Why make crispy potato latkes with salted salmon for Sunday brunch or Hannukah celebration?
Latkes are traditionally cooked on Hanukkah, along with other fried foods, to commemorate the miracle of the menorah oil in the Jewish Temple.
See, I was unaware of the fact for many many years. Because here in Eastern Europe latkes have gotten their own traditional spin on the recipe. Mostly served with salmon, mushrooms, applesauce, and always sour cream. I had never realized the origin of the recipe. When starting to learn more about food and their traditions I have learnt so much about so many recipes. For one it’s a tradition of the past, for others it is brunch comfort food served by grandmas across the country. In the end, food brings us all together. These potato latkes with salted salmon are delicious and great for lunch or breakfast on any given day. Actually, I would eat them during any meal.
How to make quickly salted / cured salmon?
Here in the Baltics, we are very keen on cured fish of all kinds. With the Nordic salmon right at our doorstep, we have different ways of preserving it. Almost never eaten just fresh. The most common way is to cover the salmon with salt, pepper and some water and press on it and let sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour before eating. Salmon is a preservative so you can eat salmon like this for up to 3 days. It prolongs it’s shelf life. Not to mention, it is delicious. In this process you can add any other spices you like. I made this quickly salted salmon with some lemon juice to add some freshness to the meal.
For me, crispy fried potato latkes are a breakfast, late lunch, brunch staple, so I serve them with the salmon, avocado, sour cream and some pickled onions. The onions are optional. I just happened to have some left in the fridge. They give this meal the tang it needs. You can find my pickled red onion recipe here.
Crispy fried potato latkes with salted salmon
Equipment
- Food processor with a grater
Ingredients
For the salted salmon
- 300 g salmon fillet thinly sliced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon
- 3 tbsp cold water
For the crispy potato latkes
- 7 medium potatoes peeled
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp flour
- Oil for cooking
For serving
- Sour cream
- Pickled red onions
- 1 avocado
Instructions
To make the salted salmon
- Mix the salmon with the salt, sugar, lemon juice and water
- Wrap the bowl in plastic wrap and press down on the salmon
- Put something heavy on it, like another bowl
- Let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving
To make the crispy potato latkes
- Grate the potatoes with a food processor or by hand
- Place on a clean towel on a colander and sprinkle with the salt
- The salt will bring out the moisture. Let the potatoes sit for 10 minutes before wringing out the liquid
- Mix with the rest of the ingredients
- Heat a pan with a lot of oil on high and place 2 tbsp worth of the mixture and flatten
- Make sure not to overcrowd the pan
- Fry from both sides 5 minutes in total
- Serve with the sour cream, salmon, avocado and onions
