draft12–14 medium latkes

Crispy Cast-Iron Potato Latkes

Skin-on potato latkes with spelt flour, a tender center, and deeply browned, crisp edges. Makes an intended 12–14 medium latkes. Serve hot with thick goat yogurt or goat labneh, black pepper, and dill, chives, or parsley; a soft fried or poached egg can make a fuller brunch plate.

Instructions

Scrub about 5 medium potatoes thoroughly, leaving the skins on. Remove any eyes, green areas, or damaged spots. Coarsely grate the potatoes and about 1 medium onion, then immediately mix the onion through the potatoes.
Transfer the grated potato-onion mixture to a clean kitchen towel. Gather it tightly and wring very firmly over a bowl, removing as much liquid as possible.
Let the squeezed liquid stand for about 2 minutes so the natural potato starch settles. Carefully pour off the liquid and scrape the potato starch from the bottom of the bowl back into the squeezed potato-onion mixture.
Mix the potato-onion mixture and recovered potato starch with:
- 2 large eggs
- 35 g spelt flour
- 12 g fine salt
- 1.5 g freshly ground black pepper
Combine thoroughly and fry promptly after salting so the potatoes do not release excessive additional water.
Preheat a 14-inch cast-iron skillet over medium to medium-high heat for 4–5 minutes. Add enough of the 120–180 ml oil to form a roughly 3–4 mm layer. Heat until a potato strand immediately sizzles vigorously when added; approximately 175–180°C if measuring.
For each latke, place approximately 70–80 g potato mixture into the hot oil and immediately flatten to roughly 8–10 mm thick. Leave the edges somewhat irregular so exposed potato strands become crisp. Cook about 4 latkes per batch without crowding.
Fry the first side for approximately 4–5 minutes without moving it unnecessarily, until deeply golden to mahogany brown and crisp. Flip and fry the second side for approximately 3–4 minutes.
Transfer finished latkes to a wire rack and lightly season while hot. Replenish the frying oil as needed and allow it to return to temperature between batches.
If holding multiple batches, keep the latkes uncovered on a wire rack in a 110–120°C oven so they remain crisp.

Success cues

Potato-onion mixture is squeezed extremely dry before binding.
Oil immediately sizzles vigorously when a potato strand is added.
Latkes have irregular, crisp strands around the edges.
Both sides are deeply golden to mahogany brown rather than pale golden.
Interior remains tender while the exterior is crisp.

Scaling notes

Produce counts marked “about” are approximate; adjust for size.

Scale the potato mixture proportionally after choosing a baseline within the 12–14 latke yield range. The 120–180 ml frying oil is a starting supply, not a quantity to multiply automatically: use the stated 3–4 mm depth and replenish as needed. Keep latkes about 70–80 g and 8–10 mm thick, frying about four at a time rather than crowding the skillet.

Development notes

The proposed recipe retains potato skins and recovers the settled starch after squeezing the grated potato and onion. No completed cook or evaluation is documented, so it remains draft.
Verify mixture dryness, oil usage, actual count at 70–80 g per latke, and interior tenderness at the specified thickness.