Plantain Latkes

A favorite Jewish appetizer of mine has always been Latkes. Latkes are patties made of shredded potatoes with onion and a few other spices. They're held together with egg and fried until golden brown. Every December, I count down the days until I can consume the yummy goodness of fried/mashed potato with applesauce.


On the other side of the spectrum, a favorite Cuban appetizer of mine are tostones, which are smashed and fried pieces of plantain. Plantains are grown in Cuba and can be used in a variety of dishes. They are similar in shape and texture to bananas. The catch is that you cook them while they are unripe for savory flavor instead of a sweet one.

Alright, here is how it works! I wish I would have been able to take pictures, but due to a trip to Cancun in January, I can't put any pictures onto my computer! I'll try experimenting with videos next week.

This recipe should yield about 16-18 platkes (haha, get it?!)


Plantain Latkes (Platkes)

• 3 Plantains
• 1 medium onion, minced
  
• 1/3 cup flour
• Juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbsp.)
• 3 eggs, beaten

Additionally

• about 1/2 of vegetable oil for frying
• salt
  

Tools you will need:

• Chopping knife
• Cutting board
  
• Food processor (optional)
• Grater
• Large mixing bowl
• Large wooden spoon
• Medium sized pan
• Spatula
• Paper towels
  

Directions

1. Peel plantains, chop each in half, and place in a bowl of cold water.
   
2. Chop onion into small enough pieces to fit in a food processor, or mince them yourself.
3. Finely grate the plantains.
4. Mix onion, plantains, flour, and lime juice together in a large mixing bowl.
5. Add the beaten egg to the mixture.
6. Heat oil to medium-high heat in large pan. Make sure oil is about 1/4 inch deep.
7. Place a large spoon full of the mixture into the oil. Flatten it out a bit with the spatula to make a "puck" shape.
8. Fry for about 2 minutes then flip and repeat until the latke is golden brown on both sides.
9. Remove the latke and place it on a paper towel for drying.

And there you have it! Platkes! (The name will stick by the end of this. It's bound to be much more successful that other phases I've tried to get to catch on)

Special thanks to Gourmet Magazine for the base Latke recipe. I think I've made enough modifications to call it my own though.

There are two dipping sauces that go along with this dish.

• Key Lime Applesauce
• Mojito Sour Cream

They are both really, really tasty and pretty easy to make. I'll put those recipes up later this week!

Come back in a few days to see what's cooking in the Juban Kitchen.

-T