Kim Dyla lives with her husband Bill on a half-acre edible landscape in Southold that has over 150 varieties of fruits, herbs, vegetables and flowers. For her latke she foraged for acorns to make the flour, dug-up potatoes from her garden and harvested the salt from the ocean.
“All ingredients are sourced from my backyard and some within 10 miles of my home,” says Kim.
Backyard Latkes
Ingredients
250 grams grated potatoes
1/2 small onion, grated
1 teaspoon of hand harvested sea salt
1 tablespoon acorn flour
1 small egg
rendered chicken fat
Garnish
Crabapple butter
Crème fraîche
Directions
Peel potatoes and grate on the large holes of a box grater into a bowl with ice water.
Drain potatoes in a sieve over another bowl. Squeeze out as much water from potatoes as possible into that bowl. Pour off water being careful to keep the potato starch at the bottom. Add the egg to the starch and mix. Add the salt, grated onions and potatoes. Mix. Add acorn flour. You want just enough flour to help the potatoes hold together. Too much and the latke will be heavy.
Heat rendered fat in cast iron skillet. You want at least a quarter inch. Drop in a piece of grated potato. If it sizzles, the oil is hot enough.
Use a spoon to scoop up the potato mix. Ease the potato into the oil and flatten with the back of the spoon. Tease out some of the potato pieces. This will give you crispy edges. Repeat with more scoops and don’t overcrowd the pan.
Fry until the latkes are golden brown. Gently turn the latke over and cook on the other side. When golden and cooked through, remove to a paper towel lined plate.
Serve with a spoonful of crabapple butter and Crème fraîche. If you want to be non-traditional, do what my sister does and eat them with ketchup.
Makes 8 latkes. Enough as an appetizer or snack.
Recipe by Kim Dyla
See all the other latke recipes here at 8 Days of Latkes.
