Cuisine Featured: Jewish
The Melting Pot section is where we have placed recipes for cuisines brought to America by the many immigrants to our shores. Over the years these cuisines have been Americanized, i.e., most viewers of our site have probably been exposed to many of these cuisines, either via the dining-out route or, perhaps, directly within our own families due to the multi-ethnic makeup therein. As an example of this multi-ethnicity within a single family, I can cite my own case-- My family consists of the following ethnicities: English, Irish, Scottish, German, Polish and Greek. Is it any wonder then that America is called the Melting Pot?
At the bottom of this page, you will have an opportunity to E-mail us and give us your thoughts on this page. We encourage this. After all, we will be tailoring this "Cooking Around the World" series according to the wishes of our viewers.
2 large baking potatoes, peeled 1 T matzo meal
1 small onion, peeled 1 egg, lightly beaten
½ tsp salt 4 T vegetable oil
Freshly ground black pepper 1 c applesauce (optional)
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Set a large sieve over a mixing bowl and grate the potatoes on the finest
side of a stand-up grater directly into the sieve. Using the same side of
the grater, grate the onion over the potatoes and, with the back of a large
spoon, press as much liquid as possible from the mixture. Discard the
liquid and transfer the grated potatoes and onions to a large bowl. Add the
salt, several grindings of pepper, the matzo meal and the egg and, with a
wooden spoon, beat vigorously until the ingredients are well combined.Preheat the oven to its lowest setting. Line a large shallow baking dish with paper towels and place it in the oven.
Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet over high heat until a drop of water flicked into it splutters and evaporates instantly. For each pancake, drop 1 to 2 T of the batter into the skillet and flatten it into a 2- to 2½-inch cake. Fry 5 or 6 pancakes at a time for about 2 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown and crisp around the edges. As they brown, transfer the latkes to the towel-lined dish and keep them warm in the oven while you fry the rest.
To serve, arrange the pancakes on a heated platter and present the applesauce, if you use it, in a small bowl. Potato latkes may be served as an accompaniment to roast meat or poultry, or as a light luncheon dish. Makes about 12 pancakes (to serve 4 to 6).
