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Everything you need for great Hanukah latkes

Or should that be "grate"?  My Food for Thought pard Nancy Leson swears she uses a box grater not a food processor to grate the spuds.  Good thing she keeps a sufficient supply of band-aids on hand. Keep reading for the recipe.

Here's a link to Nancy's All You Can Eat blog at the Seattle Timeswith the "Ultimate Latke Recipe" she got from  Matzo Mamma's Catering ... But before you go ...

I have a hard time getting away with frying anything at home any more, but next time I do I'm making these.

Crispy Zuchini and Shrimp PancakesFrom Rachel Yang, co-owner/chef at Joule Makes 16 small pancakes 1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined, divided 1 medium-size zucchini 1 cup all-purpose flour ¾ cup water 1 large egg 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon fish sauce 2 tablespoons canola oil For a dipping sauce: 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 tablespoon mirin, sake or dry sherry ¼ teaspoon smoked chili or chili oil To make pancakes: 1. Mince 1/2 pound of the shrimp. Split each of the remaining shrimp lengthwise in half. 2. Using a box grater, grate the zucchini with skin on. Squeeze out excess water to make about 1 cup. 3. Make the pancake batter with flour, water, egg, salt and fish sauce; whisk until smooth. Mix in all of the shrimp and the grated zucchini. 4. Heat a heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, on medium-high heat. Add canola oil and heat until a tiny bit of the batter added to the pan sizzles. 5. Drop large spoonfuls of the batter into pan; cook about 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. To make dipping sauce: Stir together soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin and chili oil. Serve pancakes immediately with the sauce on the side.

 But now back to the spuds.  here's my all-time favorite quote about them.

"Even a potato in a dark cellar has a certain low cunning ..."

– Samuel Butler, Erewhon

Food for Thought” is a weekly KPLU feature covering the world of food as well as the thinking that goes into it. The feature is published here and airs on KPLU 88.5 every Wednesday during Morning Edition and All Things Considered. 

Dick Stein joined KNKX in January 1992. He retired in 2020 after three decades on air. During his storied radio career, he hosted the morning jazz show, co-hosted and produced "Food for Thought" with Nancy Leson and wrote and directed the Jimmy Jazzoid live radio musical comedies and 100 episodes of Jazz Kitchen.