and place in a colander over a bowl. Take half the mixture and place back in the food processor and pulse using the processing blade and return to colander (This extra step allows the mixture to hold together better without the use of eggs).
- Squeeze out the moisture from the onions and potatoes over your bowl. Pour out the water but reserve the starch that falls to the bottom of the bowl.
- Mix the onions, potatoes, potato starch and sea salt in the same bowl.
- Place tablespoon size amounts evenly spaced out on your preheated pans and put in the oven. If too moisture is building up in your mixture, just mix it in as you form your latkes.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown, flipping latkes over half way through, and rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway.
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