Try the oven for potato pancakes
Avoid frying, serve crispy galettes de pomme de terre for Hanukkah.
Hanukkah has one particular distinguishing characteristic to its traditional celebration foods: They are cooked in oil. That pays homage to the one-day supply of oil that miraculously kept the sacred lamp burning for eight days after Jewish patriots recaptured the temple in Jerusalem back in the 2nd century B.C.
This traditional cooking method is a lovely symbolic way to help share that story with children and adults alike, through two foods served most widely at Hanukkah parties: potato pancakes and jelly-filled doughnuts. I’ve certainly eaten my share of both.
I’m especially fond of potato pancakes. But, as anyone who has prepared them will tell you, a particular drawback comes with cooking them at home. The best ones are usually pan-fried in shallow oil. And, after you’ve made enough for everyone, your entire kitchen and dining area are likely to smell of oil; plus, your stovetop and surrounding areas may be covered with a fine, slick film. Because the aroma and the residue can linger for days, many cooks instead buy already-made pancakes from the deli or frozen ones that they crisp up in the oven. So let me suggest a delicious alternative that comes, in fact, from country kitchens in France and other European countries: Make crispy, oven-baked potato pancakes called galettes de pomme de terre in French.
My galettes recipe begins by shredding baking potatoes and squeezing out all their excess moisture to help them cook up as crisp as possible, the same way traditional Jewish cooks do. But that’s where the similarity ends. The cakes are then shaped to the full diameter of a skillet in which they’re briefly browned with a little butter or oil; then they’re transferred to a baking sheet to finish cooking in the oven, coming out golden brown and crispy as can be.
The following recipe yields four good servings (with each person getting half of a large pancake). But the recipe doubles or triples with only a little extra work; and, once you’ve partially cooked them on the stovetop, you can hold them for up to an hour before completing the baking in the oven.
In my recipe, I also offer two ways to serve the pancakes. Grown-ups may prefer my savory topping of smoked salmon with a shallot-dill sour cream. Both younger and older guests alike will enjoy the more traditional combination of applesauce and plain sour cream. Either way, please consider this recipe to be a Hanukkah present that goes on giving, as the savory version goes especially well with the Champagne or other sparkling wine you’ll be opening in a matter of weeks to serve on New Year’s Eve.