Basic Latkes

Lightly spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place paper towels on a plate or a stack of newspapers. Preheat oven to 200ºF.

Place potatoes and onions in a dish towel or cheese cloth or large paper towel. Roll it up and squeeze out any excess moisture. Unwrap potatoes and onions and sprinkle with lemon juice, salt and pepper. In a bowl whisk the matzo into the eggs and then stir in the potato mixture until evenly incorporated.

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Scoop up small handfuls of potatoes, and smash flat into a pancake. Careful add pancakes to hot oil/butter (no more than 4 or 5 to the pan or it will cool off and they will be soggy), fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden and crisp. Transfer to paper towels on a cookie sheet to drain. Once drained, either serve immediately or transfer to a cookie sheet and keep warm in the preheated oven until you are ready to eat.

This recipe is easily halved or doubled or tripled. At our house during the holidays, it isn’t unusual for me to make 5 batches of this and have no leftovers at all. You can make this with frozen shredded potatoes but you need to let them completely thaw before starting.