Ingredients

• 4 large potatoes, peeled
• 1 onion, peeled
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying

Method

Choose floury potatoes such as King Edwards, and grate them on the punched hole side of your grater, not the normal grating side, as you want a fine pulp rather than long shreds. Mind your knuckles! The pulp will discolour slightly as it meets the air but don’t worry about this. You will see surplus liquid in the bowl when you have grated all the potatoes; get rid of this by holding the bowl over the sink and gently tipping it, using your other hand to hold the mixture back, and allowing as much of this watery liquid to pour away as possible. Don’t be tempted to strain it, or you will lose the starchy residue at the bottom of the bowl.

Many latke recipes call for the addition of flour, but my grandmother scoffed at this, and I agree – it can make the texture claggy. By removing some of the water you avoid the need for flour.

Shred the onion the same way and add to the potatoes with a beaten egg and plenty of salt and pepper. Using a fork, mix thoroughly.

Prepare a rack lined with kitchen paper and have a platter warming in the oven. Take a large heavy based frying pan and heat up the oil – you’ll need a good depth. Wait until the oil is very hot – you should see a haze above the oil - give your latke mix a good stir to bring up the starch from the bottom of the bowl, and carefully add spoonfuls to the pan. I use a dessert spoon but you could make them larger.

The mixture should sizzle as it hits the hot oil - if it doesn’t, wait a little longer before adding the next spoonful. Put in as many spoonfuls as will fit into the pan and fry them over a medium high heat. When they are brown and crispy underneath, turn the latkes over and fry on the other side. Use a knife and fork as this helps to avoid splashing hot oil. When they are golden brown and crispy at the edges, lift them onto kitchen paper to drain.

Keep an eye on the heat – too hot and the latkes will burn on the outside before they are cooked through. Too cool and they will soak up too much oil. Top up the oil as necessary and ensure that is it vey hot before adding more mixture.

Repeat with the rest of the mixture, stirring it up each time. Transfer the cooked latkes to the platter and keep them warm. Serve as a separate course, with cold apple sauce.