Once again we enter the holiday season. It’s not quite cold enough to pull out the winter coat and hat, though I have them on deck, daring winter to try to freeze me out once more, but secretly not minding mild weather too terribly. Next week is Chanukah, typically a time to indulge in all things fried. The classic dish is potato latkes made with grated fried potatoes and onions. In an effort toward preserving heart health and because of my husband’s allergy to potatoes, I thought I’d try something a little different. Since potato latkes are usually topped with apple sauce to add an element of sweet to the savory, why not just make them with apples and fry them very lightly? The result is these sweet, savory apple latkes. They’re wonderful on their own, but also provide an excellent canvas for both the sweet and savory palettes. You can top them with salted caramel almonds or dulce de leche if you’re making them sweet. If you want to accentuate the savory nature, go with Greek yogurt and herbs or even caviar. No austerity here, I made every combination. Appetizer, dessert, sweet, savory, these are an upgrade from the original to me.
It’s hard to remember sometimes, but the foods we eat around the holidays are not just food. They’re symbols. I normally find trite symbols to be deplorable, the shallow lessons of unexamined fairy tales. But if you look more closely you’ll see the true symbols of food and festivities–overcoming hardship, of fortitude, strength and the power of digging deeper in the less hopeful situations. The foods we eat around the holidays celebrate miracles, company, friendship and represent the greater human lessons learned. Peel back the stories and they are lessons in the people and things around us that happen every day. We just have to see it and remember. We are part of a continuum, even if we personally are figuring it all out for the very first time– how to live, how to act and react, how to love, accept, deny and forgive, fight and pursue. The seasons keep coming back and give us another chance to see and grow. Rather than feeling overwhelmed and drab in comparison to the lights, sparkles and sequins, the true brilliance of all the fanfare may be in the remembering.
To get through the challenges of the season, I personally try to keep a positive internal monologue and cling to the things that bring me joy or at least make me happy in small ways like a good music list, working out, coffee, routine…and making apple latkes! These small things things really can brighten the day. They’re a way to stay the course when bare limbs reach longingly into the grey sky and when nights are at their longest. Apple latkes with whatever excessive topping you choose would bring serious warmth to a fun holiday party! Be well.
APPLE LATKES W/ SALTED CARAMEL ALMONDS
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pound tart, firm apples such as Granny Smiths (2 large or 3 medium)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- Greek yogurt, caramel or fruit for serving
DIRECTIONS:
Peel and core apples and then grate them, either on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor, on the shredding blade. You can also cut them into matchsticks if you don’t have devices or use a spiralizer. Transfer to a clean dishtowel or cheesecloth sling and wring out as much juice as you can into a small bowl. Set it aside if you wish to make a dessert sauce with it later.
Transfer grated apple to a medium bowl and toss with lemon juice. In a small dish, whisk flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder and toss with the apples, coating them evenly. Whisk eggs in this small dish until lightly beaten and stir into apple-lemon-flour mixture.
Heat a large skillet to medium with a few tablespoons of the oil. Once it has coated the pan, drop tablespoons full of apple batter in little piles, gently pressing them a bit flatter with a spatula. Fry until they are nicely brown underneath, about 3 to 5 minutes, then flip and continue to cook until they are browned and crisp. Drain briefly on paper towels and transfer to a plate. Add another teaspoon or two of the remaining oil for each new batch in the pan, and repeat with remaining batter.
To serve add a dollop of Greek yogurt, fruit preserve, salted caramel almonds or dulce de leche.
You can keep apple latkes in the oven for up to an hour while you tend to more important things at 200F. To reheat you can place them in the oven at 200F for 10-15 mins.
Such an interesting switch, these apple fritters sound absolutely delicious on their own but I’ll certainly never say no to salted caramel on top of anything. N xx
Thanks, Nicole. When I was little I used to make these with my mom with potatoes and onions and you could smell them from miless away. These are a little more subtle. Hope you’re well!
Totally fine, thank you and hope you are doing great, too. My grandfather made Reibekuchen (latkes) for me as well and exactly as you describe, we had them with apple sauce. Yum.
These look delicious and who would have thought apples would make such good latkes.
I agree about the food we make, especially for holidays, is a connection to our family history and traditions. It is important to keep them going.
Thanks, Jovina. I think there’s so much fanfare around holiday cooking that it can sometimes lose its meaning. Remember what’s behind it helps to keep me enthusiastic about it. Apple latkes are better in my opinion, but I remember growing up and making the potato ones year after year with family and friends. I know you have some amazing culinary traditions and you do keep them going with your blog and your cooking!
Happy holidays, Amanda! Your latkes sound delicious, I would have imagined all kinds of other vegetables could replace potatoes, but “apple latkes” sounds unique, unusual, and yet so delicious! I like that you can make them both savory or sweet, knowing myself I’d go for savory, but I bet salted caramel and whipped cream or yogurt would be great!
Thanks, Darya! The apples really made these into a different beast and so good. So far I’ve had them plain in the morning, savory as a side and sweet with caramel for dessert. I really am pleased with these. I was studying your gnocci recipe yesterday. I’m thinking of giving it a shot this weekend. I’m excited. Have a great weekend.
Hello Amanda, these gnocchi take a lot of practise! You might be disappointed with the first batches (at the beginning I always added to much flour, and they weren’t as tasty as I knew they could be). If Alex can eat sweet potatoes, you could do half pumpkin puree, half sweet potato (puréed with a fork, not in the processor), it might make the “dough” easier to handle for a first time. Have a great weekend – I’m cooking a 100% Iraqi meal for 20 tomorrow… and being paid for it!
Thanks for the advice. Enjoy the iraqi feast. I love that your now a paid chef!
I love potato latkes – I was trying to explain what they are to some friends in Spain last week. Those apple ones look fabulous – I do like tart puddings!
I’ve been spoiled and had 10 lovely days of eating lunch outdoors. I got home last night – the weather is mild and close to that of Barcelona, but the air feels colder. Time for comfort food 🙂
Welcome back! Potato latkes are great, but I like these even better. I’m trying to think how i’d describe these to a Spaniard…maybe like a Spanish tortilla, but with grated potatoes and the egg as a binding agent instead of the main event…lol. Lunch al fresco sounds perfect. I’m glad you had a good time. Enjoy your comfort food, even if it’s been mild everywhere. Be well!
Thanks Amanda – it’s breast of lamb tonight 🙂
Aww, Happy Holidays Amanda!
This line here mirrors exactly what I’m trying to do: “I personally try to keep a positive internal monologue and cling to the things that bring me joy or at least make me happy in small ways…”
Sooooooo on the same page, thank you for reinforcing that within me 😀
Never thought of making latkes with apples before but I totally get it!
xxoo
Thanks, Dana. I’m so glad this resonates with you too. I think a lot of people feel most alone this time of year in the midst of gatherings or just walking around. I’m not 100% sure why, but it definitely feels like there’s a dissonance between the outside world and the internal landscape from Thanksgiving through New Years, though it is also a fun time. The latkes made this way are soooo good. Have a great weekend!
Salted caramel with apples? More please! Your latkes sound wonderful, Amanda. You are so right about food meaning so much more around the holidays. Yes, the family gathers to share the holiday meals and the special dishes but, for me, it’s the memories of the women in my family — Mom, Zia, and Nonna — joining forces to prepare the various dishes and sweets. Depending upon the dish, they banded together to make it or worked separately, each making enough for the other’s family, too. Their singing and laughter filled the kitchens and still echoes in my mind.
(I read the gnocchi comments. I haven’t seen the recipe in question but take a tip from Mom. Bake rather than boil the potatoes. They’ll be drier when fully cooked and your gnocchi will need less flour as a result. Less flour means fluffier gnocchi.)
Aww John, thank you for your beautiful comment. You perfectly captured the spirit I was trying to conjure in the kitchen. So beautiful. Thank you also for your guidance with the gnocchi. You’re probably an expert. Im sure your house is humming with the perfect amount of holiday spirit given your amazing connection to all who made a house a home. Thank you so much for your beautiful comment. So great to hear from you. All the best to you.
I didn’t know about this dish Amanda, and it looks positively gorgeous. Wishing you a great holiday xxx
Okay, I’m in a rush because I’m at work but I took a moment during lunch to visit your blog and WOW. First of all it’s a bit embarrassing how long I’ve missed your posts. Secondly, I scrolled through back to January to see when you’d begun self-hosting and I was so blown away with just the visual content and layout that I felt like, if I didn’t visit a lot of other food blogs, I’d still get my fix just by reading your site. It’s so beautiful. It reminds me of Heidi Swanson’s site (101 Cookbooks) except with more color. I like the layout with photo widgets on the sidebar (instagram, pinterest, etc.) and I like the size of the tiles. Finally, I remember my foray into self hosting and I was a miserable person to be around 95% of the time. And time just disappeared once I started working on the blog. Just gone. And the vitriolic emails to the poor sweet support staff over at Squarspace. I ended up going back to wordpress only because I got lazy and also it seemed like more people visited the wordpress site. So I need to go back to work but I just wanted to say hello. I can’t wait to read through . . . oh my god, so many things I want to read about . . . the atole . . . ! bye now!
Sue, you are too sweet. Take your time. I’ve been thinking about you too and how I never emailed you my info for the Mexico book and wondering what you’ve been up to. I just found you on instagram and I’m drooling over your photos. I’m so touched that you think my site reminds you of Heidi’s. She’s just incredible. I totally know what you mean about self-hosting. I’m frustrated half the time trying to figure it all out. I had no help at all, so I just sit and read and use trial and error. My office-mate at work asked me today “do you get any pleasure out of figuring out code?” I couldn’t be sure. I still haven’t figured out how to get the mobile theme to fit properly or the photos a better size, but one thing at a time. It’s a fun adventure. I’d love to know what you’ve been up to. Are you still in law? Feel free to email me, but we’ll certainly keep in touch. So so great to hear from you. xoxo I’m touched by your comment.
Oh these sound so different and delicious. 🙂
Apple latkes may be my new classic. You really can make these it of anything..I want to try zucchini, but I’ve also done sweet potato..So many options. Thanks for your lovely comment.
What a lovely post, and yes what you said is indeed true. Traditions often have a deeper meaning than what can be seen at the surface. And your apple latkes look wonderfully delicious!
Thank you so much. I appreciate your comment. Sometimes I get resentful of tradition, but if you truly come to understand the meaning, it’s priceless and comforting.
These look quite divine, your photographs are beautiful – I will try them, maybe even today! I seldom get time to try new recipes so i am always looking for the simple and the good. c
Thank you, Cecilia. I know what you mean. When you come across something delicious and easy it’s exciting. I hope you like them!
You have a gorgeous blog and I love reading your posts. Thank you for reminding of the true meaning of this festive season and keeping a positive attitude. Just like Nicole grandfather my mom used to make potato latkes but your apple version looks delicious.
Thank you, Gerlinde, for your kind comment. It means a lot. Memories are so powerful if we allow the good ones in 🙂