Latkapalooza!!! (12/23/08) - Potato Latkes, Butter Bean Hummus and Asparagus Almondine

I'm fairly certain that after God created man, He did not immediately begin resting. Instead, He worked on His final, greatest creation - Potato Latkes. Last night, J and I hosted friends for a little Hanukah celebration. And no such celebration is complete without some dreidel, a little gelt, a few candles and glorious latkes, blessed be They. Here are some of the highlights from last night's dinner.

POTATO LATKES

As I sit here typing, I can still smell the oil that has completely encased me (along with my entire apartment) in a fine film. I've made latkes countless times before, but I think last night might have been my best batch of all time. Everything came together. The potatoes were crisp, the oil was fresh and dinner was soon enough after I finished cooking them that they were still crispy and hot. I'm not tooting my own horn here. Latkes are about as easy to make as anything out there. My recipe is as follows:

5 lbs russet potatoes, shredded in a food processor and squeezed to remove all excess water

8 eggs

1 cup matzoh meal

1 cup finely chopped onions

Salt to taste

There are only a few tricks. First, before adding the egg, matzoh meal and onions, you want to squeeze as much water out of the potatoes as possible. I thought that I might be able to do it all in one fell swoop, so I busted out my chinoise (or china cap) and tried to just push the water out. No luck. There is really no replacement for just taking the potato one handful at a time and squeezing it in your bare hands. Second, you want the vegetable oil in your pan to be HOT. I use my infra-red thermometer and wait for the oil to reach at least 375. You can also test by dropping a drop of water into the oil - if the pan goes crazy immediately, you're ready to go. Third, don't skimp on the oil. This is not a meal for the faint of heart. There should be a good quarter inch layer of oil on the bottom of your pan before the potato mixture goes into the pan. Finally, salt while the potatoes are cooking. For some reason, I've always found that adding the salt before cooking tends to decrease its power. And latkes need salt!

BUTTER BEAN HUMMUS

In addition to latkes, I experimented with a few other dishes last night. The most surprising was the butter bean hummus. J found the recipe on the Bon Appetite website, and I was pretty excited. I really like hummus even though I'm not a huge fan of chick peas. This recipe, however, substitutes butter beans for the chick peas. With all appropriate acknowledgments of the source (Bon Appetite), here is the recipe:

2 large garlic cloves
2 15- to 16-ounce cans butter beans, rinsed, drained
2/3 cup tahini
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
4 tablespoons (about) water

Salt and Pepper to taste

I just dump all of this into my food processor (which got a good work-out last night) and pureed for about two minutes. The result was a creamy, smooth spread that was just fantastic. Seriously. I've made hummus a handful of times and have never been happy with the result. This recipe, followed to the letter, is perfect. Even J, a self-proclaimed hummus snob, loved it. I topped it with some chili powder, both as a garnish and to add a tiny bit of heat. We served it with some cut up pite bread, and our guests killed it. Huzzah for Hummus!

ASPARAGUS "ALMONDINE"

The final dish of note last night was asparagus, prepared in a manner similar to that discussed in the Joy of Cooking. It's basically an almondine, using the tanginess of an orange and crunch of some nuts to bring out the sweetness of the asparagus. The recipe is as follows:

1.5 pounds asparagus, steamed and shocked

3.5 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons orange zest

Juice of one orange

2 handfuls (about 2/3 cup) toasted almonds

Salt and Pepper

I've found that the trick to good asparagus is steaming, shocking and then sauteing. So I started by putting the spears in a steamer for about 7 minutes and then removed them to an ice-water bath. This stops the cooking (avoiding a floppy, soggy mess) and helps retain the beautiful green color. In a saute pan, I started the butter on medium high heat and added the zest, juice and almonds. I let that cook for about5-7 minutes, allowing it to reduce a little bit and become a nice, brownish glaze. J then tossed the shocked asparagus into the pan, flipping them around to coat all of the spears. Hit it with some salt and pepper, and it's done. The glaze is really refreshing and the asparagus gets a little smokiness to it from searing in the saute pan.

----------------------

Thanks so much for all the comments you guys have been posting. I really appreciate you checking out my blog. Until next time, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukah.