Latkes (Potato Pancakes)

Potato pancakes, also known as latkes or latkas, are shallow-fried pancakes of grated potato and egg, often flavored with grated onion. Latkes are a traditional Jewish dish, associated with Hanukkah and are often eaten with sour cream, applesauce, or both.
Potato pancakes are also commonly associated with traditional Czech, Ukrainian, Yiddish, German and Polish cuisine, although other cuisines (including those of India and Korea) also have similar potato pancakes.
(Source: Wikipedia)

I love potatoes in any shape or form and just had to give latkes a shot. There are thousands of latke recipes out there but this one worked really well for me.
I love that the recipe makes use of the simplest of ingredients that are found in almost every kitchen/pantry.

Here’s my recipe which is heavily adapted from the one at Exclusively Food.
Ingredients:
(For 10 small latkes)

4 medium potatoes, peeled and grated (I used Russet potatoes)
1 small onion, peeled and grated
½ cup spring onions, finely chopped (optional- I only used these because I had some that were about to go bad)
2 eggs, beaten
3-4 Tbsp all -purpose flour
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Oil, for pan-frying

Method:
Squeeze out all the excess liquid from the grated potato-onion mixture (I used a food processor here) and place in a large bowl.

Add the flour, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and chopped scallions (if using) to the mixture. Add the beaten eggs and mix well to combine.

Heat oil (just enough for shallow frying) in a large pan. Scoop some of the potato-onion mixture into the pan with a large spoon and press down lightly with the back of the spoon.

Shallow fry until crisp and golden brown on one side, about 3-4 minutes.

Flip and cook the other side similarly. I was able to make 3 latkes at a time.

Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with sour cream.

These pancakes are very quick and easy to make and are traditionally served as a side, but we had them for breakfast/brunch. You could also serve these as appetizers like Deb has done here.