food comas

Any reader of this blog knows that I’m obsessed with poached eggs. Jen and I have made so many iterations from Thomas Keller’s Roasted Asparagus with Poached Eggs and Prosciutto, to Thanksgiving Leftovers Eggs Benedict, to  Poached Eggs with Tomato and Salmon, to California Eggs Benedict. The potato latke, though, is an homage to the Motherland and family, because almost every time I go home to California, my dad makes them for breakfast and unless I act quick, my niece devours everything before anyone else has a chance to taste. Mostly to save time, I have simplified the recipe and roughly grated the potatoes, instead of grating them into pulp which is very tiring by hand. My dad also adds flour for more of a potato pancake taste; I’ve tried both iterations and flour (1-2T) helps stick the latkes together for frying.

Poached Egg and Smoked Salmon on Potato Latke
Yield: 10-12 Latkes

• 3 large potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated
• 1 medium onion, coarsely grated
• scallions or chives
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1-2T flour (optional)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• oil for frying
• Options: smoked salmon, bacon sour cream, poached eggs (directions in the link), scallions, dill to serve with!

Directions:

Squeeze the potato through a towel to remove excess water (there will be a lot!). Add onion, bit of scallions or chives, egg, and season with the salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients together.

Heat oil in a skillet to medium-high. Make 2-3in diameter latkes, .25-.5in thick and place on the pan. Cook about 4-6 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Don’t make them thicker, because the potatoes take the while to cook through. Once ready, reserve the latkes on a paper towel to let the oil soak off and work on your poached eggs.

Combine latkes, poached egg, with any combination of ingredients that you have. I tried them 2 ways so far: on a bed of wilted spinach with bacon and with smoked salmon. Both were delicious and there are myriad variations for the accompanying ingredients!