Potato Pancake Latkes with Hazelnut Rustic Carmelized Apple Sauce Chanukah Recipe

Celebrations
Hanukkah 2012 ~ December 8-16

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Each night of Hanukkah I was planning on sharing a new original homemade latke potato pancake recipe that I've created for this Jewish holiday. This eight night festival has been flying by way too fast... tonight is the fifth night already causing me to be way behind schedule in publishing all the latke recipes I've been dreaming up. 

So I'm trying to play catch up today to deliver the kosher Latke recipe I made on the second night for Mommy Blog Expert's 8 Nights of Latke Recipes series. The rustic apple sauce that's served with these actually tastes like baked apples and is absolutely heavenly. I hope you enjoy the unusual, but scrumptious combination as much as my family did.

2nd Night Crispy Latkes with Hazelnut Rustic Carmelized Apple Sauce

by Janis Brett Elspas, Mommy Blog Expert

Serves 8. Total preparation time about 40 minutes

Potato Latkes

8 peeled potatoes

1/4 of a yellow onion

3 eggs

1/4 cup flour

1 t. salt

1/4 t. black pepper

Olive oil for frying

The secret to crispy, golden brown delicious latkes: Make sure your pan and oil is nice and hot before you put the potato pancakes in to fry. Also be certain to space them out in the frying pan to ensure even browning as well for that to die-for crispy brown result.

1. Preheat a large frying pan lightly coated with olive oil over medium heat.

2. Immediately after peeling potatoes immerse them in a pot of cold water to keep from turning brown.

3. Hand grate potatoes the old-fashioned or using a food processor for grating.

4. Finely chop onion.

5. Mix all ingredients together, except the oil, in a large mixing bowl until blended.

6. Turn heat up under frying pan to high and spoon potato mixer into hot oil flattening each latke slightly. Do this carefully so oil doesn't spatter. Also don't crowd latkes in pan to ensure the best result -- instead cook in batches.

7. Fry to golden brown then gently use spatula to turn and brown the other side.

8. Drain on paper towels to remove excess grease.

Rustic Apple Sauce

4 Granny Smith Apples, sliced with skin on

2 T. butter or margarine

2 T. brown sugar

3 T. raisins

1 T. Torani Hazelnut Syrup*

¼ cup sliced almonds

*OK-D kosher certified ~ Most varieties of Torani are parve but this one and a few others are Dairy

While the latkes are frying, start making the rustic applesauce as follows:

1. In a second fry pan melt butter or margarine.

2. Add sliced apples and sprinkle with the brown sugar, cooking over medium heat, stirring gently occasionally, till lightly brown, about 10 minutes.

3. Turn off heat and add raisins and drizzle on Torani syrup, tossing gently so apple slices aren’t mashed up. Set aside.

4. When the latkes are ready, spoon the rustic applesauce onto each individual plate instead of using jarred applesauce. Then sprinkle the sliced almonds over the apples to garnish.

5. Serve & Enjoy

Don't miss MommyBlogExpert's other 8 Nights of Latkes Recipes:
1st Night: Traditional Crispy Brown Potato Pancakes

FTC Disclosure: No payment was received for this particular post, however I did receive the syrup from Torani to make this. All opinions are my own. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.