I grew up in a Jewish household, that was less about religion and more about culture. Where there’s culture, there’s food, and frankly, in my family, it was always about the food. Latkes are a traditional dish served during Hanukkah. I came up with this dish by basically taking every food that appeared on our holiday table and putting it into one dish.

Potato, Carrot and Beet Latkes with Black Cod and Nova Lox

Category

Category name

Serves

4 to 6

Ingredients

  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons diced onion
  • 12 ounces russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and grated (about 2 ½ cups)
  • ¼ cup peeled and grated carrot
  • ¼ cup grated peeled red beets
  • Fine sea salt
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 4 ounces smoked black cod, also known as sablefish
  • 4 ounces Nova lox
  • ¼ cup dill sprigs

Method

  1. Heat a medium cast-iron or nonstick pan over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to lightly coat the pan, once hot, add the onion and cook until a light golden brown, about 3 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, carrots, beets, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix well and then let sit for 10 minutes. The salt will help bring out a lot of the moisture. Using your hands, squeeze the vegetable mixture, over a bowl, to remove as much liquid as possible. Let the liquid sit for a couple minutes before carefully pouring it out, but keep the starch in the bottom of the bowl. Add the starch to the mixed grated vegetables, along with the egg, flour and horseradish. Season with pepper and a little more salt. Add in the cooked onions.
  3. Using wet hands, form a small amount into a thin tester latke about 1 inch wide.
  4. Line a baking sheet with some paper towels. Return the cast-iron pan to medium heat. Add a tiny amount of oil and fry the tester latke until it is golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the baking sheet, and once cool, taste it for seasoning. Adjust the seasoning, as needed.
  5. Return the cast-iron pan to medium to medium-low heat and add a generous coating of oil, about ⅛-inch. The pan will have retained a lot of heat, so adjust as needed as the latke(s) cook. Form the rest of the latkes and add them to the pan. Fry them in batches until golden brown on both sides.
  6. Top each latke with small pieces of lox and black cod, a small dollop of sour cream and a sprig of dill. Serve immediately.