Simple yet Stellar Latkes

Ingredients

• 5
  
  pounds russet potatoes
  
• 4
  
  mid-sized yellow onions
  
• 1/2
  
  teaspoon ground white or black pepper
  
• 1
  
  tablespoon coarse salt
  
• 2
  
  eggs, lightly beaten
  
• 1/4
  
  cup matzo meal
  
• 1-2
  
  cups canola oil for frying (depending upon the number of pans used)
  

Directions

1. Line a strainer with a large piece of cheesecloth or a loose-weave dishtowel, and place in the sink. Grate half of the potatoes and onions on the coarse holes of a box grater and place the shreds in the lined strainer, alternating between the two and mixing the shreds together (this allows the onions to keep the potatoes from discoloring). Reserve the ends of the onions. If you don’t fancy hand-grating, you can use a shredding disk on a food processor. Just return 1/4 of the mixture to the bowl of the processor, and pulse a few times to make smaller bits that will help bind.

2. Pick up the ends of the dishtowel/cheesecloth, and gather it around the load of grated potatoes and onions. Twist and squeeze to wring as much liquid as possible from the mixture, twisting further as more liquid is released. Aren’t potatoes wetter than you’d thought? When it’s as dry as possible, place the wrung-out mixture in a large mixing bowl. Repeat with the remaining potatoes and onions.
3. Add the salt, pepper, eggs, and matzo meal to the potato-onion mixture, and stir well to combine. Pour the oil into frying pans to a depth of ½”, and add the reserved onion ends. Heat over a medium flame until the onions have browned lightly and infused the oil with an oniony perfume. Remove the onions if desired. Shape ~3 tablespoons of the latke mixture into a round shape (I like to pack a ¼ cup measure ¾ full), and place in the oil. Flatten slightly to form a small pancake. Repeat as many times as your pan space allows. Cook the latkes until well-browned, ~5-7 minutes, then flip and brown the other side. When the second side has cooked, place on a plate lined with brown paper, stacking as needed. Serve right away, or…
4. Cool the latkes, and layer them in a sealed container with parchment between the layers, and freeze. To serve, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the latkes on a cookie sheet (you can place them on a rack on top of a cookie sheet for a crisper result, but usually the sheet is fine for me), and cook until they have colored a bit more and are heated through and sizzling (~10-15 minutes). Serve with applesauce, sour cream, and additional salt if
   desired.