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Ina Garten's Perfect Potato Pancakes

Ina Garten's Perfect Potato Pancakes
Ina Garten's Perfect Potato PancakesTODAY
Yields:
24 to 30 pancakes
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Chef notes

I have always made potato pancakes with grated potatoes for crisp pancakes, but I've also thought about making them with mashed potatoes for creamy ones. When I read that Andrew Zimmern's grandmother made potato pancakes with both of them together, I had an aha! moment. Even better! 

Make-ahead tip: Prepare the mixture and refrigerate for several hours. Fry just before serving or up to 30 minutes ahead. Place on a sheet pan, and reheat at 400 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled and 1-inch-diced
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 pounds Idaho baking potatoes, peeled
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 2 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread flakes) or matzo meal
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus extra for serving
  • Unsalted butter
  • Good olive oil
  • Sour cream, for serving

Preparation

Place the Yukon Gold potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until very tender when tested with a knife. Drain and pass through a ricer or the coarsest blade of a food mill into a large bowl and set aside.

Grate the Idaho potatoes lengthwise in long shreds, either by hand or in a food processor fitted with the coarsest grating disk. Place the potatoes on a kitchen towel, squeeze out most of the liquid, and transfer to the bowl with the cooked potatoes. (Don't worry — they'll turn pink.) Grate the onion either by hand or in the food processor and stir into the potatoes along with the eggs, panko, chives, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large (12-inch) sauté pan over medium-high heat, until sizzling. Drop heaping tablespoons of the potato mixture into the skillet (you want them to be messy). Flatten the pancakes lightly with a metal spatula and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until browned. Continue adding butter and oil, as needed, to fry the remaining batter. Serve hot with sour cream and chives.

Reprinted from Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. Copyright © 2016 by Ina Garten. Photographs by Quentin Bacon. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.

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