Latke (plural latkes) – have become synonymous with potato pancakes, but in reality latke is a general name for fritters or pancakes of any kind, using different types of vegetables and/or flours.
Before potatoes – which only arrived in Europe in the 16th century and established themselves as a popular raw material in home kitchens throughout a continent to which they were previously unknown – latkes were made mainly from cheese or buckwheat and onions and fried in schmaltz – goose or chicken fat – which does not easily connect with the miracle of the unrestrained amounts of fried food eaten during Hanukkah, but coincides very well with the habits of life in previous centuries where geese were slaughtered in winter and their fat stored and enjoyed for cooking.
Ingredients for Buckwheat and onion pancakes
- 1 cup (140 grams) buckwheat flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon Salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups onion Grated and drained of liquid (4-5 onions)
- a little oil for frying (or schmaltz)
For serving:
- sour cream or applesauce (or both)
Instructions
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1. Mix buckwheat flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add eggs and grated onions and mix to a uniform batter.
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2. Heat oil in a pan, when hot, lower the heat to medium, take a spoonful of the batter and pour into the pan. Flatten the pancake with the back of the spoon - the pancakes should be thin. Fry each pancake for 3-4 minutes on each side, until the pancakes are golden.
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3. Repeat the operation using all the batter in several batches. You may have to play with the heat during frying for the second batch and/or add a little more oil to the pan (heat it before you add the batter) between frying batches.
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4. Serve with sour cream or applesauce (or both).
Buckwheat and Onion Pancakes for Hanukkah. Photography: Anatoly Michaello; Styling: Diana Linder