Potato latkes with apple and caraway, horseradish soured cream, beetroot and alfalfa salad
Vegetarian mains
Potato latkes with apple and caraway, horseradish soured cream, beetroot and alfalfa salad
Latkes are a traditional Jewish dish, usually served at Hanukkah. They make a good vegetarian main course eaten with apple and soured cream. You can also use other grated root veg, or a firm squash.
Ingredients
- 2 large or 3 small baking potatoes
- 1 onion
- 50g watercress
- good handful alfalfa sprouts
- 2 large or 3 small apples
- ¼ tsp caraway seeds
- 25g butter
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 1 egg
- oil for frying, e.g. sunflower or light olive
- 1 cucumber
- 1 beetroot
- 2 tbsp soured cream
- 1 tsp horseradish relish
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Get a large bowl of cold water ready. Peel and coarsely grate the potatoes and put the grated potato immediately into the cold water; this helps to remove excess starch and keeps the potato from browning. Peel and grate the onion (if you struggle with grating, chop it into quarters, then very finely slice it). Keep the onion to one side.
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Step 2
Wash the watercress and a good handful of alfalfa sprouts. Peel, core and cut the apples into 2cm dice and put them in a pan with the caraway seeds, butter, sugar, a pinch of salt and 3 tablespoons of cold water. Bring up to a gentle simmer. Cook until softened, about 4-5 minutes, stirring now and then. The apple will break up a little. Add a splash more water if needed to stop it catching.
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Step 3
Remove from the heat. Reheat when the rest of the dish is ready if you like, or serve as it is. Drain the potato into a colander and add the onion. Squeeze the mix hard, several times, to remove excess moisture so the latkes crisp up properly. Put your oven on a low heat, about 150°C/Gas Mark 3. Dry your bowl.
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Step 4
Add the potato, onion and flour to the bowl. Crack the egg into a mug and whisk. Tip the egg into the potato mix. Season and stir everything together. Heat a layer of oil in a large, non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. Add several large tablespoons of the potato mix. You should get 6-8 latkes altogether, fried in batches. Flatten them down a bit. Fry for 5-6 minutes on one side, until golden brown but not burnt (see cook's note).
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Step 5
Turn over the latkes and fry for a further 5 minutes or so, adding a splash more oil if needed, until golden. When cooked, drain on kitchen paper. Transfer to a plate and keep warm in the oven. Mix the horseradish relish with the soured cream. Wash and dice one third of the cucumber into 1cm pieces.
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Step 6
Wash, peel and coarsely grate the beetroot. Gently mix the watercress, beetroot, alfalfa and cucumber. Try not to over-mix, or the beetroot will turn everything bright pink! Serve the latkes with the apple sauce, a dollop of the horseradish cream and the salad.
