Andrew Zimmern's Secret Tip To The Best Latkes Ever

Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights, but people who love food know that this time of year is really all about fried food, like filled donuts (sufganiyot) and latkes. These skillet-fried, crispy potato pancakes are a make-or-break dish that are a large part of the Hanukkah season, but they can easily go sideways if you don't know what you're doing. There are lots of ways to make classic potato latkes, and many variations exist, like these sweet potato latkes, but the key to really nailing the dish is to keep them in one piece while they're cooking. If there's not enough starchiness, the latkes will fall apart in the pan.

Thankfully, there are pros out there like Food Network star Andrew Zimmern who know exactly how to make thin, crunchy, golden brown latkes with creamy centers. His secret? Leftover mashed potatoes. "I mix mashed potatoes with raw grated potatoes, which allows them to be thin and crispy while holding their shape," Zimmern says on his website.

Chef Andrew Zimmern prepares his potato latkes by first making a batch of fresh mashed potatoes. If you're pressed for time, it's just as easy to use some leftover mashed potatoes to make the process a lot easier. If you know you're going to be making a batch of the beloved potato pancakes, serve mashed potatoes for dinner a couple of days ahead of time, and make sure it's a big batch so that there are leftovers.

Zimmern's ratio for latkes is roughly 1 part mashed potatoes to 2 parts fresh potatoes, so set aside about a pound of leftover mashed potatoes for every 2 pounds of potatoes you plan to use for grating. If you need a visual reference, one pound of raw potatoes makes about 2 cups (1 pint) of mashed potatoes.

Once you have the fresh potatoes grated, squeeze out the liquid and mix both types of spuds together in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients to make your latkes. The starchy mashed potatoes will work like glue to keep each pancake in one piece. Just make sure to cook both sides nice and brown, then drain them on paper towels to keep the outside crispy. Once they're cool, they're ready to serve with some sour cream, applesauce, and a few sprigs of fresh dill.